[sixcol_five_last]
By Errol Alegre, Jr.
The second annual Mañahak Surf Contest went underway Sunday at the Onward Beach Resort Water Park and featured over 55 young surfers showcasing their skills and talents.
Contestants as young as three years old and as old as 12 years old competed in their respective age divisions. Each ride from the young enthusiasts was reviewed by a panel of judges and scored on scale from one to ten, ten being the highest. Judges scored each contestant based on how fast they pop up on their boards, what kind of maneuvers they perform, length of ride, and showmanship. Since surfing on a shorter board is more difficult than surfing on a longer one, the length of the board that each contestant used was taken into consideration when being judged.
After one preliminary heat for each age division, the top scorers in each division advanced to the finals where they vied for the first, second, and third place medals.
Here are the final results:
FOUR YEARS OLD AND UNDER
Girls (from left)
2nd place: Erika Cassidy 30pts
1st place: Gwenaizah Barcinas (returning champ) 30pts
Boys (from left)
3rd place: Ekko Schilis 19pts
2nd place: Luca Razano 31pts
1st place: Colin Baker 37pts
5-6 YEARS OLD
Girls (from left)
3rd place: Myra Lacuata 33pts
2nd place: Dina Soriano 36pts
1st place: Philicita Rivera 43pts
Boys (from left)
3rd place: Yoyo Reyes 24pts
2nd place: Cutter Jones 30pts
1st place: Dylan Baker 30pts
7-8 YEARS OLD
Girls (from left)
3rd place: Koyuki Santos 26pts
2nd place: Annie Jones 27pts
1st place: Tara Nagel 31pts
Boys (from left)
3rd place: Daxton Gourley 24pts
2nd place: Every Alexander 25pts
1st place: Noa Mendiola 30pts
9-10 YEARS OLD
Girls (from left)
3rd place: Monica Giger 22pts
3rd place: Megan Baron 27pts
2nd place: Minami Cramer 28pts
1st place: Austia Mendiola 28pts
Boys (from left)
3rd place: Keith Nauta 13pts
2nd place: Joonsong Park 17pts
1st place: Myles Rager 19pts
11-12 YEARS OLD
Girls (from left)
3rd place: Maia Rager 19pts
2nd place: Angela Labardor 24pts
1st place: Ashley Policastro 25pts
Boys (from left)
3rd place: Logan Crandall 25pts
2nd place: Jake Niemasz 26pts
1st place: Jake Policastro 32pts
All competitors were supervised under the guidance of their instructor, Joe Villatora, who was also the lead-coordinator for the event. Villatora holds an after school program Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 5 pm where the kids not only learn how to rip moves on a surf board, but also learn the safety precautions in the sport of surfing, most especially on the reefs of Guam.
“Surfing here [on Guam] is really heavy. I always teach [the kids] to have respect, know your limits and when and where to go,” stated an eccentric Villatora. “Before we release [the kids] out into the ocean, we want to make sure they pass their swimming skills, floating skills, and other things they can use to survive out there.”
Villatora plays an instrumental role in the surfing community, most especially with the growth and development of youth surfing. The Mañahak Surf Contest is merely a stepping stone for the children. Since last year’s initial event, Villatora has sent 15 kids to Hawaii to compete in junior competitions. With more corporate sponsors stepping in, like O’neill and Skull Candy, Villatora looks to produce an even better junior surfing program.
This year’s competition produced a better turnout than last year’s event as it brought about more competitors, more local and off-island sponsors, and smoother event coordination. After the surfers competed and the medals were distributed, Villatora had just one word to describe how he felt of the performance from the competitors, “Awesome!”
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
[/sixcol_five_last][useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=14, 51, 44 interval=8 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand]
[fbshare url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/gspn/youth-surfers-showcase-skills/” type=”button”][fblike url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/gspn/youth-surfers-showcase-skills/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]


GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

Basketball
FRIARS TAKE DOWN PANTHERS 74-68

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports