Tamarindo’s First Local Surf Contest

Tamarindo is a town famous for its surf spots and waves. Competitions are held here regularly, yet there has never been a surf contest held in Tamarindo for the locals. When Carlos Arias realized this, he decided to take matters into his own hands and not only organize a surf competition for the local surfers but have the money raised from it go towards cleaning up the beach. The end result? A huge success.

During the weekend of November 13^th-14^th, local surfers and supporters alike gathered at Playa Tamarindo for Tamarindo’s first ever contest for locals. Over 120 surfers signed up, from groms to professionals, to participate in six overall categories: Mini-Groms/Sub-12, Boys/Sub-16, Women, Longboard, Junior, and Open. The surfers ranged from Tamarindo to the nearby surf towns of Playa Negra and Playa Avellanas.

Saturday’s heats kicked off with the Open surfers, and the heats continued all day long with some friendly but fierce competition. While the waves were less than ideal for some of the later heats, the surfers held strong and the competition was high. After a long day of surfing, everyone retired to rest up for Sunday and the finals.

Sunday morning started off with much excitement that continued throughout the day. The finals were all close, with the competitors surfing impressively and performing well, despite some waves that were hard to work with. Tomas King, from Tamarindo, surfed strongly for the Juniors, and Elisa Bonomelli did extremely well in the – surprise! – Boys/Sub 16 category. The Open category ended the day, with all four finalists surfing intensely and powerfully. Local surfers Luis Castro (“Carmello) dominated the left at the rivermouth, while Angelo Bonomelli and Omar Peraza also had some standout waves, both consistently making high-performance maneuvers.

Castro ultimately took home the $150 prize, with Peraza placing second with a $60 prize. In other categories, Tomas King won first and Noah Quijada second for Juniors; Noah Quijada won first and Justin Bamanca second for Boys/Sub-16; Henry Martarita came in first and Riccardo Pilurzu second for Longboards; Aldo Quinos took first and Malakai Martinez second for the Mini-Groms, and Kasey won first with Marcela Garcia coming in second for the Women. Prizes included wax, track pads, and t-shirts.

The main reason this event was able to take place was because of local Carlos Arias, who wanted to create an event for the local surf crowd where everyone could be happy, get together, and have fun. Not only did he want everyone to have a good time, but he also wanted something good for the community to come out of it. He decided that trash cans for the beach to help with pollution would be the best idea. He noted how the beach helps bring in tourists and thus helps with everyone’s businesses, yet no one seemed willing to help truly clean up the beach. This surf contest was his way to help. He explained how he’s always wanted to something like this, but he never had the support. He finally decided to, as he put it, “just do it,” and he single-handedly helped organize the event. He did get the support of local organizations once things got rolling, especially Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, who he said helped a lot.

With the success of this contest, he’s already been able to buy five large trash cans that he’s planning on putting up next month. Arias was very happy with how the weekend turned out, and he already has plans for another locals contest in six to seven months. With those proceeds, he hopes to clean up the beach parking lot in front of Aqua, and he hopes to have even more local support with the next competition.

Special thanks to the judges of the event, as well as the many local sponsors: Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, Banana Surf, Costa Rica Surf Club, Iguana Surf, Aqua, Sushi-Koi, Blue Trailz, Kelly’s Surf Shop, Quiksilver, Secret Spot, El Arepazo, Left’N’Right Surf School, Mandarina, Surfrider Foundation, Pacifico Bar, Bar 1, Arenas, LAB, Pedro’s Surf Shop, Chop’s Design, Fertama, Tony, Super Bar, Super Las Olas, Walter Resaurante, Coral Reef, and DJ Gallo.