Costa Rica Hometown Throwdown #2 is a huge hit

Photos

Mario Huevo (Vargas) one of my long time friends is one of the most influential people in Costa Rica kayaking. He is a true caretaker of the sport here helping out kids or anyone who wants to learn to paddle. He is also a fully functional kayak school or trip organizer for anyone wanting to come to Costa Rica. Meanwhile, he is also the organizer of this event we just finished on the Pejebaje River where there were no entry fees, no prizes, just a shot at being the winner of the Hometown Throwdown. There was a great turn out of spectators who came with food, drinks, families, friends, and hung out with the river as their setting, and the competition as the source of entertainment. Channel 7, the largest station in Costa Rica came and filmed us competing as well as did interviews and showed the event on the National News, for a second night in a row. The kayakers from Turrialba had a hometown advantage over the Sarapiqui (this is the correct spelling, sorry for my mistake on that yesterday) crowd, but still they came on strong with a second place finish.
As per yesterday, the judges were Nick, Dane, and I for the Ticos and women, while Ruth, Emily, and Jessie judged the Gringo men. We kept us out of the locals class competition to keep to the Hometown Throwdown ideals which is a fun, free event that allows locals to show off and test their mettle against each other without out of town pros coming in and competing against them, throwing off the vibe of a local event. At the same time, they begged us to compete and wanted to see what we could do in their local spot too. This playspot has been there for a long time and is a staple place for many of these boaters to paddle. Mario organizes events like this each year, and it goes off really well.
Also, like yesterday, the results walked with Madrigal so he could get them to the TV, Radio, and newspapers, which, unlike in many parts of the world, will cover it. In fact the national paper had a full page of coverage from yesterday’s competition, with a big color photo of Mario competing on it, and photos of Dane, Ruth, Emily, Stanley, and I.
I have the results memorized from the top 4 in the Gringo class from finals:
1. EJ- 104 points
2. Dane- 93 points
3. Nick- 84 points
4. Mario- 66 points
Women:
Emily: 39 points
Jessie Stone: 11 points
Ruth- fell down a cliff while trying to take a bathroom break and banged herself up, so didn’t compete. (she is OK, but not feeling well, and has bruises, and bumps, and scratches.) She fell in a sketchy place!
Enjoy the photos of today. All competition photos from Mario.

EJ