COSTA RICA NATIONAL JUNIOR SURF TEAM SELECTED FOR 2008 QUIKSILVER ISA WORLD JUNIOR SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP IN FRANCE MAY 24 -JUNE 1, 2008

by: ELLEN ZOE GOLDEN/The Bevy EllenZoe@aol.com 800-548-1753

San Jose, Costa Rica May 8, 2008 - With the 2007-08 Circuito Nacional de Surf (CNS) in the books, José Ureña, President of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica (FSC), today announced the official selection of the Costa Rica National Junior Surf Team that will compete at the 2008 Quiksilver International Surfing Assocation (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) that will take place in Hossegor-Capbreton-Seignosse, France from May 24 through June 1, 2008 .

Based on six months of rankings in the FSC and CNS, in addition to criteria based on international experience, the group that will represent the tri-color flag are:

Juniors (Less than 18 years of age)

Jairo Pérez: 18 year old, from Jaco, 2006-07 Costa Rica National Junior Surf Champion; 2007 Central American Junior Champion

Rudy Jiménez : 17 year old, from Santa Teresa , 2007-08 #4 CNS Junior, #3 CNS Boys

Anthony Segura: 16 year old, from Esterillos, 2007-08 #13 CNS Junior, #3 CNS Boys

Danny Bishko: 16 year old, from Esterillos, 2007-08 #8 CNS Junior, #2 CNS Boys

Orlando Solís (substitute): 18 year old, from Jaco, 2007-08 #9 CNS Junior

Boys (Less than 16 years of age)

Carlos Muñoz: 15 year old, from Esterillos, 2007-08 Costa Rica National Junior Surf Champion, 2007-08 & 2006-07 Costa Rica National Boys Surf Champion

José Calderón: 16 year old, from Jaco, 2007-08 #7 CNS Junior, #6 CNS Boys

Mykol Torres: 16 year old, from Esterillos, 2007-08 #19 CNS Junior, #4 CNS Boys

Anthony Fillingam, 16 year old, from Jaco, 2007-08 #7 CNS Boys

Anthony Segura (substitute): see Juniors above

Junior Women's (Less than 18 years of age)

Nataly Bernold: 15 year old, from Jaco, 2007-08 & 2006-07 Costa Rica National Junior Women's Surf Champion, 2007-08 Costa Rica National Women's Surf Champion, 2008 Central American Women's Surf Champion

Debbie Zec: 17 year old, from Dominical, 2007-08 #2 CNS Junior Women's, #5 CNS Women's

Anastasia Patterson: 15 year old, from Límon, 2007-08 #4 CNS Junior Women's, #10 CNS Women's

Lupe Galluccio: 15 year old, from Playa Hermosa, 2007-08 #5 CNS Junior Women's, #9 CNS Women's

Of those chosen, Ureña emphasized the participation of Jairo Pérez in Juniors, Carlos Muñoz in Boys, and Nataly Bernold in Junior Women's, particularly because of the superlative work they have been doing in the Circuito and representing Costa Rica in other international competitions in the course of the last year. Pérez, for example, was a frequent finalist in the Circuit Open division this past year, giving veteran surfers a run for their money in nearly every contest. At 15, Muñoz became the youngest Junior National Surf Champion ever in Costa Rica ; in addition, he claimed the Boys National title for the second year in a row. Bernold, herself is a two-time National Junior Women's Surf Champion earned the Central American Women's Surfing title this year.

Others on the Team, including Orlando Solís, José Calderón, Anthony Segura, Mykol Torres, Debbie Zec, and Lupe Galluccio, have already had the opportunity to surf for the National Junior Team in the last representation in 2007 at ISA World Junior Surfing Championships at Costa de Caparica, Portugal . The rest of the selection will participate on the international stage for their first time, yet the technical board of directions of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica , says Ureña, has much confidence in their skills at this level.

Among the FSC who will be accompanying the Costa Rica National Junior Surf Team to the WJSC in Hossegor , France are the management Christophe Commarieu, Randall Chávez and Bárbara Campos. For this particular tournament, 2006-07 CNS Open Champion Surfer Diego Naranjo, who is a Surfing Australia level 2 trained coach, is in attendance of the athletes as Technical Director, replacing Ureña, who is the regular main coach and Technical Director for all National Costa Rican Surf Teams. Urena has to pass because of a personal family issue at home in Costa Rica .

In order to get to the 2008 Quiksilver International Surfing Assocation (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) in France , the canton of Jaco contributed 70 percent of the airline tickets in support of the team, while the Costa Rican Institute of Sport (ICODER) added 50 percent of the cost of lodging and food to the National Selection.

Thanks to the relationship of Commarieu with the French Federation of Surf, also scheduled is a Bi-national Championship surf contest between France and Costa Rica one week before the WJSC. Considered a power on the international surfing stage-France were #4 in the world before this contest-this match will certainly raise the level for Costa Rica 's athletes.

Once again, the Ticos will meet the challenge of competing in an ISA contest featuring cold water. It is expected that in Hossegor, the climate will be between 14ºC and 18ºC and about 5º less in the ocean. The last time the Costa Rica National Junior Surf Team dipped into chilly water was in 2007 at ISA World Junior Surfing Championships at Costa de Caparica, Portugal when the Costa Rican National Junior team posted at #14.

According to Ureña, the Team is poised to surpass that previous position, with a goal of making it into the Top 10. In Portugal , Muñoz's surfing skills stood out, and even more is expected of him in France .

"To attend an international Junior event, he is someone of extreme importance for the future of Costa Rican surfing," affirms Ureña. "At the moment, the level of all the Juniors in the country is very high, which we must exploit by giving them the experience of an international tournament like this."

Thanks to the technology via the internet, the ISA is transmitting the 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship from Hossegor-Capbreton-Seignosse , France via a link on the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica webpage at www.surfingcr.net . Please check the site for the schedule.