Professional surfing’s return to Costa Rica reaches its decisive stage today, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and final of the Garabito Surf City Pro all set to run in a single session at Playa Hermosa, on the Central Pacific coast. The World Surf League set the first call for 6:30 a.m. Four quarterfinal heats, two semifinals and one final remain to be decided in each division. Competition sat on standby through much of Saturday before the closing rounds were pushed to Sunday.
Leilani McGonagle took the strongest Costa Rican result into finals day. The Olympian and Championship Tour wildcard came through the round of 16 on Saturday with the most convincing win of the round in the women’s draw, keeping alive the prospect of a home victory at the first World Surf League Qualifying Series event staged in the country since 2018.
The men’s draw arrives at the quarterfinals with several in-form international contenders. Jett Schilling posted a 15.40 ride and a 16.00 heat total in the round of 32, among the highest scores of the event. Lucas Cassity and Blayr Barton also advanced through Saturday’s rounds.
Costa Rica entered a large contingent, led by Carlos “Cali” Muñoz, Sam Reidy, Darshan Antequera, Noe Mar McGonagle, Jairo Pérez and Malakai Martínez. Muñoz won the last World Surf League event held in the country, the Essential Costa Rica Surf Pro at Jacó in October 2018, when Germany’s Rachel Presti took the women’s title.
The competition carries a QS 2,000 rating, meaning the winners collect up to 2,000 ranking points toward Challenger Series qualification, the tier immediately below the Championship Tour. Weather remains a factor. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional forecast afternoon showers and thunderstorms for the Central and South Pacific on Sunday, with activity reaching coastal sectors by evening.
The Comisión Nacional de Emergencias has the Central Pacific under a green alert as unstable conditions continue. For Garabito, the event doubles as a tourism showcase. The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) reports that more than 2.6 million tourists arrive by air each year and that roughly 17 percent surf on Pacific or Caribbean beaches, with as many as 600,000 surfers visiting in a single year. Playa Hermosa, just south of Jacó, is known for powerful and consistent beach breaks better suited to experienced surfers than to beginners.
The closing rounds are being broadcast live on worldsurfleague.com and through the free World Surf League app. Heats run back to back once the event is called on, so the timing of the final depends on how the surf holds up through the day.
