Lanzarote Welcomes Santa Surf Pro

Anyone spending their holidays in Lanzarote next month (meaning November) is in for a treat. As the first week of November sees the annual Islas Canarias Santa Surf Pro Tournament return to Lanzarote. As one of the most important dates in the surfing calendar, the competition at San Juan attracts many of the leading male and female surfers from around the world.

The tournament’s importance means that it is ranked as a six star event, the highest level within the Qualifying Series and only just below World Championship status according to the Association of Surfing Professionals. The excellent surf conditions found on the north west coast at San Juan have made this competition the closing finale for the European season over the last few years.

This November the line-up includes one of the newest stars of American surfing, Clay Marzo, who will be making his debut in Lanzarote. And who is something of a celebrity in his home country, having had a movie made about his life already: ‘Just Add to Water’ by Jaimie Tierney.

But with 145,000 dollars of prize money to be collected, it is no surprise the tournament draws some of the biggest names on the international surfing circuit. Such as Drew Courtney of Australia, Heitor Alvés from Brazil and the three Gudauskas brothers from the US. Not to mention Spanish participants, including several surfers from the Canaries, such as José Maria Cabrera and Jonathan Gonzalez.

Also at stake is the opportunity to qualify for the ASP World Tour where the best ranked surfers get to compete against each other in locations such as Hawaii, South Africa and Brazil.

The seed list is led by Jadson Andre from Brazil and Joan Duru from France who currently hold the second and seventh ratings in the 2009 World Qualifying Series. Amongst the female competitors, French surfers occupy seven of the top ten rankings within the series, with Justine Dupont leading the field.

The action begins on Sunday 1st November at 10.00 am and continues until Saturday 7th, with a range of activities accompanying the sporting event, such as workshops demonstrating the art of surfing, beach football competitions and music. As in previous years, the closing party will feature live music and is usually attended by a large number of local youngsters.

San Juan is the area of the north western coast just beyond Caleta de Famara, in the municipality of Teguise. It is reached by a dirt track from the western end of the village and consists of a camping site as well as a stretch of sand. Like many spots on the island it´s hard to reach. But car hire in Lanzarote is inexpensive and the island is easy to navigate.

Surfing in Lanzarote

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