Surf City El Salvador ALAS Pro will be a four-star event and will define the 2020 Latin champions.

With a representation of seventeen officially registered Costa Rican surfers, our country will face the Surf City El Salvador ALAS Pro event, an encouraging international commitment for many athletes who are returning to competitions after the cessation of competitive events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This year was very difficult for everyone, and that was true for athletes as well, since we had a significant break from competitions, and the hardest part was staying active. Personally, since the beaches reopened in Costa Rica, I've only been able to surf five or six full sessions, and in the last three weeks I've been able to surf a bit more, but it's not the same as before. Returning to tournaments after this break will be very interesting, since some were able to continue training, and in my case, like some others, we had to work or find some other alternative or way of earning a living that wasn't through sports,” stated Malakai Martínez.

This competition is of utmost importance to many Latin American athletes who will be vying for the Latin American Open title at this event in El Salvador. This is due to the ALAS Latin Pro competition rules, which state that " the lowest score obtained by competitors throughout the year will be discarded." In other words, this atypical year, with only one competition before the 4-star Surf City event, has left the possibility open for any participant in this event to take home the ALAS championship title.

This news is very encouraging for Costa Ricans, who could once again crown a Latin American champion after a period without this open title. This, along with the opportunity to train on the wave where the International Surfing Association's World Championship will be held—which will determine the final Olympic qualifiers—has attracted the attention of many Costa Ricans. One of them is Aarón Álvarez from Jacoba, who has shown a growing skill level in recent years and is eager to test his surfing abilities. With the help of some sponsors and through his own hard work and raffles to raise the necessary funds, he will be able to compete—a great example of how, where there's a will, there's a way.

“I’ll be covering the expenses myself, since I managed to hold a raffle for this, and with the help of various sponsors and people who support me, I’ve been able to cover the costs of the ticket, food, and lodging, as well as having the boards for the competition. I’m very excited, since this is my first ALAS competition and my first trip to El Salvador, so I have very high expectations for the place, the waves, and I’m incredibly happy to be representing Costa Rica and I’ll try to put the country’s name on top,” said Aarón Álvarez.

The Surf City El Salvador ALAS Pro will take place from December 10th to 13th at the La Bocana wave in El Tunco and at the moment a live broadcast has not been confirmed, however, we will be bringing you the results of the Costa Rican surfers.

Costa Rican surfers officially registered:

Women's Open:

- Coral Wiggins

- Leilani McGonagle

Men's Open:

- Aaron Alvarez

- Carlos Muñoz

- Alberto Muñoz

- Noe Mar McGonagle

- Dean Vandewalle

- Esteban Chaves

- Jair Pérez

- Jason Torres

- Maikol Torres

- Malakai Martínez

- Oscar Urbina

- Samuel Reidy

- Sean Glatzer

- Tiago Carrique

- Thomas King

 

Written by: Enrique Hernández

General Management: Marco Montero