3rd Children's Surf Festival

Sign Up: Free at Central Surf Shop, Playa Zicatela

Categorias/Categories: 4 - 8 years, 9 -14 years, Surfboard Only

ASK ANGEL SALINAS WHAT is the most important surf event of the year and he'll tell you that it is the May Children's Festival of Surf on Carrizalillo Beach, now in its consecutive third year.

Angel has represented México in dozens of pro surfing events around the world and is tireless in promoting the attractions of Puerto in the world of international surfing. He was one of those responsible for bringing ESPN's X Games to P.E. and his Longboard Tube Riding tournament is one of the most anticipated events of the summer. But for Angel Salinas, it's all about the kids.

This is the new generation, this is the future of the sport, says Angel. Puerto Escondido is one of the best destinations for surfing anywhere in the world, so it's very important that there is strong local support and participation in surfing activities. We have to start them out young.

Several local youngsters are already competing professionally at international, including Angelo Loranzo and Cristian Corzo.

This next generation will be even better, says Angel, one of six brothers, all of whom are avid surfers. They will be the star athletes representing us in the global surfing community.

In his free time Angel coaches many of the local kids down at Carrizalillo, a partially protected bay where the waves are well formed, but seldom as threatening as on Zicatela. And that was how the idea for the festival was born.

Organized by Central Surf Shop, with support from the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec, the festival is a two-day competition for kids aged 4 to 8 and from 9 to 14. The inaugural meet far exceeded the expectations of its organizers.

It was a wonderful family event, the weather and wave conditions were perfect, and the kids had a blast. It's impossible to say who wore the biggest smiles, the children or their proud parents.

Last year, so many young surfers signed up that it was decided to eliminate the bodyboard event from this year's Festival to prevent it from getting too unwieldy.

(Hey, how about including a children's event during the next Boogie Board Contest at Punta Colorada?)

Angel has put together surf clinics for kids in other towns, including Acapulco, where the Surf Association of Guerrero, inspired by the success of Puerto's Festival, just held its own first kids contest.

The winners (and several former students of Angel) are planning to compete here with our local kids. Also joining us from our neighbor state is Cisco Hernández Jaramillo, the voice of Mexican surfing, one of the best surf announcer/commentators in the business.

The top four winners in the 9 to 14 year category will receive prizes (Last year the top honors went to Quetzal Estrada White, Ismael Blanco, Mathias Nicklin and Francisco Medina.) All the little guys in the 4 to 8 age group will get a prize. They're all winners!

Angel's Central Surf Shop will provide surf gear for the winners and certificates and other prizes for all the young participants. So come out to cheer on these little guys

Summer Surfing Preview

Last year's X Games contest was a success for Puerto Escondido and a HUGE success for ESPN.

Despite the rapid growth of extreme sports, ESPN was on the point of scrapping "The Game" from its lineup, because the waves at Huntington Beach in July just don't make for exciting TV. That's why it was held here last year, thanks in large part to the efforts of Angel Salinas and Tom Chaney.

While, by Puerto standards, the surf was just so so, the network scored hours of great surf competition. So, look forward seeing Team West take on the East while Puerto basks in international exposure as the best beach break in the world. ESPN's X Games are set for July 2 to 9.

Running from June 20 to July 1, the Rip Curl Pro Search WCT is a floating license for the World Tour, allowing Rip Curl to relocate the event to deliver the world's best waves to the world's best surfers, and give everyone an opportunity to experience something unique every season. Well this year, they've selected Barra de la Cruz, a beautiful break that was a closely guarded secret spot of local surfers.

In fact the organizers are building on that mystique saying Pro Search will be held somewhere in Mexico. But, sorry, the secret is out.

To finish off the summer, Angel Salinas brings the best longboarders in the world together for his Invitational Tube Riding Contest Sep. 27 to 30. These guys show that long boards can surf the huge tubes of Zicatela as well as anybody else. As for the fall. Dates are set for the PXM International during the November Fiestas: Nov. 17 - 19.