Hawaii’s Mike Latronic had the highest total heat score of the day with powerful, carving turns like this. Photo: ISA/Rommel Gonzales
Another Beautiful Sunny Day in Montañita With Challenging Surf Conditions
The world’s best over 35 year old Men and Women surfers put on incredible performances during Day 3 of the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship on the perfect right hand point-break waves in Montañita, Ecuador.
It was a beautiful sunny day in the South American country that sits right on the equator, with the gorgeous Galapagos Islands offshore. Surf conditions were challenging with a slight drop in swell to about 3-4 feet with occasional head-high sets. The tides were extreme, with an early morning low tide, which made for strategic surfing as the waves were breaking in sections, and not the long walls the surfers had become accustomed to over previous days.
The surfers had to be in the right position to stay in the most critical parts of the wave and get the best results possible.
“It was a very nice day in this paradise that is Montañita,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The top 150 surfers over 35 years old are here with over 20 World Champions, current and past. A bad day of competition here is better than the best day in most places in the world. So, if you are not watching the live webcast you are missing out.”
Today, even though it was a shorter day of competition, it was action packed. Day Three featured heats from every division, starting with the Qualifying Round 2 of the Kahunas, Grand Kahunas, and Women’s Masters, followed by Repechage Round 2 of the Grand Masters and Masters. Unfortunately, all the surfers that did not advance in the Repechage rounds are now out of the competition.
Brazil’s Andrea Lopes dominated her heat during Day 3 advancing to the Women’s Masters semifinals. Photo: ISA/Michael Tweddle
One of the standouts of the day was Brazil’s Andrea Lopes, who successfully advanced into the Qualifying Semifinals with a total heat score of 13.50, defeating Siri Cota (USA, 7.93), Maria Celia Barboza (URU, 6.63) and Akiko Kiyonaga (JPN, 6.40).
Another notable surfer of the day was Hawaii’s Mike Latronic, who scored the day’s highest total heat score with 15.16 points, defeating Sergio Noronha (BRA, 7.30), Robert Ferrer (PRC, 5.27) and Horacio Ipucha (ARG, 3.53).
Brazil’s Saul Carvalho had the wave of the day, earning the highest single wave score of 9.53, which led him to win his Repechage Round 2 heat, defeating Kris Cabezas (CHI, 8.63) and Paulo Viales (CRC, 7.14).
The ISA World Masters Surfing Championship resumes tomorrow at 7:40am with The Morning Show hosted by Otto Flores, which will be broadcast live on the internet at www.isawmsc.com.
Following that, the competition will feature:
Grand Masters (over 40) Repechage 3
Kahunas (over 45) Repechage 2
Masters (over 35) Repechage 3
Grand Kahunas (over 50) Repechage 1
Women’s Masters (over 35) Repechage 1
Grand Masters (over 40) Qualifying 3
Kahunas (over 45) Repechage 3
The live webcast of the entire championship is available on www.isawmsc.com
beginning at the following times:
Sunday, 7:40am Montañita, Ecuador
Sunday, 5:40am West Coast USA
Sunday, 2:40pm Western Europe
Sunday, 11:40pm Sydney, Australia
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running the Open Division World Championship since 1964, the World Junior Surfing Championship since 1980, the World Masters Surfing Championship since 2007, the World Bodyboard Championship since 2011, the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival in China, and the World Standup Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship beginning in 2012. The ISA also sanctions the World Kneeboard Titles and the World Tandem Surfing Championship, and will launch the World Longboard Championship in 2013. ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies of 73 countries on five continents. Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (Argentina), first elected President in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro and re-elected seven times since. The ISA’s four Vice-Presidents are Alan Atkins (AUS), Karín Sierralta (PER), Debbie Beacham (USA) and Layne Beachley (AUS).
More on www.isasurf.org
