The boom in the Argentine surfing hotbed: a high-level tournament in Mar del Plata and a campus in Hawaii heading towards the future

The Argentine surfing hotbed continues to explode . In the country and abroad. On the one hand, these days another great edition of the main Argentine junior tournament, the 'Quiksilver & Roxy Young Guns Series', was held, with a high level of boys and girls that led to a historic milestone : a surfer winning three categories. And on the other hand, at the same time, three of the most advanced jewels, Franco Radziunas , Thiago Passeri and Juan García Mata , who until recently shone in this type of tournament, are doing a master's degree in the mythical waves of Hawaii .

These situations highlight two important points: talents continue to appear at the base of the Argentine surfing pyramid, but at the same time, the best are looking to break away from the norm and rub shoulders with bigger rivals at ages when, in the past, the top players could not leave the country.

The 2025 junior season kicked off at the Honu Beach resort in Mar del Plata with the first date of the Argentine junior circuit, which is overseen by the Argentine Surfing Association and sponsored by Ford and Gatorade. The new blood of Argentine surfing battled it out in a national classic that also has a long history at an international level and has consecrated current world stars such as Leo Fioravanti (Italy), Gabriel Medina (Brazil), and Mikey Wright (Australia) before making the jump to the major leagues. It has been held in Argentina since 2005 and this year it had five categories during two very good days of waves, with an organization in keeping with such an event.

The shocking thing was that Facundo Ruggiero made history by winning three of them (M14, M16 and M18) with a surf that combined fluidity, aggressiveness, technique and reading the sea. “It was really very special to win all three, especially because of the high level that Young Guns always has. Consistency is very important in a tournament like this and the physical and mental aspects play a big role. Winning heats helped me with confidence, but I really ended up destroyed. This is a great motivation to continue on the path that my brother is forging,” said Facu, referring to Juan Cruz, who shone in Juniors and has been doing so in Open for three years (he was champion of the national circuit in 2022 at 20 years old and now comes from winning the first date, the RVCA Open Pro).

Among the girls, the situation was more even. Victoria Muñoz Larreta led the way in M18 and Maia Radziunas, a member of the Roxy team and the last link in a family with a long surfing tradition, won in M16 . “The sea was difficult at the beginning but I was able to catch some good waves to show my surfing and end up winning. This victory to start the circuit is very important because one of the goals of the year is to be Argentine champion. I have been training a lot, in the water and physically, so winning like this motivates me a lot, beyond the emotion it means,” said Maia, who this year also hopes to be in the National Team and be able to travel to test himself in other waves, like her brother Franco, two-time national Open champion who is now in Hawaii with his father, Luis, who was Argentine champion in 1991. “They are my two role models, who support me and give me advice constantly to improve. I have a lot of support and heritage within my family,” added the 14-year-old surfer.

“We are very proud and honoured to open the circuit with this classic, with the commitment to always provide the best setting for the kids to not only have fun, but also gain experience and start to feel what it is like to put on a rashguard and compete. This is an important step in their development that we are now seeing continue with several of those who were in this tournament going to take another leap in quality in the most famous spots in the world, such as today with the presence of Franco Radziunas, Thiago Passeri and Juan García Mata in Hawaii. The last two are old enough to be competing in the Young Guns but they are there... This speaks of the great growth of the national surfing seedbed,” reflected Chris Troncoso, Marketing Director of Quiksilver.

National surfing is taking off and Martín Passeri, the most successful surfer in history, is experiencing it first-hand, now in Hawaii, as coach of his son and Radziunas . “Today there are kids reaching top international standards taking their surfing to another level. Nobody reaches the elite of the sport from the comfort of their home, and today we have a group achieving important results and this pushes the younger ones to follow that path. Franco already realized how important it is to come to Hawaii during the wave season and is now living his second season. Thiago, barely 15 years old, breaks the eggshell and does what every surfer of his age and level should. Hawaii exposes you to a lot of new adaptations. There is a phrase that says that 'you surf everywhere but God watches you more in Hawaii'”, analyzed Martín.

His son, who has had exciting results for a year and a half, is living the experience as an adult. “Hawaii is a dream come true that happened in the best way. After a year of a lot of competition, my father and I decided to reduce the number of events and do more training camps in powerful, quality waves. We went to Panama and now we have come to Hawaii in search of bigger waves that challenge me more and help me grow as a surfer. On top of that, being able to experience it with Franco who pushes me all the time is something incredible,” Thiago said.

Here and there. The growth of the surfing hotbed does not stop.