solspot 4 Aug 20083 Comments 813 views Print Email

  Contest News, surf

San Jose, COSTA RICA August 4, 2008 José Ureña, President of the
Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica (FSC), confirmed today that the
International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games (WSG), sponsored
by Billabong, will take place July 31 through August 9, 2009 in Playa
Hermosa near Jacó in Costa Rica. Ureña hopes to welcome an international
surfing contingent of 40 countries to the competition when the first horn
blows.

The attainment of the Billabong ISA 2009 WSG for Costa Rica has become the
pinnacle of organizational management for the FSC, and was years of board of
directors work led by President Ureña, who put Costa Rica in the running and
attended the meetings in a number of countries to make the final result a
reality. Costa Rica was favored among Brazil and South Africa, as well other
hopeful nations that distinguished themselves with high quality world class
surf. The reason for the ISA concession to Costa Rica for 2009, Ureña said,
is that the FSC has shown a dedication in its years since its 2003 inception
by attending all the worldwide commitments with a full National Costa Rican
Surf Team and staff. In addition, the geographic location of Costa Rica
makes it an easy-to-reach destination for many delegations of the Americas
to attend an international championship for the very first time
the ISA for sometime now.

It also helped that Costa Rica is one of the most popular surf destinations
in the world.

The ISA scheduled the date of the Billabong 2009 World Surfing Games in
Playa Hermosa one week after the completion of next year¹s ASP U.S. Open of
Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, a tournament attended by hundreds
of the top surfers in the world. This way, the competitors can finish at the
U.S. Open and then travel to Costa Rica

³It is the best thing that can happen to a country concerning surf for Costa
Rica to obtain the World Surfing Games,² affirmed Ureña.² ³And for 80
million people around the world to see the competition on the internet, what
could be better for tourist promotion? It will be useful to promote the
country during the championship, get the very important message out that
Costa Rica offers one of the 10 best surf destinations on the globe.²

At present, Costa Rica¹s surf tourism represents a 20 percent annual income
for the country. According to data generated by the Costa Rica Institute of
Tourism (ICT), almost 200,000 surfers from other countries visited in 2007.

For this new sponsorship between the ISA and Billabong, the internet
broadcast will be transmitted live on the internet in four languages to 80
million people during the eight days of the World Surfing Games. Billabong,
for its part, has confirmed the communication and promotion at the global
level as it does with its two annual events in Hawaii and Tahiti for the
dates of the World Championship Tour (WCT).

Playa Hermosa, in front of Hotel Terrazas del Pacífico, is the point where
the World Surfing Games will be carried out and the broadcast will take
place. Between the estimated 40 countries, their athletes and staffs, the
ISA staff, the Federacion of Surf, and other personnel necessary to carry
out the Billabong ISA 2009 WSG, the considered 500 people
thousands of national and foreign visitors who will attend the event
open the hotel, restaurant, tourism potential and provide Jacó with more
than $1 million in commerce.

The ceremony confirming Costa Rica as the tournament country for the 2009
ISA World Surfing Games will take place when the Costa Rica National Surf
Team attends 2008 ISA World Surfing Games this October 11 through 19 in
Costa de Caparica, Portugal. At 2006 WSG, the Ticos were for the first time
in the international Top 10, when they reached #8, besides their magnificent
4th Place action in the Nation¹s Cup Tag Team event.

As to the kickoff event in 2009, the inauguration would be composed of the
traditional Parade of Nations through the main Jacó avenue to arrive at the
ceremonial ³Sands of the World,² the act where all the countries contribute
their respective beach sands into one vat, followed by the protocol of
announcements and political personalities. The final days celebration in
Jacó will close the avenue with celebrations with the new champions of the
world, complete with live bands, DJs, and games that will reach out onto
Jacó Beach as well.

Leading up to and during the Billabong 2009 ISA World Surfing Games, the
Municipality of Jacó, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and
Asociación Procultura y Desarrollo de Jacó, will launch its promotional
campaign called ³Jacó Land of Adventures and City of the Surf.² This will
be a radical change forward in an effort to draw strong investments as much
as to reinforce the security and other important supports for the well-being
of the national and international tourists. One of its main goals will be
the creation of an attractive boulevard for pedestrians and cyclists which
will extend end-to-end of Jacó Beach and the official inauguration of the
Municipal Park located on the main street of Jacó.

The government of Jacó declared that the Billabong 2009 ISA World Surfing
Games will be an international opportunity to promote ³Jacó Land of
Adventures and City of the Surf² in Costa Rica, as well as abroad, thanks to
the important influence of the press from the 40 countries that will be in
Costa Rica during the week of July and August of the next year.