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Copper medal in nation Cup Tag Team event
by Ellen Zoe Golden
24/10/2006:// For the first time in the history of the World Surfing Gamesthe Olympics of the sportmembers the Costa Rica Surf Team, as well as Coach Jose Urea return with medals around their necks. Diego Naranjo (Jaco), Nino Myrie (Puerto Viejo), Lisbeth Vindas (Jaco), Gilbert Brown (Puerto Viejo), Luis Vindas (Jaco) surfed valiantly in difficult conditions, including a low tide and a fog that rolled onshore mid-heat, to arrive at a 4th place finish in the International Surfing Associations (ISA) Nations Cup Tag Team event, a unique, fun part of the 2006 Lost Energy Drink ISA World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach.
At the colorful Awards Ceremony referred to as the United Nations of Surfing by ISA President Fernando Aguerre, Brown spoke for his team mates in thanking the United States Surfing America Team for offering their spot in the Tag Team contest. The Ticos gratitude was demonstrated with gifts of Costa Ricas popular Imperial cerveza (beer) to which USA Coach Peter PT Townend, competitors Chris Ward, Julia Christian and others came onstage to accept.
Australia won 1st place in the ISA Nations Cup Tag Team event, Brazil was 2nd and, in 3rd place was South Africafeaturing Jordy Smith, the newly crowned winner of the World Surfing Games. (Brazils Jacqueline Silva won the gold medal in the Womens division.)
Special medals were given to the entire judging staff who made decisions on over 3,000 waves between October 14 and 22. Yeffrey Rojas from Tamarindo became Costa Ricas first judge since this competitive tradition began in1964 at Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia.
"As a Costa Rican, Im so proud to have been able to come here and sit among these distinguished judges, doing this job for surfing that helps bring the world together", Rojas said at the celebratory party later in the eveing at Casa Costa Rica, the Team-rented house
A delegation of 18 surfers, Federacion de Surf de Costa staff and Tico supporters lived and worked together for 12 days.
When the World Surfing Games were finished, the Costa Rica Surf Team ranked #8 out of the 33 countries who attended the 21st edition of this Olympics of Surf. That is one position higher than the Ticos accomplishment at the ISA World Surfing Games 2004, which was #9.
The teams ahead at the 2006 WSG were: 1) Australia 2) Brazil 3) USA 4) South Africa 5) Hawaii 6) France 7) Portugal. The United Kingdom was 9th and Tahiti was 10th place.
In the 2004 Games, however, there werent World Championship Tour athletes competing as there were this year, such as C.J and Damon Hobgood, Chris Ward, Pat OConnell (all USA); or Tom Whitaker, Luke Stedman (Australia).
Despite this, Brownwho was called the surprise of the World Surfing Games by the announcer during one of his heatsended up ranked #15 of 113 in the Open category. Diego Naranjo followed at #21, Luis Vindas at #25 and Nino Myrie at #29. Lisbeth Vindas turned up at #17 of 49 Women.
(Costa Ricas Nataly Bernold of Tamarindo, by the way, was the WSGs youngest competitor at 13 years of age! She was neither intimated nor scared by her first international event, and had three impressive Womens heats, according to Coach Urea.)
All throughout the World Surfing Games, as the Costa Rica Surf Team progressed, accolades were earned by the media, organizers, and surfers. At the Awards Ceremony, during his speech, primary event sponsor, Matt Biolos, Losts co-creator/shaper/co-owner said: Costa Rica, everyone is talking about Costa Rica.
Mid-week, the ISA called Costa Rica a power country, and at its conclusion, proclaimed the nation: surprise package Costa Rica.
Antonio Pilurzu, President of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Ricawhich was officially upgraded to a full member of the ISA this weekpraised the level of surfing that the team produced at the WSG: Our boys and girls stood out at the end as one of the best in the world in the Tag Team. In addition, in the Games competition itself, there were only seven countries who surfed better than us!
We are very content with the performance we made in California because we were the best delegation of all Latin America with the exception of Brazil, and everyone knows now that we are a world surfing power, Pilurzu added. Our surfers, including the rest of the team (bodyboarders Walter Gatgens and Ivn Castrillo) executed to the highest and showed that this sport has a promising future in Costa Rica.
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable
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