Registration has reached its 700-athlete limit with participants streaming in from the central and western portions of the country; this year, however, other regions are also being represented, proof of the event’s growth and expansion.

Top six golf courses in Mexico

The Yucatan Country Club course “El Jaguar” designed by Jack Nicklaus has been considered among the best in Mexico…

• 40% of the registrations fees will be paid to the first place winner, 25% to second place y 10% will go to third place; all with receive prizes in kind from the sponsors of this 100% family-oriented tournament.

Chicos Yelapa Beach Club invites you to join them on March 26 for the First Annual Volleyball and SUP Tournament.

Approximately 25 teams are expected to join in this latest event, which has now increased its national reach with the participation of representatives from Toluca, Ciudad Guzmán and Monterrey alongside the teams from Nayarit and Jalisco.

The calm waters and wide sand bar in the Riviera Nayarit’s Wind Capital are two top reasons why the area was chosen to host the world’s second Jetsurf school.

Bucerías has long been known as the best spot for kitesurfing, but now it’s also the ideal destination for Banderas Bay’s newest extreme watersport: Jetsurfing.

Juan Carlos de Urquidi, Manager of the Jalisco-Nayarit Jetsurf Club, explained the reasons why they chose the Wind Capital of the Riviera Nayarit in an interview held just a couple of weeks from the launch of this new area attraction.

“After analyzing the bay area we found that the best point to demonstrate and teach Jetsurf was by Bucerías—the waves here are calmer for a longer period of time plus there’s the sand bar, making this area less dangerous for falls,” said Juan Carlos de Urquidi.

The PR and Promotions department of the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau will bring international press and travel agents to experience this new activity, which they can them promote after the fact as an additional attraction offered by the Destination.

“The idea is to position Banderas Bay as an international hotspot to come learn to Jetsurf. The first school was started six months ago in Cancun and it was very successful; now we have the world’s second Jetsurf school here in the Riviera Nayarit,” he added.

There will be competitions held around the sport and it will be included in several of the Destination’s events. For example, the upcoming Punta Mita Beach Festival will include a Jetsurf exhibition.

The club is located on Playa Destiladeras in the Playas de Huanacaxtle neighborhood of Bucerías, Nayarit. Among their services they offer half-hour and one-hour classes, as well as 10-lesson packages; they also sell boards and accessories. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/JetSurfJaliscoNayarit?ref=br_rs.

The Association is in search of the top 40 surfers in the Riviera Nayarit to represent the state in the upcoming Surf National to be held in September of this year.

The Banderas Bay Sportfishing Club of Nuevo Vallarta has announced the Eighth Annual Marlin & Tuna Tournament 2014 to take place at the Paradise Village Marina on July 18 & 19.

An opportunity to promote this destination to a wide range of the population.

Due to a growing interest generated by the organization of tournaments for soccer and other sports, Sports Tourism is one of the segments in the industry showing the largest projected growth. This includes not only the participating teams, but also trainers, some family members and supporters, particularly, when these events are held at a beach destination as inviting as Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.

The XIII edition of the traditional Copa Vallarta Soccer Tournament was held from May 13-17. To this, the II Riviera Nayarit Tennis Tournament was added, held from May 1-5, at the Flamingos Residential Club, in the Marival Hotel. This promoted Puerto Vallarta all over the country, as at least 8 thousand people from 24 states attended. The 700 games played, generated over 110 million pesos for the economy.

Sports Tourism is one of the segments in the industry showing the greatest projected growth.

The large number of visitors Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit attracted, is a clear example of the great potential that Sports Tourism has in the region.

Economic impact and hotel occupancy

According to the estimates of organizer Armando Cosilion, this tournament generated a room occupancy of 22,800, an estimated expenditure of $7,250 pesos per person, and $290,000 pesos per team, including $30,000 pesos in transportation expenditures, $160,000 pesos for lodging and food and $100,000 pesos spent on different activities offered in the region.

These tournaments are wonderful tourism promotions, which bring high hotel occupancy, significant economic expenditure and, last but not least, great support for sports talent in this country.

Vallarta news. - “Athletes always do the best they can to honor their country,” were Racquetball Player Paola Longoria’s words, upon receiving the Sports Merit Award. She also said that each medal has a meaning.

"I have been an athlete for17 years. From the very beginning I wanted to be the best athlete in the world. I dedicated myself to my career, and thanks to my family that have supported me a hundred percent, I have managed to fulfill my dreams. I am thrilled to receive this type of recognition, because I have always worked hard to be the best in the world. Seeing more and more children and youngsters everyday playing racquetball is of great satisfaction to me."

She talked about always keeping in mind the first tips her parents gave her when she started playing sports.

"I have the philosophy of my family to always do my best and give the most I can. My career has been very demanding. I have made sacrifices and have encountered many obstacles, but at the end, each victory, or each defeat, has taught me a lot about life."

In a speech she gave to Members of Congresses she said:

"As a child I pictured myself talking to members of congress or to the President, from a high podium. Now that I am here, talking to you, I would like to tell you something: 'If you cry over losing the Sun, tears will not allow you to see the stars'. I mention this phrase because throughout my career, many times I have cried thinking I had lost the Sun, but towards the end I have learned that, he who cries is stronger than the one who hides his strength".

She also added that the stars have brightened her career, which has been full of challenges, challenges that she has encountered even in her own country.

[readon1 url="index.php?option=com_sobipro&pid=1&sid=703:mar&Itemid=212"]Source:www.VallartaToday.com-by MAR Translation Services[/readon1]

In a stunning intersection of sport, commerce and eye-popping-greed-that-empties-somebody’s-wallet capitalism, the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao boxing blockbuster this Saturday will be available in homes across TV Land for a mere $90 (actually, $89.95) — and if you want it in high definition, it will be $100 (actually, $99.95).

Extravagant price aside, I will say this: If you’re planning to pay-per-view this extravaganza and are considering watching it in standard definition to save 10 bucks, you ought to just listen to the fight instead on radio, if you can find it.

Manny Pacquiao shadow boxes during a media workout in April. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Anyway, let’s take a moment here to remember how we got to this point in America.

In the dawn of the television era, someone smarter and more cynical than Couch Slouch pointed out a simple truth:

Consumers were being asked to spend a lot of money on a TV set, with the promise that program providers would provide programming. Now, exactly how long did you expect the content streaming into your at-home video box would be FREE?

So they get you to make this sizable investment on this big-ticket electronic device, and after hooking you in and creating a nightly habit you can’t kick — bang! — they then start charging you to feed that habit.

What were you going to do, start reading books again?

Which brings us to this Saturday, in which sports viewers have a cavalcade of viewing choices — Yankees-Red Sox, Angels-Giants and Reds-Braves MLB games, the NHL playoffs, a possible Game 7 in the NBA playoffs, Day 3 of the NFL draft and the Kentucky Derby. All for free.*

Or Mayweather-Pacquiao for $99.95.

When I say “free,” uh, it’s not really free. Most of us will tune in to those weekend events through a cable or satellite service — like Time Warner Cable or DirecTV — whose top executives are driving Lexus SUVs by day and sipping Grey Goose by night courtesy of inflated subscriber fees.

I’m usually hesitant to compare stuff from different eras, but I recall in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, I paid $440 a semester in tuition at the University of Maryland, which covered five hour-long courses each taught three times a week, plus parking. Now, 35 years later, they want me to pay $99.95 just to watch two guys punch each other in the head on TV for maybe an hour.

(In reality, nobody gets punched in the head that much in most Mayweather fights. It’s amazing how much money he’s made in the ring, usually just by avoiding getting hit. Mayweather’s specialty, actually, is hitting people outside of the ring, usually women.)

Even without harking back to a bygone era, Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn’t hold up well value-wise; let’s compare it to, say, NBA League Pass. For $99.95, Mayweather-Pacquiao could be over in less than five minutes. For just twice the cost, $199, NBA League Pass gives you hundreds of NBA matchups over several months, each providing 2   1/ 2hours of video entertainment — well, save for Knicks games.

A hundred bucks to watch a fight on TV? That’s a hundred bags of Fritos from the dollar store.

For a hundred bucks, I need Pacquiao to knock out Mayweather, then come over and spackle the cracks in my rec-room wall before preparing some crunchy almond-crusted duck breasts with chanterelle salad for me and Toni.

The smart thing to do, if you insist on ordering the fight — considering this is the land of Andrew Carnegie and Mark Zuckerberg — would be to capitalize on it by charging your friends, like a nightclub. I’d suggest a $10 cover, two-drink minimum, plus provide complimentary popcorn and salty pretzels to spike beverage sales.

I’d go a step further and bring in some live entertainment — a local comedian or pantomime artist, depending on the crowd — and, weather permitting, run a dice game in the back patio area. You also might want to emulate a real fight card and give your guests an “undercard” — maybe a “Game of Thrones” episode or two before the big bout begins.

And, on second thought, I’d recommend charging $9.95 to get in the door.

Ask The Slouch

Q. Jameis Winston now says he didn’t steal those crab legs, they were given to him. Does this change your perspective on him? (David Weiss; Scottsdale, Ariz.)

A. If he were smart enough to cook those crab legs in garlic butter, yes; otherwise, no.

Q. Did I read correctly that the proposed Chargers-Raiders NFL stadium in Los Angeles might shoot lightning bolts after Chargers touchdowns? (Tom McManus; Chicago)

A. To be honest, we could really use the rain out here.

Q. After seeing Reds manager Bryan Price’s 77 f-bombs ranked only 8th on the all-time list of rants, I expected to see one of your ex-wives in the top 7. (Jim O’Brien; Racine, Wis.)

A. Actually, each of my ex-wives specialized in the silent treatment.

Q. Now that Major League Baseball has partnered with DraftKings, will Pete Rose’s fantasy team be banned for life? (Mike Wilsman; Severna Park, Md.)

A. Pay the man, Shirley.

You, too, can enter the $1.25 Ask The Slouch Cash Giveaway. Just e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and, if your question is used, you win $1.25 in cash!

Norman Chad writes a syndicated sports humor column.

“So how many times have you ridden a horse?” Pablo Braunschweig, the owner of the Horseback Riding School at Vista Paraiso asked me. “I don’t know. Maybe four or five times,” I replied. “Ahh, so you can count,”he teased in response, instantly making me feel comfortable with his friendly banter, and easygoing, witty personality. We were in Higuera Blanca, just a short drive from Sayulita, on Vista Paraiso’s beautiful and spacious ranch, and Pablo was sizing me up for my horseback riding lesson. I warned him that while I’ve been horseback riding before, I’m an inexperienced rider, and don’t feel very comfortable on a horse. Even so, I was excited to take my first horseback riding lesson ever.There was a nice breeze in the air, blowing the palm leaves, and the evening was warm and sunny. Roosters, chickens, turkeys, and even a large, colorful parrot with vibrant colors of red, green, blue, and orange, roamed about. A man-made pond could be seen from where I sat, and in the distance, I could see the mountains. The location could not be any more perfect to experience a horseback riding lesson in a peaceful and tranquil setting.I opted for a lesson in a group setting, and watched as three young girls, who regularly take lessons with Pablo, tacked up the horses. Pablo, who has been teaching horseback riding lessons for approximately 30 years and is skilled at teaching children, explained the importance of familiarizing the girls with the horses and vice versa. As the horses were tacked up, I was fitted with chaps and a helmet, in preparation for my lesson.