After 3 days of rain Saturday dawned clear and beautiful for the Karma 2000 surfing contest held at Escolleras, on the beach next to Marina Ixtapa, on the final day of September.
The surf, as usual when a tournament is planned in advance, was not epic, ranging from waist high to a little overhead, but that did not lessen the enthusiasm for the 100+ contest entrants going for the glory of the first contest of the season in the Guerrero Surfing Association circuit. With 7 categories (boogie, longboards, youth, open, seniors, women, and masters) there was room for all comers on the fast waves peeling right and left beside the jetty in Ixtapa.
The judges scored the action from the shade of their pavilion as the animated crowd cheered every cutback, off the lip, 360 and barrel that the talented contestants pulled off. Marcos Gonzalez, the contest coordinator, organizer, announcer and 17 year Association veteran, and Leon Perez, contest judge and owner of Catcha La’Ola, Ixtapa’s surf shop, kept the heats rolling while next door cold beverages flowed to ease the blaze of the end of summer sun. As a brief respite, 5 minutes of rain fell on Sunday afternoon during the bikini/wet T-shirt contest, cooling off the crowd and competitors before the finals.
Contest winners gain 1000 points in each division towards the 5000 points needed for membership in the Mexican National surfing team and a chance to compete in the World Surfing Championships.
I asked Marcos (who surfed with the Mexican National Team in France, 1992) about the future of surfing and he replied that he plans to begin a children’s league within the next two months to encourage local youngsters. The new surf club will be open to the 12 and under age group and offer free lessons to members one on one with experienced surfers with a tournament in January or February. For more information contact Marcos at his new seafood restaurant, Cevicheria el Güero on your right at the entrance to the airport.
The State Surfing Association is preparing for the next contest to be held November 25th and 26th at Playa Bonfil in Acapulco, while our next local contest occurs in La Barrita (near Petatlan) in February.
Winners of the Open category were:
1st: Fred Atzel Cruise of Acapulco
2nd: Oscar Chino Perez of Acapulco
3rd: Sixto Mendez of Zihuatanejo
-October 2000
