Many of the world’s champion surfers were on hand in Nosara this past weekend to compete at the COPA Nosara Beach Club date of the Circuito Nacional de Surf kolbi 2015, and as expected the final with three of them proved to be as exciting as any heat so far this year.
Carlos Muñoz of Esterillos ended up winning the Playa Guiones date in front of 2,000 spectators; however it was Jason Torres, of Jacó, whose 2nd place finish made the most news. Torres, already ranking No. 1 in the Open for the year, is one step closer to locking in the national championship. He is 420 points ahead of the nearest competitor, Olman Morales, and with the most points coming to the winner of the Gran Finals July 17-19 in Playa Hermosa, the optimistic surfer knows the champion crown is not a lock.
“I’m feeling great, working hard for the next event,” Torres said. “Just waiting for this moment. I know it’s going to be hard but I have confidence and am ready.”
How did he manage to get to No. 1 this year?
“I just kept trying to get to the top and keep the dream alive. I’m doing this because I’m focused on the QS [World Surf League Qualifying Series]. I want to be there. I know my time is coming.”
The COPA Nosara Beach Club final included Muñoz and Torres as well as Anthony Fillingim (Malpais) – all recent gold medal winners in last week’s International Surf Association (ISA) World Surfing Games in Popoyo, Nicaragua. Rounding out the heat was Jacó’s Juan Carlos Hernández. They battled it out with Muñoz coming in 1st place, Torres 2nd, Fillingim 3rd and Hernandez 4th.
“I’m happy to share this date in Nosara with my friends and it serves as a great warmup for what will come to me in South Africa and Indonesia in the coming week,” said Muñoz about his upcoming WSL QS dates. “I love coming here to Nosara, and after many years, I have very fond memories of this place.”
It’s been a very interesting race this year in the Women’s division as well. Yet, it is more than certain that gold medalist Lisbeth Vindas, who won her 4th date this year on the Circuito in Nosara, will take home her 12th national Women’s championship. The win was slightly easier for Vindas this time, given that her two closest competitors in the rankings – Leilani McGonagle (Pavones) and Emily Gussoni (Jaco) – were off in Los Cabos, Mexico, doing fairly well on a QS date.
Yet, Vindas did not have an easy final heat with Paula Duarte (Jacó), Zulay Martinez (Tamarindo) and Coral Wiggins (Avellanes). After challenging the champion, eventually they placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively.
“They were very close to me and the girls chose two good waves each in the difficult conditions we encountered this weekend,” Viindas said. “Now I want to prepare well for a good end to the championship.”
Results for the COPA Nosara Beach Club, June 13-14, Playa Guiones, Nosara:
Open
- Carlos Muñoz (Esterillos)
- Jason Torres (Jaco)
- Anthony Fillingim (Santa Teresa)
- Juan Carlos Hernández (Jaco)
Women’s
- Lisbeth Vindas (Jaco)
- Paula Duarte (Jaco)
- Zulay Martínez (Tamarindo)
- Coral Wiggins (Avellanas)
Juniors
- Leonardo Calvo (Barranca)
- Aldo Chirinos (Playa Negra)
- Lorenzo Wickstrom (Montesuma)
- Alex Rocha (Jaco)
Junior Women’s
- Valentina Resano (Nicaragua)
- Paula Duarte (Jaco)
- Lady Meek (Dominical)
- Emily Anderson (Herradura)
Boys
- Aldo Chirinos (Playa Negra)
- Sean Forester (Sámara)
- Tiago Carrique (Playa Negra)
- Samuel Reidy (Dominical)
Grommet
- Tiago Carrique (Playa Negra)
- Samuel Reidy (Dominical)
- Jacob Kelly (Nosara)
- Cedrik McCraking (Puerto Viejo)
Minigrommet
- Samuel Reidy (Dominical)
- Aaron Ramirez (Jaco)
- Axel Castro (Limón)
- Luke Guinaldo (Avellanas)
Minigrommet Girls
- Valentina Resano (Nicaragua)
- Candelaria Resano (Nicaragua)
- Paulina Summers (Puerto Viejo)
- Lia Díaz (Tamarindo)
