What does Carlos Muñoz need to get into the CT in 2020?
LifeMiles presents the news of the day.
Latin America could have its first male representative in the World Surfing Tour.
It has been nine years of struggle, filled with joys as well as sorrows, dreams that reach not only a country called Costa Rica, but go beyond borders, involving all Latin Americans.
Never before, after nine years of competing in qualifying events, has Costa Rican surfer Carlos Muñoz found himself in a more encouraging position than he has today in the QS ranking to enter the Dream Tour.
Muñoz is currently in 12th place, and thanks to the fact that this year he is awarding more points than in previous years, the ranking line is still inexact. However, doing some math and taking this variable into consideration for 2019 and previous rankings, a score exceeding 17,000 points almost guarantees qualification.
"Cali" currently has 13,850 points with his five best results, a situation that puts the local from Esterillos Oeste just 4,000 points away or close to it to be part of the world's top surfing circuit, in competition.
In the competitive landscape, this is equivalent to reaching the quarterfinals of the next QS stop of 10,000 points in Ericeira, Portugal, stages that would award a total of 5200 points, thus determining Muñoz's performance in the 2020 World Tour.
If not in this scenario, Carlos would still have a chance in two 10,000-point events in Hawaii and two 3,000-point events, one on the North American island and another in Brazil, which is currently tentative. However, it will be necessary to take into account that the competition format in these events for the Hawaiian crown varies due to the number of competitors.
Muñoz would therefore need to secure his place in the Tour by reaching the semifinals of a 10,000-point race or improving two of his current five best scores, thus achieving qualification and waiting to see the issue of the re-qualifications of the current CT riders.
Nobody knows the final outcome for the Costa Rican yet, and only Muñoz's own performance and the right-hand waves of Ericeira or the Hawaiian island can bring the joy that has been awaited in Latin America since the prestigious Tour began.