Costa Rica's New National Surf Champion Luis Vindas
With South African Brandon Robert's win in this 7th date of the Circuit Nacional de Surf DayStar Quiksilver, Luis Vindas of Jaco Costa Rica needed to wait until the last minute. He found out he had indeed won the National Championship Title at La Curva in Playa Hermosa near Jaco.
Both Carlos Muñoz of Esterillos and Gilbert Brown of Puerto Viejo, who were mathematically eligible to win if they won the date, managed to only put themselves in the finals of this Costa Rica event. They came in in 2nd--Muñoz--and 4th--Brown. The Champion Vindas was the most consistent surfer of the season and for that he became #1 in Costa Rica.
At about 1 p.m., the most anticipated series of the weekend entered the water. There were over 1,500 onlookers, everybody shouting for their favorite. The Open finals, which included Muñoz, Brown, Luis Castro (Tamarindo) and Roberts, were charged with carrying out the show of the day with waves that surpassed 2 meters in height. The defending Champion Muñoz was the one who began risking with maneuvers that rewarded him high points. He chose two smaller waves, rights with radical charges that had him leading the group from 10 minutes to 17 of the series, almost to the end of the heat. Roberts came with a left at almost 9 points that sent him to 1st place with his other wave. Brown, on the other hand, put up a wave at 2 minutes for a score of 8.33 but did not find another one during the run and remained in 4th place for the date.
When the Gran Finals ended, the fans went crazy and lifted Luis Vindas on their shoulders indicated he was the best surfer of the year. He was the new Costa Rica National Surf Champion based on the National ranking points this year.
"The truth is that today was the most anguish filled days of my life, because this morning I thought maybe the Title I dreamed of for many years had gone away. Now I am very happy that I am able to say that I am National Champion of Costa Rica," said Vindas.
Vindas has been running the Open in the Circuito Nacional de Surf for 5 years, and this is the first time he has earned a National Title. He was Runner-Up in 2008, where he made a serious error in the water that saw the crown go to Gilbert Brown.
"Today, earlier I felt just like two years ago when I did an interference to Gilbert in the Gran Finals heat and ended up without the Championship. I felt a little fear and anxiety, but today the things are different and in my favor. This I dedicate to my family and to all of Jaco that have supported me from the beginning of the Championship," he added.
An unexpected event occurred in the Women's division, whereby neither Lisbeth Vindas nor Nataly Bernold, both of Jaco, won this date. With a 2nd and 3rd place corresponding in the final series of the event, Lisbeth Vindas was crowned the Costa Rica National Women's Champion by a difference of 10 points in the final ranking. This is Lisbeth's eighth National Title.
The series was won by the now resident American Jordan Hundley, followed by Bernold at 2nd, and Lisbeth at 3rd.
"Since the beginning of the season I wanted again to be National Champion because I feel mature in a stage of my race, and the results are tougher to get. Next year I have combined sports plans with personal plans and that is why it seems important to leave with a good track record in 2010," Lisbeth affirmed.
In Junior, Carlos Muñoz obtained his 3rd consecutive National Junior Surf Championship, a record in this division. He earned this from the semifinals, where he was stopped as a main threat in the event by Anthony Fillingim of Malpais, and Danny Bishko of Esterillos. This is pretty impressive for the 16-year-old to finish the season with a Junior Title and a sub-Open championship, even though he missed some dates this year due to his international commitments.
Today La Curva in Play Hermosa gave off waves of 1 to 2 meters with excellent conditions from the first hours in the morning. It even improved as the afternoon came on with the high tide and Quiksilver and LimeCoral. They gave away $1,500 in prizes to the winners of the Tag Team and the Expression Session, in a unique show for spectaters, from the best surfers of Costa Rica.
The Circuito National de Surf DayStar 2009-2010 is sponsored by: DayStar Properties, LimeCoral Apparel Company, Red Bull, 911 Groovy Radio, Quiksilver, Britt Iced, Witch's Rock Surf Camp, Mango Skate & Surf, Banzaii Surfboards, Carton Surfboard, Odessa Clothing, Ibarquero Design and Surfos Magazine.
The Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica announced the first date of the Triple Crown of Winter to take place in Santa Teresa called Luz de Vida Surf Challenge. The event, which is the first of three dates, will reward surfers $10,000 cash between winners.
National Champions:
Open
1. Luis Vindas
2. Carlos Muñoz
3. Jason Torres
4. Gilbert Brown
Women's
1. Lisbeth Vindas
2. Nataly Bernold
3. Jordan Hundley
4. Mariana Samudio
Junior
1. Carlos Muñoz
2. Anthony Fillingim
3. Jordan Hernández
4. Maykol Torres
Junior Women's
1. Jordan Hundley
2. Elisa Bonomelli
3. Kristel Stanley
4. Leilani McGonagle
Boys (Under 16)
1. Josué Rodríguez
2. Noe Mar McGonagle
3. Eliha Guy
4. Alberto Muñoz
Grommets (Under 14)
1. Noe Mar McGonagle
2. Manuel Mesén
3. León Glazer Williams
4. Kevin Montiel
Grommet Girls.
1. Paola Duarte
2. Leilani McGonagle
3. Arisha Grioti
4. Selena Moberly
Mini Grommet (Under 12)
1. Leonardo Calvo
2. Sean Forester
3. Stone Van Timmeren
4. Storm Van Timmeren
Mini Grommet Girls
1. Paola Duarte
2. Leilani McGonagle
3. Arisha Grioti
4. Cloe Velarde
Longboard
1. Diego Naranjo
2. Anthony Flores
3. Cristian Santamaría
4. Carlos Muñoz
Master (Over 35)
1. Craig Schieber
2. Carlos Velarde
3. Geancarlo Loría
4. Marco Picado
Grand Master (Over 40)
1. Craig Schieber
2. Carlos velarde
3. Cassio Carvalho
4. Alejandro Monge
Novice
1. Giannio Ferrandino
2. Alejandro Vaca
3. Carlos Gallego Pacheco
4. Ernesto Roberth
Open Metropolitano
1. Giannio Ferrandino
2. Alberto Gil
3. Alejandro Vaca
4. Eduardo Guardia
Open Fem. Metrop.
1. Mónica Madrigal
2. Kristel Stanley
3. Kailany Jimenez
4. Paula Soto
Junior Metrop.
1. Alejandro Vaca
2. Felipe Pozuelo
3. Daniel Pozuelo
4. Estaban Morera
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