Special coverage presented by Crown Uruguay - Photos by WSL/Heslop

The Uruguay Longboard Festival, stage 1 of the discipline's tour in South America, was officially presented today at a press conference held in La Linda de Manantiales with the presence of surfers, organizers and competitors.

Ignacio Pignataro, co-organizer and competitor, was accompanied by José Hualde, Head of Sports for the Municipality of Maldonado; Roberto Perdigao, Tour Manager of the WSL South America; Jerónimo Silvariño representing the Uruguayan Surf Union and the athletes Ginger Caimi (ITA), Kevin Skvarna (USA), Alexandre Escobar (BRA), Luana Soares (BRA)

Pignataro was the first to speak and said: “I am more excited to see you again today than I was last year because the fact that we are all back here means that everything did not go so badly. Luckily there are also new faces and it is very good to welcome you all. And it also seems that the waves will be with us. I want to thank the Ministry of Tourism, the Municipality of Maldonado, the sponsors, the Uruguayan Surf Union and the people because without them and without their interest, there is no event.”

“There are some really good waves coming. I know that last year everyone had a lot of fun out of the water, this year we hired them so we are looking forward to the next few days,” he added.

Pignataro rounded off by stressing the importance of the fact that this is a festival and the entire cultural agenda that will surround it afternoon and night during all days from the 19th to the 23rd.

Meanwhile, Roberto Perdigao highlighted the special nature of this stage, as it is the first to begin the path to the finals that determine the world champion in the finals that are held year after year in El Salvador.

“This date is the first step to achieve the biggest goal that longboarders can aspire to,” said Perdigao, who also highlighted: “This championship is not just a championship, it is a manifestation of our culture, of our lifestyle, it is a value that adds a lot to the championship and that brings the big names that we have here. In addition to our competition, I think it is a great party that celebrates beach and surf culture, a way to bring surfers together and make our sport grow and get people to come to the championships that we do in the World Surf League.”

For his part, José Hualde said: “The Municipality of Maldonado is always there to support, in this case longboarding but also surfing in general. There is a big push this summer in Punta del Este, we see it in all the events that have been held this season.”

“Welcome to Uruguay, to Maldonado, to Manantiales. We hope that it will be a really nice tournament, that you enjoy the waves, which is the only thing that cannot be organised, but this year they seem to be guaranteed,” he concluded, in view of the good forecast that lies ahead.

The competitors highlighted the importance that lies ahead, the good waves they found in Uruguay and the high level of competition that this specific event has.

The championship will have its first day tomorrow at 8am and we will wait to see the forecast to carry out the second day of the event.

The cultural agenda has already been agreed and includes the following events:
February 18: Opening of the event and press conference
February 19: Open barbecue
February 20: Corona Sunset Sessions
February 21: Movie Night + Live Music
February 22: Closing party

The venue for all events will be La Linda bakery at 18 de Julio and Montevideo, 20002 Manantiales, Department of Maldonado

The event organizers present the following complementary activities:
-Horseback riding at VIK ranch
-Wine tasting at Bodega Garzón
-Sweet tasting at La Linda