The Costa Rica National Surf Team arrived to Biarrtiz, France this past Tuesday to represent the country at the ISA World Surfing Games that will have its opening ceremony this Saturday, May 20, while the competition will officially kick off on Sunday.

The team, formed by Jason Torres (Jacó), Jair Pérez (Jacó), Leonardo Calvo (Puntarenas), Anthoy Fillingim (Santa Teresa), Leilani McGonagle (Pavones) and Emily Gussoni (Jacó), was already aware of the challenges they would face, the cold temperature of the water that will be of around 8-12°C (46-54°F), very low when compared to the warm waters the Costa Ricans are used to, which usually range between 20-25°C (68-77°F), and the small waves in this area; however, this are situations they are ready to deal with.

In addition to the challenges directly related to the competition, the Costa Rica Surf Federation informed that the teams’ boards and gear have not arrived to France. Apparently, there was not enough space in their IBERIA flight and the airline sent the boards in a different flight; the athletes were supposed to receive their gear this Thursday but when the delegation went to the airport to make the claim they were informed there was another delay and their boards will not arrive in France until noon this Friday.

Trainer Jim Hogan and the athletes have shown their concern since they have been inactive these past few days, and also because the airline informed them the equipment was sent through a different route, which raises their worry over the possibility of losing part of their equipment or of their boards suffering damage.

The National Surf Federation confirmed that they had to pay almost one million colones (around $1,800 USD) to the airline for the transportation of the gear.

Leilani McGonagle explained that testing their boards is necessary to know which one to use under the conditions present in France, especially since they will be using neoprene wetsuits which add a couple of kilograms to their weight.

If the boards arrive this Friday at noon like the airline confirmed, the Costa Rica Surf Team will only have Friday and Saturday afternoon to train.