Today Werner Vega, President of APSPR (Asociacion de Profesional Surfing de Puerto Rico) announced that the Puerto Rico Tourism Company has partnered with Corona Extra to confirm a prize purse of $37,000 for their event on October 8 & 9, to be held at “Middles” on the Northwest coast. This represents an increase of 240% over the largest prize money ever awarded before at a Puerto Rican contest. $25,000 in prize money will be awarded to the Men and $12,000 to the Women surfers.

“The Puerto Rico Tourism Company recognizes the historic significance of the 20th edition of our surfing circuit and has decided to become partners with Corona Extra to celebrate”, said Mr. Vega. “Since 2001, Corona Extra has been the biggest supporter of Puerto Rican pro surfers. The addition of major sponsorship from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company shows a huge commitment to the sport and it’s athletes. The $37,000 total purse means that we will be able to pay the winner of the Men a first prize of $10,000, more than doubling the previous first prize of $4000. The Women’s champion will receive $5,000, instead of the previous prize of $2,000”.

In addition, Coppertone Skincare will be awarding their popular “Best Performance” award of $500 each, to one of the Men and one of the Women.  In March at Domes, QAuincy Davis and Brian Toth, each won the Coppertone “Best Performance” for their top heat scores.

The Corona Middles Pro will also be the third and final event on the ratings for the season, which will decide the 2010-2011 APSPR Champions. Currently leading the ratings are Brian Toth, 26, from Isabela and Lisalie Gonzales, 23, of Canovanas. Both Toth and Gonzales were the winners of the 2010 Corona event at Middles, and have maintained their lead in the rankings through the last event, held at Domes, in Rincon, in March of this year. However, the ranking points on offer for the upcoming event means that both title races are far from over.
“Because Corona has more than doubled the prize money for this event”, said Mr. Vega, “the APSPR will be awarding increased rating points of 150%. This means that the winners at Middles next month will receive 1,500 rating points, rather than 1,000. So, while Brian Toth holds a substantial lead over the Bursian brothers, Tommy and Leslie, going into the event, a victory by anyone in the top ten, coupled by a bad result from Toth, could leave the Title race wide open”.

The huge increase in prize money should also see more Mainland US competitors entering the event than ever before. Coming at the end of a very busy Atlantic hurricane season, organizers are hopeful that October at Middles will provide the strong Atlantic swells which make Puerto Rico the surfing mecca of the Caribbean. “The close proximity of Puerto Rico by air has made it the favorite winter destination for East Coast surfers from the U.S., especially the Northeast”, said Vega.  “New Jersey pros Matt Keenan and Jason Reagan are regular visitors, and are again expected at Middles.. Florida pro Jeremy Johnston took second place at Domes this spring and should be back, along with his Florida neighbor, Amy Nicholl, who won the Women’s event”.
Surfing fans who are unable to attend in person at Middles will once again have the opportunity to follow the action online with the popular “Heats on Demand” feature. At the completion of each day of competition they will have access to every scoring ride of the event. On our website < www.apspr.net > you can scan the draw, and select which heat you would like to view and much more. Each scoring ride is shown, along with the points earned for that wave, through the technology of the Beach Byte computer scoring system. Each of the five judges enters their scores for each surfer’s rides into the computer, which tallies the points and decides the winners. All of that scoring information is then available on the APSPR website to anyone with access to a modem.

For competitors: “All entries should be received with payment no later than Wednesday September 28, 2011. Past Wednesday September 28 a late entry fee of $35.00 will be charged’, announced APSPR Executive Director, Vivianee Vega. “Entry deadline is Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 4:00pm. Entries will not be accepted past October 1, 2011. For more information visit our website <  www.apspr.net  >, or call: (787) 560-0181 between the hours of 10:AM and 5:PM, Tuesday through Sunday”.
In addition to both days of surfing competition, Corona Extra will feature nighttime entertainment at several locations throughout the host town of Isabela, ensuring that the fun will continue around the clock all weekend.

Media Information:

Visit the media center on www.apspr.net for images, surfer quotes, archived press releases and athlete profiles.  Downloadable audio clips and TV news feed are also available.

Our generous sponsors are: Corona Extra, Corona Light, Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Coppertone Sport, Wapa TV, Hang Loose Surf Shop, Werner Vega Surfboards, Alfa Rock, n-punto, Jose Cuervo, and El Nuevo Día, surfersvillage.com.

Jay and Jeff Grygera (Iron Cross Surfboards) and Jerry Anderson (Headline Graphics) who produced a commemorative surfboard for Brennan Savage (FDNY Retirees of San Diego 19th Division) to honor the 343 firefighters lost on 9/11 at the World Trade Center.

Encinitas, CA – September 2, 2011

Firefighter Brennan Savage, President of FDNY Retirees of California, was leaving work to go surfing on September 11, 2001 when he looked across the bay to see one of the Twin Towers on fire. When he saw a jetliner hit the second tower he realized he wasn’t going anywhere, but back to work that day. Some of Savage’s fellow firefighters were in the water surfing that morning and lost their lives at the Twin Towers.

As a fireman and a surfer now living in Encinitas, California, Savage wanted to do something special to commemorate the friends he lost that day. He thought a commemorative surfboard would be just the item. That’s when he contacted Iron Cross Surfboards’ Jeff and Jay Grygera to   donate the surfboard. Jeff then contacted Jerry Anderson, owner of Headline Graphics. Anderson creates custom surfboard graphics on Photocloth, producing photo-realistic images. “I envisioned it immediately,” said Anderson, “I thought of creating a flag that ran the length of the board with the faces of the 343 fallen firefighters set in the white stripes.”

According to Jeff Grygera, “I have built thousands of surfboards, but none of them ever affected me like this. Working on that board, I would stare at those faces for hours, realizing these guys would never return to their families again. As a family man, that was really emotional for me.”

The surfboard is finished and on display at Iron Cross Surfboards through September 7. At 10:00 a.m. on September 7, the board will be presented to the now retired firefighter, Brennan Savage at Iron Cross Surfboards, 2101 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff. Media is encouraged to attend. The surfboard will be part of the 10th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony slated for September 11 on the USS Midway Museum at 910 North Harbor Drive, San Diego. For more info, visit www.midway.org/911 and www.fdnyretireesofcalifornia.com.

After being displayed on the USS Midway, the 9-11 board, as it’s being called, will be taken to its permanent home at the San Diego Firehouse Museum.

Contacts: Brennan Savage at savagebdl@yahoo.com or 760-623-3539
Jeff/Jay Grygera, Iron Cross Surfboards: jeffgrygera@gmail.com or 760-436-1900
Jerry Anderson, Headline Graphics: janderson@headlinegraphics.com or 760-436-0133