2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship Officially Opened In Peru  

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 March, 2008 : - - Surfing returned to its roots today with the 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship officially opened in Peru.

Lima, which last held the ISF World Championship won by local Peruvian Felipe Pomar in 1965, was once again in the surfing spotlight with teams from as far a field as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Great Britain, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Switzerland, Tahiti, Trinidad / Tobago and the host nation Peru, parading on the beaches of Miraflores before gathering for the 'Sands of the World' Opening Ceremony at Redondo Beach, Lima.

On Saturday nigth the legendary Kon-Tiki Surf Club in Punta Hermosa, honored ISA president at a gathering of the Peruvian surfing legends for the return of World Championship surfing to Peru, after a 43 year absence. On Sunday morning at Miraflores, the 17 participating nations poured sand from their local beaches into a single vase - symbolising the union of the peoples and the ISA's hopes for world peace through surfing.

Fernando Aguerre, the International Surfing Association (ISA) President, then officially launched the competition by naming Miraflores, home of the world's second oldest surfing club, Waikiki, as the official birthplace of Latin-American surfing. 'This prestigious tournament is giving Peruvian people a lot to be happy about. They've been waiting 43 years for the return of a World Championship rated event.'

The Opening Ceremony also marked the honoring of Peruvian surfing legend Senior Eduardo Arena, the founder and president of the International Surfing Federation that gave way to the ISA. Aguerre was on hand to pay homage to Arena by saying; 'I'm very honored in recognising Arena as a Lifetime Member of the ISA. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be where we are now.'

The ISA also announced the naming of the 'Eduardo Arena Perpetual Trophy' to be awarded to the World Masters Team Champion. The culmination of today's ceremony saw the traditional Peruvian surfing craft, the Tortora Horse, being demonstrated in the waves flanking the Opening Ceremony site. The ancient inhabitants of the North Peruvian coast who surfed waves using Tortora Horses some three thousand years ago.

Peru will get a taste of world surfing action for the first time in over forty years when day one of the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship kicks off tomorrow morning with the opening rounds of the Masters (Over 35), Grand Masters (Over 40) and Kahuna divisions (Over 45) at Puntas Rocas, Peru.

Excellent 1.5 -metre waves are forecast for tomorrow with an increase predicted on Tuesday. The 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship will be broadcast live on the Internet, at the ISA website, www.isasurf.org.

The ISA World Masters Surfing Championship is a team competition. The nation who places highest in each division will win the gold medal in the team standings, earning the status of the best over 35 surfing country in the world. Individual standings will add points towards the team totals.

The divisions are:

Masters: Over 35 years old
Grand Masters: Over 40 years old
Kahunas: Over 45 years old
Grand Kahunas: Over 50 years old
Masters Women: Women over 35 years old

A complete team is formed by eight athletes: two Masters, two Grand Masters and two Kahunas, a Grand Kahuna and a Master Woman. The top four finalists in each division are awarded gold, silver, bronze and copper medals, as well as the top four national teams.

          Reprinted from Surfersvillage.com