HIGH STAKES ACTION ON DAY 6 OF THE QUIKSILVER ISA WORLD JUNIOR SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ISA ANNUAL MEETING HELD
2006 ISA Girls Gold Medalist Pauline Ado Eliminated from Competition
11 MAY 2007 -- Round after round of critical heats ran today at 2007 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships at Costa de Caparica, Portugal. The world’s finest young surfers fought hard to continue their campaigns for both individual and team glory at the Olympics of junior surfing while other decorated surfers fell short.
In the dramatic final clash of the day, 2006 ISA Girls gold medalist Pauline Ado (France) was eliminated from competition by Chilean upstart Sofia Borques in the dying minutes of the heat. Borques did not have a surfboard for the competition, but former world champion Sofia Mulanovich donated Boques one of her own. Borques has ridden her idol’s board in every heat of this contest. “My shaper was sick and I wasn’t able to get the board I wanted from him, and so I told Sofia about this and she gave this board as a gift,” said Borques. “Gracias, Sofia, muchas gracias!”
In the Under 18 Boys, Chad du Toit (South Africa) won his repechage hit and is looking forward to tomorrow’s predicted increase in swell. “I just want some lips to smash,” du Toit said. South Africa has seen a resurgent presence on the international surf scene and this year’s event is a great showcase for the nation’s spirit. A film crew is on hand here shooting a documentary about the Springbok team and they’ve enjoyed a huge amount of of viewership and support for their team online.
Ellis Ericson of Australia took down Brazilian national champion and 2004 King of the Groms, Alejo Muniz. Muniz was on fire throughout the event, but failed to find a decent scoring wave in his heat with Ericson. “I stuck to my own game,” said Ericson. “I tried not to worry too much about who was in my heat.”
Manuel Selman of Chile also made it through today. “I’m very happy and very proud to make it this far in the event, said Selman. “I have been training on the Alas tour in Latin America tour for this.”
The team standings are becoming more clear. Defending champion Australia lost a couple of its top surfers, Teale Vanner and Chris Salisbury, in the Under 18 division, but still holds a solid lead over 2nd place Brazil.
Kai Barger, who won his heat for Hawaii, was stoked to help his team’s chances for a medal. “It’s super stressful out there,” said Barger. “All you can see is people waving at you on the beach, but it’s a lot of fun.
Australia is the team to beat so it was good that a couple of their surfers got knocked out in my heat.”
On the girls side, Brazil’s hopes were lifted by the strong performances of Bruna Schmitz, Diana Souza and MÛnik Santos. Schmitz, the girlfriend of ASP tour rookie and former ISA competitor, Jeremy Flores, came into the beach out of breath, but excited. “It’s not easy out there,” said Schmitz. “But I’m feeling comfortable and am making it through a lot of heats.”
Some competitors surfed as many as four times today. Multiple interferences were also called as the surfers battled to find high scoring rides in the inconsistent surf. Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons, last year’s silver medalist, overcame a penalty and advanced through her repechage heat to stay alive in the contest.
In addition to competing for the medals and the honor of surfing for their nations, surfers here in the Under 18 Boys and Girls are vying for coverted spots in the trials for the 2007 Quiksilver Pro France the 2008 Pro Australia and the 2007 Roxy Pro Hawaii and 2008 Roxy Pro Australia. Winners will be awarded trips to France, Hawaii and Australia and a chance to surf against the likes of Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Chelsea Hedges and Stephanie Gilmore. In addition, the winner of the Boys Under 16 division will receive 2500 dollars in credit towards entry fees of ASP events.
Tomorrow, an 8 judge panel (an ISA innovation) will score the surfers - an historic first for the sport of surfing. The exciting teams event will also be held in the afternoon.
The waves improved a bit today ahead of a predicted increase in swell tomorrow and Sunday. The weather was again ideal at Praia da Mata, and the spectacle of surfers waving their national colorful flags on the beach and shouting each other encouragement while spontaneous international soccer matches took form on the beach, were amazing sights to behold.
Tonight a party with live local bands and bonfires will take place at Praia da Mata for the enjoyment of the competitors and spectators.
WATCH THIS EVENT LIVE ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN:
Go to www.isasurf.org or www.quiksilver.com/isa and watch the event and scores live, while listening to commentary by former World Champion Martin Potter.
ISA ANNUAL MEETING TUESDAY NIGHT:
Last night the ISA Annual General Meeting successfully held in Lisbon, Portugal, with 28 member national federations participating. ISA President, Fernando Aguerre chaired the meeting.
Aguerre explained that the ISA currently holds National Team competitions for all surfers of the world. For the youngest surfers with the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships, for those who are in the best part of their careers –with the ISA World Surfing Games- and for the older surfers with the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships.
Considering the growing amount of events that the ISA is holding, Aguerre recommended that the National Governing Bodies look out for stronger financial support for their teams, either from the Public or the Private sectors.
Surfing America –SA-, the USA National Federation, was quoted as a great example of fund raising in their country. In less than five years, SA achieved one of the biggest alliances ever to be seen between a National Governing Body and the Private sector, including the support of the top 8 surf brands and the biggest retail surf chain in the country, PacSun.
The 2008 ISA Masters World Championships were announced, it will take place at the classic waves of Punta Rocas, Lima, Peru, end of March, 2008.
The World Surfing Games 2008 will be hed in Portugal, during October 2008. In June, the ISA will decide the host for the 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Juniors Surfing Championships. The candidates are: France, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
After the 1995 recognition the ISA from the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for all the surf riding activities, the ISA has focused some of†its efforts in the creation of a wave pool and the increase of the number of member federations to 75, the minimum required by the IOC for Olympic Games participation. Aguerre said that undoubtedly the wave pool will be necessary for this to happen.
He also said that little by little the sport is closer to this happening, using as an example the fact that Ecuador, for the second time in a row, will hold the Bolivarian Games that will be including surfing held in the country inside the Olympic structure.
On the other hand, the Executive Committee announced that tow-in surfing and bodysurfing have been included into the surf riding disciplines that are part of the ISA.
Later, an alliance the ISA with the web based action sport community, Sponsorhouse, was presented as a great tool to help all the surfers from the world and also as a tool for fund raising for the all the National Governing Bodies.
About the ISA Adaptative Surfing Program, it was announced the production of a new movie, about surfing for disabled people, this one will have Brazilian Alcino “Pirata” as the main protagonist.
Vice President Alan Atkins was announced as the person†to manage the ISA certification for all the surfing and coaching schools in the world. Atkins commented about the importance to have a standard right way to teach surfing.
The ISA Scholarship Program was presented. The Program consists†in the†distribution of ISA grants to young athletes that are also passionate surfers and good students. ISA President said how easy it is to change life in a positive way. The five surfers that won the scholarship this year were introduced: Lugani Memani from South Africa, Guillermo Satt from Chile, Juninho Urcia from Peru, Imani Wilmot from Jamaica and Diego Vargas from Ecuador.
The meeting ended with a friendship dinner at the hotel, with all the countries sharing the ISA spirit of working together for a better world.
organization:
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E-mail: caparicaeventos@mail.telepac.pt
PR5 | MAIO ’07
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About International Surfing Association (ISA):
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has†been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its†headquarters are located in San Diego, California.
It is†presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
www.isasurf.org
About Quiksilver:
Quiksilver, Inc. is the world's leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports and golf equipment, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company's apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage, while its wintersports and golf brands symbolize a long standing commitment to technical expertise and competitive success on the mountains and on the links.
The reputation of Quiksilver's brands is based on different outdoor sports. The Company's Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes and Hawk brands are synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC Shoes, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels. The Company's golf business includes Cleveland Golf, as well as Never Compromise putters and Fidra apparel. Gotcha is the Company's surf-based European brand addressing street fashion.
The Company's products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, ski shops, skateboard shops, snowboard shops, its proprietary Boardriders Club shops, other specialty stores and select department stores.
The Company's corporate and Americas' headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California, while its European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz and Moirans, France, and its Asia/Pacific headquarters are in Torquay, Australia.
www.quiksilver.com
