ATTENTION: ISA Members, please forward this Newsletter to all of your members, circulate also in any surf related website of your organization, and/or any entity affiliated with your organization. Thank you.

The International Surfing Association would like thank all of its member nations and readers for your support and participation over the past year, with the prospect of a prosperous continued relationship in 2003.

The ISA looks forward to working with all of you in 2003. Seasons Greetings to all and please have a safe and very Happy New Year!

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre and ISA Vice-Presidents, Maile H. Aguerre, Alan Atkins and Ramón Gil Jiménez-Facio had a very productive ISA Executive Committee Meeting, as well as great surf in Hawaii on November 29 – 30^th, 2002. A summary of this meeting will follow in the next ISA Newsletter.

Date: February 15, 2003

Location: Piha Beach, Auckland, New Zealand

After the success of the first year, the Tri-Nations Series has been confirmed for its second year between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This is an exciting event format and one in that the ISA encourages.

For the nations that have not yet submitted their NGB Activity Report forms for 2002, please do so as soon as possible. The deadline was November 30th. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

Some exciting things are happening on the international front. After attending the GAISF Congress and General Assembly in Colorado Springs this past November, a lot of things are happening for the ISA.

The following are the highlights of the Meeting:

• WADA- WADA is the World Anti-Doping Agency and is now the official Anti-Doping Agency being utilized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and all the International Federations (IF’s). They are in the process of finalizing their code after intensive studies in which all the International Federations and the IOC advised on. They will be sending out the final code for approval this coming January. WADA is not only working with the IOC and the IF’s, but also all the governments of the world. They have literally become "the" World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA is trying to conform the world’s codes to be the same everywhere making things much easier.

The changes:

1. Cannaboids and alcohol will be tested for and if a test is found positive it will be announced, but the IF will determine the sanctions. The reason they are being tested for is that they are considered a health hazard.
2. WADA wants to do "out of competition" anti doping tests, meaning that at any time, any where, without notice, an athlete could be approached and asked to comply with an anti-doping test. WADA wants all the IF’s to know where their best athletes are at all times so that they can be contacted for anti-doping test. These out of competition anti-doping tests would be paid for by WADA. * I had a meeting with the representative and explained to him how difficult that would be for the sport of surfing since a lot of the time when a pro surfer is not competing he/she could be off on a boat in the Mentawai Islands. He responded saying that they would most likely show up at a contest site before the competition begins since usually you can find athletes training.

• ASIAN GAMES 2006- I spoke with a Shiek that is in charge of the Asian Games 2006 which will he held in Qatar. They are very interested in building a wave pool, and having surfing included in the games. The people of Qatar are promoting their country as the Sports Capital of the world.

• SOUTH PACIFIC GAMES 2003- The South Pacific Games that will be held in Fiji from the 28^th of June to the 12^th of July. The ISA should know by the end of this month whether or not surfing will be included in the South Pacific Games. They need a minimum of 6 countries to hold the event on the Island of Tavarua. If it is a go, the teams will be hosted on the island of Tavarua, Fiji.

• NEW YORK CITY’S BID FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES 2012 – A company in New York is working on a bid to construct a water park including a wave pool that has the technology to make a wave any where from a 2 foot mushy leaning wave to a full on 8 foot stand up barrel that can work on both right and left sides. They are working with me to get the City of New York to approve the project. If approved, the park would be built by the end of 2004, in time for the IOC’s decision in 2005 of who will be the Host City for the 2012 Olympic Games. The ISA’s goal is for them to have approved, and have surfing included in the Olympic Games at that time.
• IOC- I am preparing a presentation to be made to IOC President, Dr. Jacques Rogge, probably to be made early 2003.

Just when you thought the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker off the coast of Spain and Portugal was the last straw, another tanker, Princess Pia, carrying 55,000 tons of oil in the Baltic run aground near the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda the night of December 11^th. On December 16^th, authorities managed to tug the tanker off the sea bottom in Klaipeda to port. Fortunately, no fuel leakage has been reported.

The Prestige oil spill already coated 900 kilometers of Spain's northern coast in a thick oil sludge and set off a political storm in Europe over why tankers lacking double hulls are still allowed to sail the seas. The full impact of the oil spill has yet to be seen, but it is clear that this has already been an environmental disaster.

Congratulations to the new Barbados Surfing Association Executive Committee, elected December 13^th, 2002:

Nick Donawa - President

Elvis Carter - Member

REMINDER: The confirmation of the complete list of Team Members must be sent via email to PASA Headquarters by no later than JANUARY 15, 2003. Entry fees ($100 US per team member) and Accommodation Fees ($25US per night, per person) are due to PASA Headquarters by no later than JANUARY 30, 2002. PASA bank information is included in the Invitation.

The Teams will be hosted at the Calypsso Hotel, located on the main Ocean Boulevard of Salinas. The contest site is 5 minutes away by car and 30 minutes walking distance. Teams must count on paying for the day of their arrival, March 17^th through the day of their departure, the 24^th, for a total of 8 days and 7 nights.

The PASA General Meetings will be held on March 20^th and 21st. Motions to be discussed and voted upon at these meetings are due to PASA by no later than January 20^th, 2002.

The Organizing Committee expresses their welcome to the Panamerican Nations and awaits the teams with certainty that they will enjoy their beautiful country and the warmth of its people!

Francisco Posada, the COPA ALAS Latinamerican Pro Longboard Champion 2002 has been designated by the Federacion Ecuatoriana de Surf, FESURF as the best sportsman of 2002.

December 14 – 15, Salinas, Ecuador

This event was part of the Olympic Festival of Ecuador. Marcos Goncalvez obtained the title of National Champion in the Open category for the 2^nd consecutive time, even though he found himself in second place at the end of this ubiquitous competition. Felipe Rodriguez of Club Costa won this competition. He showed great quality and technique in his moves. Third place was Andres Fernandez, fourth was Daniel Guerrero.

Daniel Guerrero won National Champion in the Juniors category, another important achievement for the young talent who finished this year with great results. Following Guerrero was Sebastian Santos, who found himself second in this event. Third place went to Pablo Silva and forth went to Juan Catan.

In the Longboard final, Francisco Posada was first and won the national title in the Longboard 2002 category. Second place went to Cesar Moreira and third went to Andres Fernandez. Charlie Lusin finished in fourth. Andrea Vinuesa won the championship in the ladies category before Lisett Prado and Cintia Layana. Jorge Maldonado won the National Championship of Bodyboarding, even though he was second in the final. Diego Salinas won first this time. Third was Ubico Ricardo Martines and fourth was Eduardo Yagual. Report by Alcides Guerrero, FESURF

December 27 – 28, 2002 at PacoIllescas, Salinas, Ecuador

Categories will be Surfing U18, U15, U12 and U10 men and women; Bodyboard U18 and U15, men and women.

Date: March 1-2, 2003

Location: Suva, Fiji

Project Bali - WORLD SURFERS INITIATIVE

Have you been to Bali and been impressed by the extraordinary friendliness and spirituality of the Balinese people? Did your heart ache when you read about the terrorist bombs in Kuta on 12th October? Did you wish you could do something to help? A group of prominent Australian surfers living in Bali have combined forces with Balinese citizens and doctors to form a non-profit Foundation dedicated to drastically improving the Medical and Hospital facilities available on Bali, to benefit both the local Balinese and visiting tourists alike.

1^st NATIONAL SURF TEAM QUALIFYING EVENT
November 16^th at the Lighthouse surfing beach, Palisadoes

2002 national team member, Luke Williams, pulled out all the stops with a dazzling performance of committed surfing to take first place honors. Fourteen surfers, ten from the corporate area and four from the parish of Portland, registered for a chance to represent their country at the international level. The waves for the event were head high with a strong on shore wind making conditions very challenging for the surfers who had to maneuver through ten grueling heats to secure a place in the six man final. Surfers were judged on their best four waves out of a maximum of ten.

Luke squared off against Icah Wilmot, Eugene Miller, Inilek Wilmot, Omar Atkinson and Ishack Wilmot in the thirty-minute final heat. Luke dominated the heat riding his full quota of ten waves. Luke’s third wave was unanimously judged the most impressive of the heat receiving a score of 7.5 out of 10. The remaining positions were hotly contested by the other surfers.

Icah Wilmot caught five of his possible ten waves and was the only one to seriously challenge Luke when he opened his scoring with a 6.0 wave. Eugene Miller surfed impressively securing his first third place result in national competition. Despite getting caught inside for almost ten minutes, he held off the challenge of the fourth place finisher, 2002 national open champion Inilek Wilmot, by consistently positioning himself perfectly for the cleaner inside waves catching six within the half hour time limit. Ishack Wilmot managed to find five waves, however the best four of which were enough to guarantee him fifth place. Omar Atkinson’s sixth place finish was the best for the Portland visitors as well as his personal best in national competition. Current top ten standings in the NQS are as follows:

1. Luke Williams
2. Icah Wilmot
3. Eugene Miller
4. Inilek Wilmot
5. Ishack Wilmot
6. Omar Atkinson
7. Drum Drummond
8. Michael Mair
9. Doran Edwards
10. Joel Lawrence

During this meeting, Skeen was nominated to be the founding president of the Federation and was elected to the position. He and the newly found Federación Mexicana de Surfing have a hard job in the immediate future to try to get the attention, respect and support of a National Sports Confederation that seems to be interested only in soccer. They are confident that the experience of more than a decade of managing the AMS will be helpful and that in the next WSG, México will climb up in the final standings as well as in the quality of events organized in the country. The FMS is looking forward to bringing some big International events to the country, whether it is with the support of the ISA or the ASP.

Dates: April 15 – 20, 2003

Location: New Plymouth (Taranaki Coast), New Zealand

November 23 – 24^th, 2002, Stent Road, Taranaki, NZ

The Taranaki region was the venue for the second to last contest of the 2002 Surfing New Zealand Pro Series, a series that consists of 9 events, which are hosted in various locations around New Zealand's extensive coastline. The Hot Tuna / Ocean and Earth SNZ Pro 2A is the 8th contest of the series and helped to narrow down who will wear the SNZ Circuit crown for 2002.

Larry Fisher’s (Piha) performance dominated the 30 minute Open Men's final to take 1st place over Simon Deken (Taranaki), Mark Dovey (Mt Maunganui) and Mike Banks (Raglan) in their respective-final placings. It was a good day for Fisher who also picked up the "Lion Red" highest wave score of 9.75.
Fisher who won the Billabong SNZ Pro three weeks earlier now has two wins on the series which has sky rocketed him closer to the top of the ladder on the SNZ ratings.

Daniel Scott (Whangamata) won the Junior Men’s final. Scott however had to work hard for his win as the lead changed hands several times between himself, Matt Scorringe (Whangamata), Mike Banks (Raglan) and Che Whitaker (BOP) who placed 2^nd through 4^th respectively. Scott managed to secure the win with a 7.50 on his last wave.

The high level of surfing continued into the Women's finals which saw Gisborne surfer Lisa Hurunui put on a display of power surfing and dominate her peers from start to finish. Jess Terrill (Taranaki), Heather Dent (Taranaki) and Jess Santorik (Raglan) could not find any high scoring waves to match Hurunui, therefore had to battle it out for the minor placings. Full list of results below:

Open Men's
1. Larry Fisher (Piha)
2. Simon Deken (Taranaki)
3. Mark Dovey (Mt Maunganui)
4. Mike Banks (Raglan)

Open Women's
1. Lisa Hurunui (Gisborne)
2. Jess Terrill (Taranaki)
3. Heather Dent (Taranaki)
4. Jess Santorik (Raglan)

Junior Men's
1. Dan Scott (Whangamata)
2. Matt Scorringe (Whangamata)
3. Mike Banks (Raglan)
4. Che Whitaker (Ohope)

Manu Bay, Raglan was the venue for the final event of the year for the SNZ Pro Circuit. The event was one of three 5A rated events on the SNZ Pro Circuit, which meant 80% more points were on offer and a huge prize pool of $14,250 was spread over the three major divisions. The SNZ Pro Circuit has been closely contested this year and in the premier Open Division, the top 6 surfers were all in with a chance of claiming the circuit championship.

Raglan’s Daniel Kereopa and Morehu Roberts swept three of the major divisions of the Rip Curl Raglan Pro. Deteriorating conditions and a decreasing swell were not enough to halt the performance of these two surfers as they rode their way to the top, Kereopa in the Open Men’s Division and Morehu Roberts in both the U/18 Juniors and the U/16 Cadets. With the win, Kereopa also claimed the SNZ Pro Circuit Championship.

The Open Men’s final was highlighted by a wave for wave tussle between Gisbornes’ Bobby Hansen and Kereopa. Hansen held the lead for much of the 25 minute final but Kereopa played the waiting game. Requiring a final good wave to take the lead, Kereopa stroked into an inside wave with only one minute to go and proceeded to surf the wave for all it was worth. Hansen replied in the final 5 seconds with another good wave but it was not enough to take back the lead and Kereopa walked away with the contest win and the circuit championship. The other two finalists, Damon Gunness and Marc Moore also showed good form at times but were unable to secure the three big scores required and ended in third and fourth positions respectively.

In the Open Women’s final, it was Holly Quinn that triumphed over the inform Lisa Hurunui. In a low scoring affair, Quinn surfed one of the better waves of the heat and backed it up with two other good scores. Local surfers Kelly Clarkson and Jess Santorik finished in third and fourth positions.

The U/18 Junior final was a tussle between the two natural footers Morehu Roberts and Bobby Hansen while the two goofy footers, Dan Scott and Matt Scorringe had to settle for the minor placings. At his local break, Morehu Roberts found the better inside waves and with his light frame managed to scoot across sections with enough speed to impress the judges.

In the U/16 Cadets, it was Morehu Roberts that dominated the final with fast vertical surfing. In second position was Richard Christie who’s surfing impressed all as he went wave for wave with his fellow competitors. Another young local surfer to excel was Luke Hughes who finished in third followed by Dean Amess of Whangamata in fourth position.

Compared with the cadets, the Pro Senior Division showcased the other end of the spectrum where competing surfers had to be over the age of 26. All finalists also compete in the Open Division and have done for the past eight or more years. Marc Moore was another double finalist who also surfed in the Open Men’s final. But, it was Ben Kennings who piped Moore for the win after surfing three of the larger waves that came through in the final to post a heat score of 19.5. Matt Bennett and Matt Groube finished in third and fourth positions.

SURFING NEW ZEALAND CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Jan. 5 – 12, 2003, SNZ National Championships, Dunedin

Jan. 12, Announcement NZ Grommet Squad (World Champs), Dunedin

Jan 25 – 26, Taranaki Longboard Classic, Taranaki

Jan. 25 –27, Tuamotu Island Bodyboard Challenge, Gisborne

Calendar submitted by Steve Ria, SNZ

December 7 – 8, 2002, Umhlanga Rocks, Main Beach, Kwa Zulu-Natal

Tamarys Walters won the Open Title in the fourth annual Roxy Wahine Cup at Umhlanga Rocks Main Beach just outside Durban on December 8th. Walters, a member of the winning SA Team at the Quiksilver ISA World Surfing Games in Durban in June had finished as runner up in this division in the three previous Roxy Wahine Cups. Other winners in the Surfing South Africa contest were Tammy Lee Smith, Rosanne Hodge and Michelle Lee Andrews who claimed the Under 18, Under16, and Novice titles, respectively.

Reigning South African champion Walters won all of her heats on her way to the final where Tammy Robarts pushed her all the way and came within a point of scoring what would have been a remarkable upset. Defending champion Sarah Johnston who had flown in from Hawaii the day before the finals looked tired and could not seem to overcome her jetlag. She had to settle for third ahead of Natasha Bastenie of East London. Walters pocketed R5 000 for her victory, the same sum won by the Open Men's Champion at the 2002 Quiksilver SA Championships.

Ballito surfer Tammy Lee Smith put her north coast knowledge to good use in the Under 18 category securing her second Roxy Wahine Cup title since her 2000 victory in the Novice division. Rosanne Hodge took a close second with 1.5-points separating her from Smith. Kate Matthews was third ahead of older sister Jessica Matthews.

In the Under 16 final Smith and Hodge swapped places with the latter posting a convincing win. Kate Matthews, again placed third this time defeating SA Junior Academy surfer Nikita Robb. In the Novice division Michelle Lee Andrews claimed first place, a Roxy sponsorship and surfboard as well as other prizes. Cary Leigh Coombes was runner up, Vangie Lewis was third and Kelly de Gersigny came fourth.

The Roxy Wahine Cup is the only "stand alone" surfing contest for girls in the country. Roxy's commitment to surfing continues this summer with the 'Roxy Learn to Surf' tour which moves to various beaches along the coastline of South Africa throughout the holiday season.

Results:

Open
1. Tamarys Walters (Durban)
2. Tammy Robarts (Boland)
3. Sarah Johnston (Amanzimtoti)
4. Natasha Bastenie (East London)

U18
1. Tammy Lee Smith (Ballito)
2. Rosanne Hodge (East London)
3. Kate Matthews (Durban)
4. Jessica Matthews (Durban)

U16
1. Rosanne Hodge (East London)
2. Tammy Lee Smith (Ballito)
3. Kate Matthews (Durban)
4. Nikita Robb (East London)

Novice (All Durban):
1. Michelle Lee Andrews
2. Cary Leigh Coombes
3. Vangie Lewis
4. Kelly de Gersigny

Submitted by Robin de Kock, SSA

Dec. 28 – 29, Hot Surfing, Cold Water – Surf Zone Pro 1A, Glen Beach, Camps Bay – Cape Town

Jan. 7 – 8, 2003, Roxy Surfing for Girls Tour, St. Francis Bay/Seal Point

Jan. 18 – 19, Rip Curl Gromsearch #1, Cape Town

Calendar submitted by Robin de Kock

December 21, 2002, St. Agnes Beach, Cornwall

A Surf for Bali contest in memory of Marc Gajardo was run at his hometown beach, St. Agnes. Hanabeth Luke, Marc’s girlfriend felt compelled to organize this event to raise money for the victims in Bali, those greatly affected by the aftermath of the bomb. With the help and support of the British Surfing Association, European Surfing Federation and several other surf organizations in the UK, Hanabeth embarked on organizing this surf contest to help restore Bali and its former glory. Marc and Hanabeth were both victims of the Bali Bombing. Marc was killed, and Hanabeth survived. The event attracted the best surfers in the country for this unique event. In addition, all the major surf companies gave cash donations or prizes. The results are as follows:

1st James Hendy

2nd Martin Mynne

3rd Bret Sumerlee

1st Sarah Bentley

2nd Megan Chapman

3rd Eloise Taylor

1st Ben Skinner

2nd Chris Thompson

3rd Adrian Richards