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The Black Sands of Playa Hermosa will Host the World’s Top Surfers in 2009.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) chose Costa Rica as host for 2009’s World Surfing Games, in the Open category. The games will be held in Playa Hermosa, Jacó’s black-sanded southern neighbor. To score such an honor, Costa Rica beat out other popular surfing destinations like Brazil and South Africa.

The surfing competition, named the Billabong World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009, will bring the world’s best surfers to Costa Rica’s Pacific shores. Billabong, the competition’s sponsor, will invest $2 million in the event, which promises to be one of the world’s most important surfing events in 2009.

ISA chose Playa Hermosa for several reasons. To begin, it’s convenient proximity to Jacó will allow all surfers, fans, and passing tourists to be comfortably lodged, a feat difficult for more-rural, less-traveled surfing spots. Playa Hermosa is an ideal location also for its steady, constant surfing waves, which break just 4 meters (13 feet) from shore, an ideal distance for competition.

Costa Rica was chosen not only for its ideally-located Playa Hermosa, but also because of its excellent surfing talent. The country’s surfers have had impressive performances in the international surf scene, and at the last World Surfing Competition in Huntington Beach (California), Costa Rica placed 8th among the forty participating countries. This recognition likely helped to turn the competition’s eyes to Costa Rica surfing, increasing its chances of being selected.

“Being the the World Open [Competition] venue is the best that can happen to a country on the level of surf and tourism promotion, because of the millions of people around the world who are paying attention to this competition,” president of the Costa Rica Surf Federation, José Ureña, said. “It will be very important to take advantage [of this event] and promote the country during the competition so that surfers from around the world will get to know the wonderful things that Costa Rica offers and one of the top 10 surfing destinations on the globe.” Indeed, ISA estimates that 80 million people worldwide will watch the Billabong World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009, drawing global attention to Costa Rica beaches and helping to increase the nation’s reputation as a premier surfing destination.

Currently, surf tourism accounts for approximately 20 percent of the country’s annual tourists, meaning about 200,000 surfers visit the country each year. With Friday’s announcement, ISA also announced that they would be launching a surf tourism campaign, entitled “Jaco: Land of Adventures and City of Surf”, to attract an even larger number of surfers to Costa Rica’s shores. The city will invest more money in important issues, like the safety and well-being of area tourists, the creation of a pedestrian and cyclist boulevard, and more.

Jacó, as one of Costa Rica’s fastest-developing areas, is home to rapid growth and construction. Notably absent from the tourism campaign’s promises was any mention of Jacó’s water quality, which due to sewage runoff, pollution, and poorly constructed waste management systems, is desperately in need of improvement. With any luck, though, some of Jacó’s surf championship profit will be reinvested in the city’s infrastructure, helping provide future surfers with a clean medium for their favorite pastime.

Photo courtesy of Shifi Surf Shots.

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