ALAS Global Tour, National Games and CNS fill the surf calendar in 2026
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The 2026 national surfing season will be packed with tournaments from January to August, including continental events. This Monday, the Costa Rican Surfing Federation announced its calendar of events for the upcoming season, with Banco LAFISE as its main partner for the fourth consecutive year, supporting the National Circuit and the national teams' participation in world events.
“Surfing is part of Costa Rican identity and connects directly with values ​​we share at LAFISE: discipline, respect, focus, and the surfing community is like one big family. We decided to renew for a fourth year because the results have been clear: more athletes supported, more events in coastal areas, and a positive impact for those who live around this industry.”
Costa Rica has world-class surfers. We are thrilled to see how this circuit is becoming a platform where new generations are trained and develop, a clear example being our 2025 brand ambassadors Mikela Castro and Cali Muñoz who have brought great honor to Costa Rica in international tournaments this year,” stated Gastón Rappaccioli, General Manager of Banco LAFISE.
The year will begin with surfing's debut at the National Sports Games. This was confirmed by Minister of Sport Donald Rojas during the launch conference. “At the Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation (ICODER), we see it as essential for surfing to gain national recognition, and for this, we need high-level international tournaments so that young people have aspirations and we can see the economic impact, talent identification, and tourism benefits that these championships would bring. For the Government of Costa Rica, positioning surfing nationally is a priority; therefore, it will be featured as an exhibition sport at this edition of the National Sports Games, and I hope that in the next edition it will be one of the most developed sports,” commented the representative of ICODER and the Ministry of Sports (MIDEPOR). Cocles Beach in Puerto Viejo was chosen as the venue for this event.
In February, the Banco LAFISE 2026 National Surf Circuit returns, with a first date in LimĂłn, continuing in Santa Teresa, CĂłbano, followed by two more events with venues to be defined and ending in Playa Hermosa de Garabito, in June.
Internationally, the stakes have been raised for next year, as we will host two 4-star ALAS Global Tour events starting in August. “The 2026 ALAS Global Tour champions have direct qualification for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, which is the first pathway to direct qualification for the Olympic Games. The next opportunity will be the 2027 PASA Games (Pan American Surfing Games), a tournament that will award six spots for men and six for women to qualify for Los Angeles 2028. In addition, there are the ISA World Surfing Games,” stated Karin Sierralta, president of the Pan American Surfing Association (PASA) and the Latin American Association of Professional Surfers.
“Since October 2024, we have been part of the Latin American Sports Tourism Network, which obligates us, as the local government, to promote local tournaments in all kinds of disciplines. Surfing is what best unites tourism and sports, which is why it is so important to bring international tournaments to Santa Teresa, to strengthen the local scene and raise our profile within the international community,” explained Ronny Montero, mayor of the Cóbano District Council. The venues for the ALAS Global Tour events will be Santa Teresa and Playa Hermosa in Jacó.
“Last year we held a five-event National Circuit and a two-star international event, so I believe this is part of what we need to do. Keeping our feet on the ground, we are realistically planning to maintain the National Circuit dates and double our efforts for the ALAS events. The institutional response has been very positive, and we have an ambitious plan to continue expanding the sport in the coming years and develop a proper preparation and training process for our national teams,” commented Roberto Vargas, president of the Costa Rican Surfing Federation.
Written by Esteban Guillen / Costa Rica Surfing Federation