Portuguese Costa da Caparica hosted the third Caparica Czech Surf Open on the first October weekend. This competition has started yet another year of the Czech-Slovak Surfing Tour, newly co-organized by the Slovak Independent Surfing Association which just became a new ISA member in September. We are looking forward to seeing the development of Slovak surfing that this cooperation will surely bring!
In total, a record number of 55 male and female competitors from Czechia and Slovakia registered for the competition. The Atlantic Ocean served them in almost perfect conditions during both competition days. The large participation, great waves, and summer weather made it an exceptional event, a celebration of Czech and Slovak surfing that we are truly grateful for. We also welcomed a special guest - the ambassador of the Czech Republic in Lisbon who presented the winners with their trophies during the closing ceremony.
Men's Open
30 competitors in the Men's Open had to fight through 6 heats on their way to the finals. Last year's winner, Jakub Michna faced the competition of Janek Moleš, a well-known Czech river surfing champion, 16-year-old youngster Timon Matěna, and an experienced competitor Adam Svoboda. Timon Matěna held the first place from the very beginning and he managed to keep the lead until the final siren, becoming the youngest winner of the Czech-Slovak Surfing Tour stop in its 3 years history: "The finals were great, I enjoyed it so much. But it was quite challenging as I had to stay in the water for three heats in a row. I caught two great waves, one was thanks to the priorities and I have waited for the second one. I was choosing this strategy during the whole day and I am so happy it worked out in the finals as well, I am stoked with the result." said Timon about his great performance admitting that beating Jakub Michna and winning is a dream come true. Timon will participate soon in the 2023 Rio De Janeiro ISA World Junior Surfing Championship at the end of November.
The best Slovak surfers were Martin Torok and Peter Saktor who shared 11th place.
Men's Open Final Results
1. | Timon Matěna | 12.56 p. |
2. | Jakub Michna | 11.77 p. |
3. | Jan Moleš | 10.60 p. |
4. | Adam Svoboda | 8 p. |
Women's Open
Also, the Women's Open welcomed the largest amount of participants this year. 16 competitors included some new faces too, such as Anna Mocková, a Czech surfer residing in England. Anna managed to eliminate one of the competition favorites in the semifinals - 14-year-old Ines Marta Kramna, who holds the title of vice-champion from Surfchamp 2023. Thus, in the finals, she completed the trio of the Czech national team from this year's World Surfing Games in El Salvador - Jana Kašová, Paula Kutá and Anička Růtová. After an exciting battle with score changing throughout the whole final heat, Jana Kašová found the best wave in between the other short and fast ones and she secured her second win in the Caparica Czech Surf Open. "The final heat was really challenging, there was a strong current and most of the waves were close-outs but I managed to find two nice open waves, so it was great!" described Jana Kašová, who also won the Surfcamp.cz Best Wave category with her wave score of 9,17 points in the quarterfinals.
The best Slovak surfer, Michaela Holbová placed 7th.
Women's Open Final Results
1. | Jana Kašová | 10.33 p. |
2. | Paula Kutá | 5.60 p. |
3. | Anna Růtová | 3.96 p. |
4. | Anna Mocková | 2.70 p. |
Mystic Skate Junior category
This year of Caparica Czech Surf Open included also a full-fledged junior category with a total of 8 young female and male surfers, including two Polish competitors. They were invited to the competition thanks to the cooperation between Central European inland countries. One of them, William Rambo, dominated the finals and left behind two Czech junior national team members, who are currently preparing for the junior championship in Brasil - Ines Marta Kramná and Timon Matěna. Rambo's fellow countrywoman Julia Szulikowska placed fourth.
Junior Final Results
1. | William Rambo (POL) | 13 b. |
2. | Ines Marta Kramná | 9.60 b. |
3. | Timon Matěna | 9.50 b. |
4. | Julia Szulikowska (POL) | 8.50 b. |
Longboard
The Caparica Czech Surf Open also included a Longboarding category for the first time in the history of Czech surfing competitions. 12 surfers had a chance to compete with a surfboard of a minimum of 9 feet in length. This category took place during the first competition day with absolutely perfect conditions for longboarding during high tide. This category's favorite, Kamila Mlčochová, who has dedicated several past years to longboarding, made it to the finals without major effort. Her smooth style convinced everybody that she was definitely meant to be the winner. Other longboarders who competed in the final heat were Petr Skála, Klára Kováříková and Jakub Chochola.
Longboard Final Results
1. | Kamila Mlčochová | 9.57 p. |
2. | Petr Skála | 6.57 p. |
3. | Klára Kovaříková | 5.83 p. |
4. | Jakub Chochola | 4.57 p. |
The closing ceremony included a traditional afterparty with the band Smack the Lip and DJ Sardinha. Fingers crossed to the best of the competitors that are now preparing for the International Showdown, a part of the Hungarian Surf Fest that will take place this Friday or Saturday. We are looking forward to seeing you at the following Czech-Slovak Surfing Tour happening on the 10th of December in Bali.
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