With the recent announcement by the IOC of the inclusion of surfing in the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, surfing has gained international attention. While the Olympics were being held in Rio, the ISA held their annual World Surfing Games in Costa Rica. Teams from all over the world, representing almost 30 countries, competed for team and individual titles.
Last year’s individual women’s and team gold medal winner, Tia Blanco, had her sights set on back to back titles. Jaco Beach delivered on waves and in 6 rounds of hard fought battles, Tia came out on top getting the gold again and bringing the USA Team enough points for a bronze medal. The ISA was instrumental in getting surfing into the Olympics, so this win in the year that it was announced was very special for Tia.
To celebrate her back to back titles, her parents threw a fete at their San Diego county home for friends, family and teammates from the USA squad. About 70 people gathered at the newly remodeled home to welcome Tia back and get a coveted picture with the gold medal. Tia is a proudly plant-based diet athlete, so the spread of fresh fruits, salads, mock tuna sandwiches, spring rolls, pasta salad, fried tofu and more from vegan caterer Jennie Cooks Catering, was right in tune with the health-conscious crowd. Tia and her family used Hobnob to send out the last minute celebration details.
“I love how easy it was to invite everyone on my list. After Hobnob made the invite design, I literally had all my guests’ invites blasted out within seconds. Now my sister and mom are addicted to the app after they saw how easy it was. I love that my guests were able to upload shots from the party.”
The party lasted all day into the night with a healthy flow of guests coming in and out. Kids ran around trying to get “their turn” with the medal around their necks, family beamed with pride and Tia had a huge smile that could only come from being world champ two years in a row.