Criminals are suspected of having burned down the House of Waves surf school in Cabarete on Wednesday, 24 March. The school recently reopened after the Ministry of Sports invested in its refurbishment and contributed to an innovative program organized by the Dominican Surfing Federation (Fedosurf) to teach surfing to children living in Sosua and Cabarete, in the first phase of a program aimed at boosting the teaching of surfing nationwide.
In his column today, Tuesday 2 April, El Dia sports editor Hugo Lopez Morrobel urges the authorities to get to the bottom of the crime. Lopez said that the authorities could not allow criminals to take this sort of action without being penalized. He pointed out that the remodeled location was the result of a collective effort to contribute to Dominican youth. He said that the locale was the main headquarters for training athletes in the discipline and that it had been inaugurated by the Ministry of Sports just five days ago. The program is supervised by Jesmarin Puente, a trainer certified by the Pan-American Surf Association, as well as a professional lifesaver certified by the International Lifesaving Surf Association (ISLA) and an international judge for Surfing Australia.
In a note sent to local online news outlet Puerto Plata Digital, Fedosurf said that the premeditated robbery and arson destroyed all the sports equipment that had been in the store, worth several thousands of dollars. They criticized the fact that the crime was committed just before the peak surfing holiday of Easter.
Fedosurf is calling on the authorities to arrest and penalize those responsible especially since it was just a few days ago that the government presented its Comprehensive Citizen Safety Program where it promised to prosecute and prevent crime.
www.eldia.com.do/columnas/2013/4/1/110841/Un-crimen-descomunal
www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=12463