Here in Costa Rica we have our own national Costa Rican Surf Circuit called, Circuito Nacional de Surf (CNS). The circuit travels around the whole country during the course of seven months, with a contest taking place at a different break each month. Nosara is a stop on the circuit each year, as well. The CNS is a very organized, professional and legit contest circuit. The contests are well run with fair judging and nice, helpful organizers. All of the Costa Rican pro surfers got their start competing in this circuit, and some still compete in the CNS. It has been a crucial stepping stone towards sponsorship for the top surfers in the country. This year’s circuit started in December at Playa Jaco, then continued on to Palo Seco in Parrita and recently this last weekend the CNS event was in Westfalia, Limon (on the Caribbean side).

Now anyone that has sat in the lineup here in Guiones knows that we have some local rippers, however not many of them are able to compete in the CNS because it is very expensive to travel around the country, pay for food, lodging, contest fees etc. So, in the past, there have only been a couple Nosara locals that compete in the CNS events, and even then they are not able to compete in all of them. Typically, they only make it to the contests that are close by, such as the Nosara, Tamarindo and Jaco events. If they find a ride and some cash they might make it to some other ones, but that is never a guarantee.

Well, hopefully, that is all about to change with the newly formed Nosara Surf Team that Luigi and Esteban from Nosara Tico Surf School have helped organize and put together. The Surf Team made their first official appearance at the Limon CNS event this past weekend. They showed up strong and ready to make a statement, and that they did! Janice and Tod Moberly generously offered up their time, money and commitment to their daughter Selena, Storm and Stone Von Timmerman, Kevin Montiel and the Nosara Surf Team Coach and Tico Surf School owner, Luigi Montiel. Competitive surfing is not completely new to these kids, Selena is ranked #1 in New York in her ESA Under 14 Shortboard division. Also, this same crew went to the CNS Jaco contest in December, so this was their second contest here in Costa Rica. However, this time the Moberly’s made the nine hour trek across the country to Limon with a huge van full of stoked kids. It was a long day, but well worth it. They arrived late Friday, went to bed and woke up to big, messy, windy surf, “It was like a washing machine out there!”, said Coach Luigi. Janice Moberly added, “There were 5 rows of big white water that you had to paddle through to get to the outside.” In fact, Selena was the only girl to make it out in her Mini-Grommets division. The other girls could not even make it to the outside. So, Selena just had to catch a wave to get first place, and that she did! So, it made for a hard paddle out, but these kids are used to long, tough paddling, after all they surf everyday in Guiones! So, they were well prepared, and with Luigi’s coaching they were ready to surf with the best of the best. Janice Mobly said, “I don’t know what we would have done without Luigi, he was great with the kids!” The Coach was right beside Storm, Stone, Selena and his own brother Kevin the whole time giving them tips, preparing them for their heats, analyzing other surfers and keeping them confident and stoked.

All that practice, preparation, traveling and coaching certainly paid off. They went hard out there! Here are the results for the Nosara Surf Team in the Limon CNS Contest:

Kevin Montiel - 2nd Place in Grommets division & 3rd Place in Mini-Grommets

Selena Moberly - 1st Place in Mini-Grommets division & Final Heat in Grommets

Stone Von Timmerman - 2nd Place in Mini-Grommets division

Storm Von Timmerman - Final Heat in Mini Grommets division

This crew of Groms traveled all the way across the country and represented! Notice that 3 out of the 5 kids in the Mini-Grommets final were from the Nosara Surf Team. There’s nothing like surfing against your buddies! They put Nosara on the map for future contests and they are going to be a force to reckon with on the CNS for the rest of this year and years to come! Let’s just hope these kids can continue to find ways and means to get to these contests.

A huge thank you goes out to the Moberly family for putting this together. Tamarindo is the next stop on the circuit and they will be there. They will also be traveling with the team to all the rest of the contests this year, as well. Thanks for supporting these kids Mr. and Mrs. Moberly, you are now the official Nosara Surf Team Parents!

If you are interested in helping some of these kids and sponsoring some of the local Tico surfers please feel free to drop any donations off at the Surfing Nosara office or the Nosara Tico Surf School office. Entry fees are as follows: One time fee of $30 to join the CNS and $15 entry fee per division (most kids compete in 2-3 different divisions per contest). Oh, and if you don’t want to pay the board fees on your flight back, I’m sure these kids would be more than happy to take that board off your hands, as well! Also, if you are in Nosara and plan on heading to any of the other contests on the CNS this season, see if any of the local Tico kids need a ride.

For more information on the Circuito Nacional de Surf visit: www.surfingcr.net.

CONGRATULATIONS KIDS, GREAT SURFING ALL AROUND!