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 -Published: Monday, December 9, 2019 Costa Rican surfer awarded as
breakthrough performer
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The surfer and member of the national surf team, Brisa Hennessy, received this weekend the recognition of breakthrough performance of the year by Surfer Magazine. The recognition as a representative of women surfers came after Hennessey qualified for the Olympic Games. Surfer Magazine, founded in 1960 by John Severson, is specialized in worldwide news on this sport. In the men's category, recognition was given to Barron Mamiya, a junior professional surfer from Hawaii. The 2019 surfer awards winners list can be reached at Surfer.com According to the Surf Federation, Hennessy received an award that places her among the best surfers, such as Carissa More, Italo Ferreira and Jamie O'Brien, among others. This month, Hennessy qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. According to the federation, Hennessy will compete in Tokyo against 20 women surfers in the competition that will take place in July 2020. "Brisa is the only Hispanic American, and she also qualified for another year, thanks to her effective role in the second world division," the federation said in its statement. This achievement is the first not only for Costa Rica in the sport of surfing but the first for Central America. According to the federation, in addition to Hennessy, only two other Latin Americans, surfers from Peru, managed to qualify. The 2020 Summer Olympics, commonly known as Tokyo 2020, is the international multi-sport event that is scheduled to take place from July 24 to Aug. 9 in Japan.  In August, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly voted in the first round in favor of bill No. 21.241 to declare the third Saturday of October as Surf National Day, in addition to declaring this sport as a public interest. According to Deputy Melvin Núñez-Piña, "600,000 people a year bring surfboards to the country. This is a great market, these surfers rented a car, booked hotels, or cabins, go to restaurants, and buy surfboard waxes. It benefits the economy and brings a lot of money to Costa Rica." The law also authorizes to the Costa Rican Sports Institute and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to take action and promote activities whose purpose is the commemoration of the Surf National Day. According to data provided by congress, in August 2009 the first Surf World Championship, organized by the Costa Rican Surf Federation, was held in Hermosa Beach, in Puntarenas. "According to estimates, it generated local commerce profits of $1.5 million," said congress in its statement, adding that 100,000 people attended the first Surf World Games. Seven years later, in 2016, Costa Rica once again hosted the Surf World Games in Jacó Beach, Puntarenas. ------------------------ Besides declaring the National Surf Day, what else should the government do to increase the level of professional surfers in the country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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