We are only days away from what is set to be an epic, annually held body-surfing contest taking place on the beach known as Playa Zicatela (Mexican Pipeline) along Mexican Puerto Escondido.
The tournament has taken place every year since 2016 by famous water man, big wave rescuer and captain life guard of the area for over 22 years, Godfredo Vasquez (Godo).
The tournament is a non-for-profit, welcoming 34 elite bodysurfers from around the world. According to Godo’s wife: “the idea of the tournament is to get together and have fun.” However, with the support of the local municipality this year, the prize pool for the tournament is $2000 USD, which will undoubtedly inspire the body surfers to push their limits.
The history of this body-surfing contest at this beach dates back almost 15 years ago, when Godo, John Shearer, Bill Misset along with other lifeguards decided to run it for the first time. It is of little surprise that the champion of the inaugural competition was the Legendary Hawaiian lifeguard, Mark Cunningham.
In 2016 Godo, Inspired by fond memories of his past, decided it was time to bring it back, and so the Zicatela Contest came back to life.
The tournament is set to kick off on the 24th of August at 7 a.m (local time) and according to Magic Seaweed , we are to expect 2.1 – 3.4 m with favorable light off-shore winds, which would be a real treat for the competing elite water men.
The event will also feature big name international bodysurfers, Kalani Lattanzi, Mark Drewelow (Instagram), along with some local talent in Godo and his younger colleague Barchi Quadros.
“I love Mexico, this beach in particular, it produces perfect barrels… this is going to be a body surfing show”
Kalani Lattanzi, sponsored by elite Brazilian fin company Kpaloa, shared his feelings of anticipation prior to the tournament.
Touching on the competition, Kalani enthusiastically added, “we have riders from USA, Mexico and a few other countries, it is great for the sport.”
The event also has a formidable judiciary panel, packed with experience with likes of Paco Samperio who is a senior surfer and pioneer lifeguard of Puerto Escondido along with Coco Ramirez (one of the most prolific Mexican surfers), Miguel Ramirez (the famous local board sharper), Jim Prewitt (a judge for the past 3 years, a great surf coach and father of 2017 ISA World Champion) and Julio Soto (a renowned young local surfer and artist).
Thanks to the passion and dedication of Godo and his wife, the body-suring community will be blessed with another toughly contested competition.
We thank them for their efforts, and we wish all the athletes best of luck on the day of the competition, may the best body-surfer win.
You can find more information about the Tournament on the official Facebook Page
Water U Know 
You must be logged in to post a comment.