Billabong ISA World Surfing Games

International Surfing Assn.
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica
1 – 8 August 2009

The Jamaica Surfing Association has announced the surfers selected to represent Jamaica at the 2009 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games to be held in Playa Hermosa Costa Rica. The team will consist of

Open men
Icah Wilmot
Inilek Wilmot
Shane Simmonds
Luke Williams

Open Women
Imani Wilmot
Elim Beckford

Jamaica will be short 2 Open Long-boarders severely limiting Jamaica’s potential point haul but the men are surfing well as are the ladies and will be trying to improve Jamaica’s 27th place World Rank. The team, was selected based on their ranking from the National Open Series as well as on performances in the recently concluded 2009 Suzuki Makka Pro, and will be under the management of JSA President Billy Wilmot.

“This year the World Games will be extremely competitive with each country now being able to select professional athletes for their teams whereas originally the World Games was an amateur event.” Said Mr. Wilmot “This fact has elevated the standard of surfing at the event and has increased tremendously the amount of media attention the Games now attract. Jamaica is always a “media darling” at the games and with our surfers performing really well we are going there to make a statement… Jamaica is here!”

The trip to the event has been made possible through the collaborated sponsorship effort of Insight, Ipath, the Sports Development Foundation, COPA Airlines, Magma, Xtrak, Mailpak, Quashi

original story from surfersvillage

The Atlantic Ocean might have been choppy and cold, but that didn’t stop 11-year-old David Calderone from plunging into the waves for some surfing.

He was one of nearly 80 autistic boys and girls who spent several hours last week surfing on Brick Beach 3, thanks to the efforts of the lifeguards and township recreation department staff who volunteered their time.

David not only surfed, he also rode a Waverunner, his mother Brenda Calderone said.

“When we got in the car, he said ‘Mommy, I had the best day ever!,'” she said.

The weather was iffy on July 8. A southwest wind dropped the ocean temperature to a chilly 68 degrees. The seas were running 2 to 3 feet, a little bit more than beach captain Dan Santaniello had hoped for. Lightning flickered on the horizon and the event had to be delayed for about half an hour, he said.

read full story at gmnews.com

Add playing in the sand to the long list of fun things that may be bad for your health.

A new study says you risk getting an upset stomach and diarrhea if you dig into the granular stuff to fill toy pails, build sand castles or bury yourself. You’re better off walking along the shore or swimming in the surf.

Is the federal government, which paid $63,500 for the research, throwing a major bummer into the beach-going season? San Diego County’s 76 miles of coastline are dotted with dozens of state and city-run beaches.

Or maybe yesterday’s publication of the information is a nefarious plot against the 29th annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, which is expected to attract 300,000 people to Imperial Beach this weekend.

The report’s authors said they don’t mean to put a damper on summer fun. They just think it’s important to caution people about the bird droppings, urban runoff, sewage and other contaminants that pollute sand.

“Take care to use a hand sanitizer or wash hands after playing in the sand,” said Tim Wade, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who helped write the study.

Debbie Longley, chairwoman of the sand-castle contest, said she isn’t aware of participants being sickened by tainted sand during past competitions. The event is a bright spot for Imperial Beach, the long-suffering recipient of Tijuana River sewage overflows that have caused many shoreline closures.

“Going to any beach presents some element of health hazards, but I think (the study) will be the last thing on people’s minds when they are out . . . at the sand-castle competition,” Longley said.

As part of a larger assessment of water quality at beaches, EPA researchers interviewed more than 27,000 beach-goers in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. There were four sites on the Great Lakes and one each in Mississippi, Alabama and Rhode Island.

read full story at signonsandiego