Jason Torres : photo Shifi Surf Shots

Reef Pan-American Surfing Games

Pan American Surfing Association / ISA
Punta Rocas resort, Lima, Peru
17 - 22 January 2006

1ST PLACE JUNIOR JASON TORRES’ GOLD MEDAL AT REEF PANAMERICANO DE SURF PERU 2006
COPA MOTOROLA IS FIRST COSTA RICAN CHAMPION EVER AT PAN-AMERICAN SURFING GAMES

FEDERICO PILURZU 4TH PLACE OPEN SUCCESS AND LISBETH VINDAS WOMEN’S 4TH PLACE
VICTORY LIFTS  COSTA RICAN TEAM TO 4TH PLACE  OVERALL 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 January, 2006 : - - PUNTAS ROCAS, LIMA, PERU – In a come-from-behind, Cinderella story, that all but had Jaco’s Jason Torres out from the Reef Panamericano de Surf Peru 2006 Copa Motorola three days ago, the 17-year-old powerhouse maintained enough focus to pull off skillful maneuvers on his last wave in the last heat of the Finals to become the first Costa Rican ever to win a Gold Medal at a Pan-American Surfing Game.  

“This was a very exciting moment for any competitor; I had to take hold of myself and look for an opportunity to put in a few good maneuvers that would call the attention of the judges,” explained Torres. According to the new champion, he felt supported by his teammates--Jaco’s Lisbeth Vindas, Luis Vindas, Diego Naranjo, Juan Carlos Naranjo, Jairo Perez, Andreína Samudio and Tamarindo’s Federico Pilurzu and Isaac Vega—throughout the entire tournament, both the highs and lows. On the first Games day, Torres stunned the home crowd when, in the Open, he swept past Peruvian local champion Javier Swayne, and three other Latin pros, only to end up in repercharge, then out.

The same fate did not seem to follow in the Juniors division, when he took 1st place besting Peru’s Piero De Lucci, won 1st place in the next round, again passed the 3rd round, then found himself in the second-chance repercharge after placing 3rd in the 4th round. There he rallied with the strength that he has demonstrated all this past season in his return to competition in the Costa Rica 2005-06 Circuito Nacional de Surf, where he currently ranks #1 Juniors and #4 Open (after taking a year off from professional surfing).  

According to Antonio Pilurzu, President of Costa Rica’s Federacion de Surf (FS): "For us, this result is a tremendous thing. Jason arrived at 1st place after surpassing several obstacles in the series of repecharges. All that gives more merit this victory. We, as a team, are very proud of him.” “The truth is I always felt good vibrations,” Torres added. “What I obtained is something incredible because there is only one champion. Thanks to God that I managed to excel at the right moments of this competition.” 

This historic moment occurred at Puntas Rocas, yesterday, the final day of the best of Latin American surfing in which all nine National Costa Rican Surf Team members worked hard  to earn 4th place overall in this Olympic-style competition. According to the report of the Pan-American Association of Surf (APAS),  the 1st place 2006 Pan-American Champion was Brazil with 29,166 points, followed by the Peruvian hosts with 28, 422, then the island of Guadalupe in 3rd  place. They received gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.  Costa Rica earned 23,903 points. 

Tamarindo’s Federico Pilurzu concluded his six days of impressive competition in both Open and Longboard divisions with a 4th place win in the Open, and a stop in the Longboard Semifinals. Highlights included media attention in Peru written us because he “showed himself pretty self secured, risking some great backhand maneuvers attacking some heavy waves and he ended well rewarded.” 

Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s First Lady of Surfing Lisbeth Vindas won 4th place Women’s category in the Reef Panamericano de Surf Peru 2006 Copa Motorola, traveling through the tournament in a snap top to bottom manner much the way she rides hard on a wave. After passing her 1st  round heat early in the contest, Vindas head to repercharge in the 2nd round coming in 3rd behind Peru’s Analie Gomez (who challenged Lisbeth throughout), and 2nd place’s Brazilian Bruna Schmitz. Vindas got her ticket to the Finals in four repercharge rounds that ended Saturday with a strong backside that earned high marks over Brazil’s Marina Wereneck who came in 2nd place, Chile’s Sofía Borquez in 3rd, and Panama’s Samantha Alonso in 4th. 

In order to determine the general ranking of the 14 countries, the APAS consider the points that each of the competitors in the divisions obtained (Open, Junior, Women, Longboard, BodyBoard). They then make a sum of all of the teams, positioning by those points the  final positions of the enrolled nations.  

(See all the final results and the country rankings below).

According to Pablo Zanocchi, from Asociación Latinoamericana de Surf (ALAS), the Costa Rican National Surf Team turned in an outstanding performance. “It is very clear from the Pan-American Surfing Games, that Costa Rica shows a great growth in quality. This group is comprised of leaders, and performed very well at the Games because of that.” The Reef Panamericano de Surf Peru 2006 Copa Motorola, which has been organized by the Asociación Panamericana de Surf (APAS) and the Federación Deportiva Peruana de Tabla (FEPTA) featured over 200 of the best surfers from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Guadalupe, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Costa Rica. 

“The fact that we have had three of our representatives in the Finals is a great signal that we are improving. This and our country’s ranking is historic for a discipline that is everyday getting more respect in Costa Rica and reaching greater heights there,” added the FS leader. "We could verify that an enormous evolution in surf of Costa Rica exists. That growth was noticed clearly in the water where these boys and girls left a very pleasing impression,” Zanocchi concluded.”   

REEF PANAMERICANO DE SURF PERU 2006 COPA MOTOROLA

Final Costa Rican Results          

OPEN CATEGORY
Gabriel Villarán, Perú.
Gabriel Aramburu, Perú.
Flavio Nakajima, Brasil.
Federico Pilurzu, Costa Rica. 

JUNIOR CATEGORY (Under 18 years)
Jason Torres, Costa Rica.
Jefferson Silva, Brasil.
Arthur Bourbon, Isla de Guadalupe.
Thomas Hermes, Brasil. 

WOMEN CATEGORY
Analí Gómez, Perú.
Marina Werneck, Brasil.
Ornella Pellizari, Argentina.
Lisbeth Vindas, Costa Rica. 

Source: Asociación Panamericana de Surf. 

National Rankings

Brasil: 29166 points.
Perú: 28422.
Isla Guadalupe: 23932.
Costa Rica: 23903.
Chile: 18636.
Ecuador: 18097.
Bahamas: 16584.
República Dominicana: 15316.
Panamá: 12438.
Uruguay: 8132.
Guatemala: 3840.
El Salvador: 3000.
Argentina: 1460.
Puerto Rico: 1000.

Source: Costa Rica’s Federacion de Surf

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Ellen Zoe Golden
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