Pictured from left: Ronald Garcia, Ian and Carolyn Corrigall from Kina Surf, and Ronald’s friends from Cabuya Surf Club. Photo by Chris Johnson.

As the seasonal rains abate, everyone is seeking outdoor activities. What better time of the year to hold the First Annual SurFest at Playa Carmen, Mal Pais. The surf was solid throughout the two day tournament, with mostly offshore winds and overhead waves. 

This grass roots event was organized to financially assist area school kids with their plans to compete in this year’s Costa Rica’s National Surf Circuit. Although many members of the community helped make this a successful event, it would not have been possible without the hard work of contest organizer Paul (Pablo) Fillingim from Tiki Sport Fishing, and the commitment and vision of April Akerson from The Dirt Road, our new weekly newspaper.

The level of competition was very high among the 80 plus competitors. The top surfers in each category were:

During SurFest members of the surf community came up with a program to donate surfboards to kids who lack the means to purchase one of their own. Surfers Helping Surfers was born. The first to respond were Ian and Carolyn Corrigall from Kina Surf Shop in Santa Teresa. They generously gifted a Ratboy Surftech surfboard to Ronaldo Garcia from Delicias, who was competing on a broken board. Gifting surfboards not only brings joy to the recipient, but the giver also gains in many ways. If you have a surfboard that you would like to gift to a needy surfer, please click here to contact us or call 8833 3076.