On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 27 and 28, the Corona Extra Pro Surf Circuit will hold a $15,000 Men's and Women's tournament at Domes Beach, in the town of Rincon, on the northwest corner of the island. This will mark the 17th edition of the popular circuit, which runs under the auspices of the A.P.S.P.R. (Association of Professional Surfing of Puerto Rico). APSPR was founded in 2001 by local surfer and surfboard shaper Werner Vega and his wife, Vivianee, to provide international quality surfing competition to the Caribbean.

All APSPR events have the same goal and commitment:

To determine the best surfers at each event;

To provide them with the highest standard of competition possible;

To improve the knowledge and performance of all competitors;

To provide the competitors and the sponsors with substantial exposure and recognition;

To enhance the professionalism of surfing.

The Corona Extra events have become the premier showcase for the veteran surfing talents on the island, like Juan Ashton and Carlos Cabrero, as well as a springboard for a young generation of hot competitors like Brian Toth and Dylan Graves, who are now making their mark in the international rankings. All four of them are expected to compete at Domes. On the Women's side of the competition, Corona and APSPR have launched the careers of the top Puerto Rican surfers like Idalis "Lilac" Alvarado and Liselie Gonzales.

APSPR Director Werner Vega is hoping that February at Domes will continue with the amazing run of surf that Puerto Rico has already enjoyed this winter. The freezing temperatures in the U.S. that reached all the way down to Florida are the weather engine that generates the strong Atlantic swells which make Puerto Rico the surfing mecca of the Caribbean. "This has been the best winter of surf that I can remember in years", said Vega. "We have had not only huge swells, but clean conditions at all the northwest spots. Many famous traveling pros have been on the island for months."

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. New Jersey pros Matt Keenan and Jason Reagan are regular visitors, and competitors in the Corona events, and are again expected at Domes. Floridian women like Connie Arias, Kirra Shepard and two-time Corona winner, Karina Petroni are also expected to be back again.

The Domes event will also see the crowning of the Men's and Women's APSPR champions, as the circuit compiles the rating points of the last three events, including the contest at Middles Beach last October and the 2009 Domes event. Lilac Alvarado leads the current Women's standings after winning the last Corona Extra event at Middles. She holds a slender lead of less than one hundred points over her rivals Liselie Gonzales and Quincy Davis. In the race for the Men's title, defending 2008 champion Carlos Cabrero is currently tied with Gabriel Escudero at the top. Both hold only a narrow lead over the Bursian brothers, Leslie and Tommy, who are tied for third. At least eight other surfers are in range of the title if they win at Domes, including past APSPR champions Juan Ashton and Brian Toth.

Toth and his fellow traveling companions, Dylan Graves and Alejandro Moreda, are happy that the scheduling of this year's event at Domes will allow them to compete, although they will have to catch an immediate flight to Brazil after the contest. All three of the well-known Puerto Rican surfers are regular competitors on the international ASP circuit and scheduling conflicts did not allow them to be home for the Middles event last October. Their local fans will be out at Domes to see them competing again in their home waters, where both Toth and Graves have previously won Corona events.

Another contender for the title will be Darren Mushett, who won the 2009 Middles event in an exciting man on man final against Cabrero, in small wave conditions. However, Muschett did not compete last year at Domes, which is his local break.

Surfing fans who are unable to attend in person at Domes 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.

All of the competition will take place at Domes as long as surf conditions permit. The nearby break of Maria's, also in the town of Rincon, is the backup site. Once again Corona Extra is offering a total purse of  $15,000, with $10,00 divided among the men and $5,000 to the women.

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.  Last October, at Middles, Cabrero and Gonzales each won the Coppertone "Best Performance" for their top heat scores.

For all interested competitors, entries must be in by Wednesday Feb. 17, "After Feb.17, a late entry fee of $35 will be charged, until entries finally close on Saturday, the 20th at 4:PM," announced Vivianee Vega. Entries can be downloaded at < www.apspr.net > and mailed to APSPR office, or in person at Hang Loose Surf Shop, located on road 4466, Jobos Beach, P.R..

In addition to both days of surfing competition, Corona Extra will host nighttime entertainment at several locations throughout the host town of Rincon, ensuring that the fun will continue around the clock all weekend.