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FULL STORY: PACSUN USA SURF TEAM WINS GOLD
USA takes top honors at Billabong ISA World Games in Costa Rica; France: 2nd, Australia: 3rd
By:
USA team coach Ian Cairns
Photos: A.J. Neste/Surfing America
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August 9, 2009
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I wrote in the Preview:
Some things never change; we head towards a Finals Showdown between Australia, Hawaii and the USA. Re-write! |
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Previous
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The PacSun USA Surf Team ended up with a golden result because of solid consistent surfing that after 8 days positioned Courtney Conlogue to win the Women's with Sage Erickson in third, Tony Silvagni taking fourth in the Longboard and Corey Lopez finish a close second to Jeremy Flores in the Men's, closely followed by Ben Bourgeois in fourth. Truth is, our entire team surfed spectacularly and it perhaps adds perspective to note that just Steven Newton (Longboard) and Nat Young and Austin Ware (Shortboard) did not make the Grand Finals. Attrition: Over the eight days the journey was long and arduous and although the event featured good solid waves throughout, it was hard work from the start with two areas of competition, both churning out 24 heats a day in a loser's round format that was new for me to interpret. On day one in absolutely BAKING sunstroke conditions at Podium 2, I made up my mind that we would have to win in every heat to stay out of the Loser's Rounds, allowing us to get off the beach early. On many days we would be done at mid-day and the battlers would straggle back to the hotel in the evening, burnt and exhausted. Preparation: We arrived two days early and I was thinking that this did not give us much time to prepare but it turned out that we were the ONLY team that put the time in on the two contest sites, studying the waves and the various sandbars, running mock heats and totally familiarizing our team with the changing conditions with an eight-foot tidal change. Low Key: The event is a marathon, easily way more arduous than a WQS or ASP World Tour event, so I wanted a team style that emphasized calm, patience and a clear focus on each heat from every surfer. All other teams were at the water's edge with their country flag and whole squad burning energy in the baking mid-day sun and we were in the shade staying out of trouble, hydrating and conserving energy. I would like to think we were also being less "in-your-face" than prior US Teams and this is the personality that I would like the team to have during my tenure. Aggro: I want my team members to be really active in the water seeking different waves in the lineup, riding waves and not being caught up in hassling duels. BUT, if there needs to be war, then go harder than anyone. The gnarliest USA Team members in this regard are Courtney and Sage. Pray you never have them in a heat. Personal Attention: I approach the team as a group of individuals with a mutual goal of bringing home the Gold. Therefore my approach to each person must be specifically tailored to his or her personality and skills. I always ask myself, 'what can I do to help him/her to be a better surfer?' -- and I know that if I bring value to the individual, they will bring value to the Team. Having a positive and lasting impact on each surfer is what I really love about coaching and it really enables me to establish fast and honest rapport with each team member. This is my story about how we won, but each of our eight PacSun USA Team Members has their own personal story of their experiences and personal journey here in Costa Rica and each of these stories will be memorable as these are exceptional people. We won the Gold after 13 years but rest assured the other teams will be back with a vengeance in 2010. We relish the challenge. +++ FINAL Team Results: GOLD - United States - 14910 points SILVER - France - 13280 points BRONZE - Australia - 10996 points COPPER - Hawaii - 10856 points INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS Open Men Gold: Jeremy Flores (FRA) Silver: Cory Lopez (USA) Bronze: Gabriel VIllarán (PER) Copper: Ben Bourgeois (USA) Open Women Gold: Courtney Conlogue (USA) Silver: Rosanne Hodge (RSA) Copper: Sage Erickson (USA) Bronze: Pauline Ado (FRA) Longboard Gold: Antoine Delpero (FRA) Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS) Copper: Ben Skinner (GBR) Bronze: Tony Silvagni (USA) Aloha Cup Gold: Australia Silver: Francia Bronze: Peru Copper: Tahiti FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 1 - USA - 14910 points 2 - France - 13280 points 3 - Australia - 10996 points 4 - Hawaii - 10856 points 5 - South Africa - 10666 points 6 - Peru - 10180 points 7 - Costa Rica - 9650 points 8 - Venezuela - 9040 points 9 - Brazil - 9000 points 10 - Puerto Rico - 8820 points 11 - New Zealand - 8100 points 12 - Argentina - 7160 points 13 - Tahiti - 6688 points 14 - Ecuador - 6170 points 15 - Panama - 5952 points 16 - Italy - 5670 points 17 - Mexico - 5560 points 18 - Japan - 5324 points 19 - Chile - 5208 points 20 - El Salvador - 4784 points 21 - Ireland - 4568 points 22 - Austria - 4320 points 23 - Barbados - 4128 points 24 - Germany - 4024 points 25 - UK- 3810 points 26 - Guatemala - 3696 points 27 - Switzerland - 3440 points 28 - Jamaica - 2912 points 29 - Canada - 2784 points 30 - Nicaragua - 2656 points 31 - Colombia 2544 points 32 - Trinidad & Tobago - 2240 points 33 - Bahamas 2240 points 34 - Rep. Dominican - 1680 points 35 - Aruba- 384 points MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |