Riviera Nayarit, Mexico - The Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard race, a professional stand up paddle (SUP) and paddleboard competition was held in early June. During the tournament, Mexico was well represented by surfers and paddlers Javier "Bicho" Jiménez and Fernando Stalla.

Sayulita, the Surf Capital of the Riviera Nayarit, is home to the majority of the paddlers and surfers that make up the Mexican SUP and Paddleboard team. This is why the top surf athletes from Nayarit end up representing the country in international competitions. This time around, Bicho won third place against the best athletes in the world. Fernando took seventh place.

"I'm very honored to represent Mexico and the Riviera Nayarit around the world and to do them proud," said Bicho Jiménez, considered in Mexico and elsewhere as a youth showing exceptional promise. "What's important is for the SUP from Mexico and Nayarit to gain notoriety and to represent them well on the international and global stages."

In one of the articles published after the Santa Monica race the author stated "And most entertaining of all was the work of Mexico's rising star Javier 'Bicho' Jimenez," in recognition of this Mexican talent.

A few days later, Jiménez placed first in long distance and second in technical during a race in San Diego, California.

Bicho will also participate in several other tournaments this year including: The South Bay Dozen and Race The Lake Of The Sky, both in June; the Stand Up World Series Huntington Beach in September and the Battle Of The Paddle in October. The latter is one of the most important competitions at a global level.

The Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau would like to extend its congratulations to all the Riviera Nayarit surfers and paddlers that represent Mexico around the world.