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Costa Rica Defeats United States in Two Heats of the Open Men’s Division

Fernando Aguerre re-elected as President of the ISA for another four year term

DAY 3: THE 2006 LOST ENERGY DRINK ISA WORLD SURFING GAMES

Huntington Beach, Calif., October 17, 2006 – Day three of the 2006 Lost Energy Drink ISA World Surfing Games continued to narrow down the field with the Men’s Open Qualifying Round 3 and Repercharge Round 1 and Women’s Open Qualifying Round 1 and 2. Day three was greeted with sunny skies and bigger waves breaking in the 3-5 feet range allowing for optimal conditions for the best surfers in the world.

The Australian and Costa Rican team dominated the Qualifying Round 3 knocking out some of the USA team’s strongest contenders.

Heat 4 brought the first disappointment for the United States when Chris Ward, ranked amongst the top 44 surfers in the world, finished in last position with a 9.16 bumped out by Hawaii’s Gilbert Gillette leading with 14.83 followed by Costa Rica’s Gilbert Brown whose big bottom turns earned him a 13.30.

Ward of his fourth position finish said “The conditions were pretty sloppy. It’s the luck of the draw. But, they’re calling for combo swell later this week so it should get better when I surf again on Thursday.”

Costa Rica struck again when the impressive skills of Diego Naranjo defeating 2001 ASP World Champion CJ Hobgood of the United States, with a score of 14.00. Damien Hobgood and Pat O’Connell of the United States finished first in their heats of Round three.

In Heat 8, Portugal, Great Britain, Hawaii and Australia battled in a dramatic 20 minute heat until Sam Lamiroy of the Great Britain erupted with two back-to-back waves involving cutbacks and powerful snaps off the lip as his country erupted into cheers. Lamiroy’s performances earned him a combined score of 13.47. Toward the end of the heat Australia’s Blake Thorton was given and interference call as he dropped in on Hawaii’s Alex Smith. The final judgment of the heat left Miguel Ximenez of Portugal in third with a combined score of 10.34.

On the south podium, the level of women surfing impressed the judges as each country excelled in the overhead waves. The highest combined wave score was earned by 2004 ISA Junior World Champion Jessie Miley-Dyer of Australia. She immediately dominated the field when she charged down the line and snapped off the top of the wave numerous times in Heat 9, earning a score of 8.17 and finished with a two-wave score of 14.94. The highest combined score of the day was an 15.67 earned by Jacqueline Silva of Brazil in Heat 4 after she dropped in on a left-handed wave and snapped hard off the tops at very high speed to post high on her third wave.

One of the most inspirational performances was when Bethany Hamilton dropped into her first wave, charged down the line and nearly landed a 360 in Heat 10, a performance that put her in the lead. She posted a combined score of 12.50 pushing her through to Qualifying Round 2 along with Costa Rican surfer Lisbeth Vindas who earned a score of 9.00.

“The conditions are constantly changing and it’s important to be in the right spot at the right time. Hopefully that’s enough to score well on a good wave,” Hamilton said of today’s challenging conditions.

In Heat 13, arguably the most intense heat of the competition, fourteen year old Courtney Conlogue of the United States led the pack when she effortlessly delivered scores of 7.77 and a 6.17 on her first two waves. However, it was the aggressive riding by Brazilian surfer Diana de Souza that gave her victory over Colongue in the last 30 seconds of the heat. De Souza earned a combined score of 14.93, only 0.99 points higher than Conlogue’s score of 13.94.

Competition was fierce in the Repercharge rounds, as surfers fought to avoid elimination. National pride was both seen and heard as each competitor’s respective country cheered for them from the shore and waved their flags in support. Manuel Selman of Chile earned a combined score of 9.13.

Despite being eliminated after a neck-to-neck struggle in Heat 5, Freddy Roux of Cote d’Ivoire proudly said, “It is a victory for me to be here. It was my country’s first time to be at an event like this and I would’ve liked to have gone further, people now know we surf in West Africa and in the future, I hope to be here with more people.” Mark Harris of the Great Britain placed in first position with a combined score of 14.34.

Also announced this morning was Fernando Aguerre’s unanimous re-election as ISA President for another four years. “It was a big vote of confidence. I will continue working for a better surfing future. I’m humbled by the trust of all member Federations representing over 20 million surfers worldwide.” Both Surfing America and Costa Rica were upgraded to full members during last night meeting.

Conditions are expected to peak tomorrow with the Open Men’s Qualifying Repercharge 2 and Repercharge 3 on the north podium starting at 8 a.m. On the south podium Bodyboarding Men’s and Womens Qualifying Round 2 and Bodyboarding Men’s Repercharge 1 and2 will continue. Check out the action with live scoring and a live webcast available daily at www.isasurf.org or www.Surfing America.org/isa. Additionally, photos are available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.isasurf.org/gallery/main.php

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