2023 Surazo Infernal, International Windsurfing Tour - Day 1
by International Windsurfing Tour 28 Mar 10:35 PDT
Welcome to the Surazo Infernal! This event will introduce the full scale seeding round for the 4 STAR Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour events.
This structure, based on the WSL system to seed riders at each location, accounts for wildcards and different skill-sets. It's a great approach because it helps resolve the difficulties of seeding riders while unifying two different tours and two different past rankings.
Round 1 is a non elimination round with 1st and 2nd place advancing to Round 3, while 3rd and 4th place advance to Round 2, the Redemption Round. The top two riders from Round 2 then advance to Round 3 to meet the first round best. 3rd and 4th in the Round 2 Redemption Round heats are then eliminated.
From Round 3 onward the riders compete in heats of 4 (for riding only events like Chile) with 1st and 2nd advancing and 3rd and 4th being eliminated in each round to the final. All 1-4 STAR wave events will be run in this way. The 5 STAR events will then include a Double Elimination Round as per the agreement between the PWA and IWT. We're incredibly exited about the progress we all see in the sport. This is the future and it's looking good!
40 Pro Men, including Germany's 5 x World Champion Philip Koster and Guadeloupe's wave riding guru 2 x Aloha Classic and Fiji Surf Pro champion Camille Juban, will join 24 Open Amateur riders, 21 Masters, 6 Youth and 5 Women for the 2023 Surazo Infernal with a week of great wind and waves to set the heart racing.
Day one kicked off with the Open Amateur rounds in in front of a very enthusiastic crowd many hundreds strong here in the picturesque coastal fishing town of Matanzas. Based around the stunning boutique Hotel Surazo, this event has an incredible positive vibe and huge outdoor party atmosphere that has been energized by news that this 4 Star event now counts toward the global Rider Rankings and ultimately the Wave World Titles as part of the new and exciting Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour.
The local community was on the beach in their hundreds cheering and loving the big event vibes. The energy here is intoxicating. There is a deep passion for waves, surfing and all the wave riders who are seen here as hard core heroes of the wild ocean. One of Chile's top radical surfers, Diego Andrés, has taken to windsurfing thanks to this event and he entered the Open Am division with a massive smile on his face and couldn't stop raving about the fun he was having, "I did my first JUMP in my heat!"Another of Chile's most famous big wave surfers is also one of the top Pro Men in this event. Diego Fabres is nothing if not hard core and famed in these parts for paddling into full tilt deep ocean monsters brewed up in the wild southern ocean and unleashed on this spectacular coastline. The point is this: the windsurfers have made a seriously big and very good impression amongst this hard core surf scene in Chile.
The 24 Open Am riders were sent out in small waves but all were stoked to be part of this global wave riding event. The ethos of supporting grass roots energy while showcasing the best of the best is core business to the IWT. The opening day could not have been a more perfect example. Global superstars of the sport like Koster and Juban on the beach cheering for the Open Am riders was the most incredible and inspiring sight. The Open Am riders could hardly believe their eyes. That's Philip bloody Koster cheering for ME!!!! WHAAAAAATTTT??!!!!! This is what it's all about. Showcasing the best of the best and inspiring the rest. That's the global 5 Star pyramid mission. We're proud of the top riders for being so cool. They get it. They see, and their passion is obvious.
The Open Am riders pushed through to the final 4 and then we stopped so those 4 best will get the chance to shine in bigger swells later this week. None will ever forget this experience. All will share the experience. Inspiring others, and that's how this works.
The forecast is for EXCELLENT wind and waves this week and the Pros will shine soon enough. This 4 Star event has attracted an astonishing number of competitors and very high level riders from across the world. Why have they come all this way? For the WAVES!!! For the good VIBES!!! For the extreme performance potential!!! For the FUN!!! Welcome to Chile!!! ITS ON!!!