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While nobody is expecting that American football is going to replace soccer as the national sport anytime soon, it is undeniable that its popularity with Ticos has increased dramatically in the last few years.

Before 2008 it was uncommon to see American football being played anywhere in Costa Rica. And if anyone happened to spot one of these sporadic games, all they would see was a ragged group of friends playing what locals refer to as a “Mejenga” which is basically a free-for-all game played between friends with no referee, uniforms and minimal rules. The only piece of equipment used was a ball and most of the games consisted of touch or flag football while the crowd consisted of a handful of confused folks that happened to be passing by.

All of that changed in 2008 when a group of enthusiasts decided to band together and create the private league; American Football Association/Costa Rica Federation of American Football (FCFA) and organized the first American football season in 2009. It wasn’t an easy start by any stretch; most of the players were Ticos who had little or no previous experience, games were held in fields, the equipment was improvised and there was very little public interest in the sport. But what the league lacked in structure it more than made up in heart. The players trained hard and played enthusiastically.

In July of 2009 we saw the formation of the first official league; American Football Federation of Costa Rica (FEFACR). Even though the Costa Rican Institute of Sports & Recreation (ICODER) gave governmental backing to the new league at the time of its inception, it did not give the league international representation of American football in Costa Rica until November of 2010.

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ESCAZU – In the hills off Calle Vieja, the old road connecting Santa Ana and Escazu, a group of daredevils riding iron horses frequently get together to negotiate the most unlikely promontories and man-made obstacles, defying gravity and doing their best to stay perched atop their curious two-wheeled vehicles. The object is not only to get from point A to point B, but also to ensure that feet do not touch the ground, something that frequently calls for spectacular maneuvers that launch these riders up in the air.

Welcome to the peculiar world of motorcycle trials, an extreme variation of motocross that calls for a lightweight dirt bikes with a specialized suspensions and no seats. There is a great deal of rider skill and balance involved, and the obstacles call for a high degree of creativity and handling. Bike trials draw upon the freestyle ethos of mountain biking, BMX and skateboarding, and like many other fun extreme activities in our country, it is gaining certain popularity. Here is a photo set that The Costa Rica Star photographers recently captured, if you want to take a close look at the action.

Just like Costa Rica is a surfers’ paradise due to its gorgeous beaches and clean breaks on both coasts, and a mountain bike paradise due to the miles of pristine and challenging trails, and a skater’s paradise due to the uneven topography and careless architecture and construction, bike trials enthusiasts have it made here thanks to rocky spots in San Antonio de Escazu and el Alto de las Palomas, the rocky beaches of Playa Carrillo in Guanacaste, and many other seemingly inhospitable terrains.

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In the surfing world when someone says the name Carlos Muñoz it does not generally ring any bells. Beyond Central America Carlos was never a household name, but as with any great feat in life that can change in seconds and in Carlos’s case that changed in about five seconds. In athletics most moments of brilliance span an entire quarter or period, but in surfing this can occur in a flash. Carlos scored the Volcom Pipeline Pro’s first perfect ten (the highest score possible) heat against some of the world’s most elite Pipeline specialists. He took off on a long Backdoor right and nabbed one of the longest barrels of the day. After exiting the barrel loud hoots and hollers could be heard echoing from the Volcom house, Carlos’s main sponsor.

Carlos has only been tackling Pipe’s giant barrels for three years, but this year he has shown great improvement and that can be clearly seen in his booming confidence at the world’s most deadly wave. Carlos’s perfect barrel will arguably be considered Carlos’s springboard into what looks to be a long and promising surf career. This could also be considered one of the greatest accomplishments for any Costa Rican surfer on the world stage. Carlos eventually lost out in the quarters and finished equal ninth, which is highly commendable considering the vast talent pool of Pipe specialist in the contest. Muñoz has now shown the rest of the surfing world that Costa Rica does have the ability to produce world class athletes that are more than capable of competing in what many consider to be the most challenging and defining wave in the world. As a past high school student in Costa Rica and a as surfer, to watch Carlos perform at such a high level was truly inspirational. I recall myself watching his round three heat where he would go on to defeat Pipe phenomenon and champion John John Florence in utter disbelief. He surfed with poise and grace well beyond his years.

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After two weeks of relatively no surf, Santa Teresa is hosting the first local contest of 2012. All the regulars have been training hard to get a good start this year, competition is sure to be fierce. Forbes Magazine recently ranked Santa Teresa as one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, Jan 27th 2012 – After two weeks of relatively no surf, the local population is looking forward to an action packed weekend. There is a contest being held at the Lora Amarilla, one of the best surf spots in the area, and with a building swell coming from the southwest, it looks very promising for the competitors. Santa Teresa has bred some of the best surfers in Costa Rica, who have made names for themselves on an international level. Ramon Taliani (ITA) and Anthony Fillingim (CRC) both grew up in Santa Teresa, and with the varying conditions here, learned how to really perform no matter what they faced in any contest.

Along with Fillingim and Taliani, many local surfers are looking to break out and make a name for themselves this year in the National Circuit. Drawing attention from international talent scouts, Costa Rica has become one of the main training grounds for new surfers in Central America. Carlos Muñoz and Lisbeth Vindas are some of the best and most recognized surfers in the country, and have both trained in the National Circuit. Vindas is a consistent performer in the women’s contests, while Muñoz keeps nailing solid results in the juniors.

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Days before the inauguration of the 6^th annual Reef Central American Surf Games, the coach of the National Surfing Team made something very clear: “Our goal and responsibility will be to come away with gold medals for all teams, as well as capturing the top spot in all divisions.” Jose Urena was not taking any chances. “We called up the same team as we had for Panama, plus some under-18 surfers who weren’t there”, he added, referring to the 2011 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games that took place in Playa Venao, Panama.

Australia took the top surfing team honors at the 2011 World Surfing Games, and Ticos managed to place a modest 11^th place behind surfing powerhouses such as United States and Brazil, but the team absolutely cleaned house later that year at the Reef Centroamerica Games, aptly held at Playa Hermosa in Jaco, Puntarenas. Just like Jose Urena had resolved, not only did the National Surfing Team score its sixth consecutive title at the Reef Centroamerica Games, but also managed to qualify half of its members to the finals and take five individual gold medals. This achievement makes Tico surfers the undefeated representatives of surfing in the Central American region.

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In Tico parlance, zafarrancho is the preferred word to describe a disorderly situation in which excitement, confusion and frustration rule the sentiments of a mob. Such was the scene at the Arenas Skate & Surf shop located in the heart of Downtown San Jose. Three-time X Games medalist Ryan Sheckler and his Plan B (not to be confused with the reggaeton duo that performed with Don Omar at Palmares) teammates were on hand to autograph decks and other skateboard paraphernalia over the weekend when the zafarrancho ensued.

 As a testament to the strong skater culture that has been developing in Costa Rica over the last few years, hundreds of skateboard enthusiasts turned up at Arenas, crowding the store and spilling out into Avenida Central. According to Diario Extra, some young skaters had camped out since before sunset, eager to get a closer look or an autograph from their idols.

The great turnout was expected. After all, the charismatic and talented Sheckler is also an MTV star, and his Plan B teammates PJ Lada, Collin McCay, Torey Pudwill, and Paul Rodriguez are currently some of the most photographed stars of the skateboarding world. The scene at Arenas descended into a zafarrancho due to an alleged misunderstanding: only those in attendance who had tickets to Plan B’s demo at Arenas later that day, or who had previously purchased a Plan B deck, could get an autograph from the pro skaters.

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For Tico skaters the first decade of the 21st century has been a great period of revival for their favorite activity. Skateboarding in Costa Rica is no longer just an extreme sport, it has become part of the global skater culture, complete with distinguished riders, talented photographers chronicling the happenings in the culture, fashion, professional organizations, promoters, and more.

The Evolution of Skater Culture in Costa Rica

Skateboarding in Costa Rica began in earnest in the early 1980s, a few years after the seminal Zephyr Skateboard Team of Southern California redefined the art of riding skateboards and incorporated cultural elements such as music, fashion, art, and attitude. The history of the Z-Boys, as they later became known, and their evolution from a marketing and promotional gimmick for a Santa Monica surf shop was documented in the award-winning Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary film in 2001. Tico skater culture flourished in the 1980s as young riders emulated Z-Boy luminaries like Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, and many others. Quite a few of these young hopefuls hurt themselves while emulating the Z-Boys at the old skate park in La Sabana. The 1990s was a period of transition as young Ticos looked up to new heroes like the amazing Tony Hawk and his multiple gold medals accumulated in the ESPN X-Games.

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A little known fact about me is that I enjoy bodybuilding, not so much lately, but definitely in my University days while I lived in Toronto. Recently I have been on the look out for a gym to go to in the San Jose province of Costa Rica. There are a few to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. One thing is for sure, you have to get creative with the equipment at the gyms here as many of them do not have what you may be used too. This is totally fine and invokes a certain amount of creativity when I am diving into my fitness training. There is a certain amount of pride that goes into getting a great workout from rusty dumbbells and a gym with a dungeon like feel, though I know many of the people reading this will disagree and definitely prefer a clean sparkly feeling gym experience.

Below I will take a look at the most popular gyms in the San Jose province, offer some feedback on each one, and expose a few gyms that you may have not heard about yet. Near the bottom I will talk about the options you have for supplements. If you prefer to get outside and exercise there are tons of Surfing, Yoga, Running, and more groups in the country that get together regularly. Just ask around and post to the classifieds on Encuentra24.com and Craigslist.org. In the very near future we will have a weekly article on surfing here in Costa Rica, so check back soon for those articles.

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It was a nail-biter until the very end. For the third time in a row, Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) came away victorious in the final game of the Winter Tournament of the First Division, the highest honor for professional football in Costa Rica. The victory marked the 27th time that Alajuela’s favorite team has claimed the coveted First Division title.

It was not an easy feat for La Liga. The team traveled to the Eladio Rosabal Cordero stadium in downtown Heredia, where they were confronted by a vociferous crowd of Club Sport Herediano (CSH) fans. Every seat in the stadium was taken, as tickets had been completely sold out days before the game. As predicted by many fans, CSH conducted an aggressive first half, leading most of the attacks. At least this was the strategy by CSH coach Jafet Soto, who felt comfortable that his team could earn an early scoring advantage. This wasn’t the case, as LDA played an overtly cautious game, augmenting their defense with 5 men for most of the first half.

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The year 2011 may not have been the most auspicious for one of Costa Rica’s most fervent passions. Football fans who were ecstatic with the signing of highly respected manager Ricardo La Volpe to lead the haphazard national team quickly lost faith in his legendary abilities after “La Sele” suffered a string of losses and dubious performances. La Volpe’s press conferences became infamous as he mentioned how, in his many years of coaching high-caliber international teams, he had never run into so many difficult -yet very talented- prima donna players. This is coming from someone who has coached Mexico’s América and Argentina’s Boca Juniors. Alas, after a sorry showing by La Sele in the Gold Cup and the Copa América, the thickly mustached La Volpe abdicated to current coach Jorge Luis Pinto.

Then there was the issue of an incredibly poor showing at the beginning of the winter tournament by powerhouse team Club Deportivo Saprissa. While Saprissa eventually recovered from the rut, at some point nervous fans thought the team could have suffered an unceremonious fate similar to the fabled Club Atlético River Plate, a powerhouse which ended up in Argentina’s second division after years of dominating South American football.

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