Source: FEDESURF CR

Costa Rica is scheduled to defend her World Surfing Games championship later this year in Jaco Beach, but organizers are closely following news headlines related to the Zika virus situation in Rio de Janeiro and how it may affect the Olympics.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Jaco Beach has been subject to an outbreak of the Zika virus:

Costa Rica’s Ministry of [Public] Health confirmed on Monday that 11 individuals tested positive for the Zika virus in the central Pacific resort city of Jacó, Puntarenas, which had until now been unaffected by the virus.

The patients include four children: a 3-year-old, a 10-year-old, a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old. The remaining patients range in age between 24 and 45. All cases were contracted [endemically] in the area, according to health officials.

Earlier this week, the BBC reported that:

In an open letter to the WHO, more than 100 leading scientists had said new findings about Zika made it “unethical” for the [Rio 2016 Olympic Games] to go ahead.

Notwithstanding the above, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Olympics Committee have rejected calls to postpone or move the Games. Similarly, the Mayor of Garabito Canton, where Jaco Beach is located, has denied that the local Zika outbreak is significant enough to postpone, relocate or cancel the World Surfing Games.

The problem with the Zika fears in Brazil and Costa Rica is that competing athletes may refuse to participate, and this is something that WHO officials have recognized. To this effect, star goalkeeper Hope Solo of the United States Women’s Football Team has spoken about skipping the Rio Olympics.

Athlete participation may affect the World Surfing Games in Costa Rica. Surfing legend Kelly Slater recently announced his decision to skip the World Surf League in Brazil; according to SurfLine, other surfers have also dropped out:

Beyond Slater’s absence, other notable World Tour standouts have decided to skip Brazil: Taj Burrow [and] Joel Parkinson, who was competing with Burrow at a Quicksilver event in Bali recently, is not listed.

From pollution to the Zika virus to shootings near the contest site, the lead-up to this [Rio] contest has been a ball of controversy. It’s possible all these dilemmas made the decisions easy for Parko, Taj and Slater.