Rio de Janeiro - Despite stay-at-home
orders aiming to protect people from the new coronavirus, many
of Rio de Janeiro's famous beaches have been buzzing with
surfers seeking to catch the season's first big swell.
That has thrown surfers such as Guilherme Faria headlong
into a public debate about the legal limits on outdoor sports -
in his case, a question that will be soon be decided by a judge.
The 22-year-old said he was catching 9-foot curlers on
Copacabana Beach on Sunday morning when a policeman with a
whistle between his teeth hauled him out of the water and down
to the station.
"Unfortunately, surfing is now a crime," said Faria, who
received a court summons - seen by Reuters - after his booking.
"I hope I don't end up with a criminal record for something as
silly as that."
A few hours later, even with the threat of a fine, Faria and
his board were back in the Copacabana surf.
Surfer Bruno Bocayuva exercises on the rooftop of his apartment complex, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture: Ian Cheibub/Reuters
Like thousands of Rio's famously sporty locals, Faria could
not resist the call of the outdoors. The esplanade lining the
city shore is packed with joggers. Groups of spandex-clad
bicyclists zip up and down the city's serpentine mountain roads.
On March 17, city and state officials implored residents to
stay at home, nominally closing beaches and city parks as the
coronavirus pandemic tears through Latin America's third-largest
city.
Rio is Brazil's second-most infected state, according to the
Health Ministry, which reported 12,056 confirmed coronavirus
cases across the country as of Monday.
Some athletes have complied, citing the danger of spreading
the disease en route to beaches. Many argue that sports-related
injuries could divert vital medical resources away from the
coronavirus fight. The debate has also roiled other solo sports,
from skiing to climbing.
Surfers are seen at Recreio dos Bandeirantes Beach amid the coronavirus outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. Picture: Sergio Moraes/Reuters
"There are different opinions among different sports
associations. New guidelines come out every week," said Ana
Carolina Corte, the official doctor for the Brazilian Olympic
Committee. She added that some sports could still be done
"alone, without crowds, without running alongside other people."
Even legal decrees have been subject to debate.
The governor of Rio state, for instance, banned "spending
time at beaches," as some might describe a surfer bobbing in the
water, but not a roller skater gliding past.
Yet some surfers have argued they merely cross over the sand
to enter the ocean or even enter the water via rocky
outcroppings.
Still, many athletes acknowledge their concerns pale next to
the challenge Brazil faces. State governors, including those in
Rio de Janeiro, have warned that underfunded public healthcare
systems could soon collapse.
A surfer arrives in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes Beach amid the coronavirus outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. Picture: Sergio Moraes/Reuters
Bruno Bocayuva, a surfing journalist in Rio, has given up
surfing for weeks in favor of jumping rope, doing push-ups and
keeping in shape any way he can.
"I'm really missing that sensation of being in the water, of
paddling, of catching a wave, of connecting with nature through
surf, which provides such an intimate connection. But I know
this is the moment to think of the collective good," he said.
"I'm letting this wave pass, to surf the next one in the
near future."
BITTER DEBATE
Perhaps due to its high visibility or anti-establishment
vibes, surfing has emerged as unique target of ire across the
region.
In Costa Rica, a video on social media last week showed a
police officer apparently firing a gun in the direction of
28-year-old law student Rafael Villavicencio as he left the
water.
Reuters could not verify the video's authenticity. The head
of the Costa Rican police said they had opened an investigation
into the incident.
"Although it's true that the surfers weren't following
orders, that doesn't mean an official should act in that way,"
said Villavicencio's lawyer, Rafael Brenes.
Argentina's media heaped scorn on one surfer for entering
the country from Brazil with boards on the roof of his car. The
man later violated a mandatory quarantine, according to police.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez called him "an idiot"
on national television.
Similarly, Peruvian authorities raised eyebrows when they
nabbed two surfers in a highly publicized operation involving a
police helicopter.
In Brazil, a surf-crazed nation where urban beaches are
often clogged before and after work, the debate has taken an
acrimonious and even political turn.
President Jair Bolsonaro has berated Rio Governor Wilson
Witzel for closing beaches, calling the move "dictatorial."
Bolsonaro's son Eduardo, a congressman from Sao Paulo state,
just down the coast, argued in a Facebook post on Thursday for a
decree to allow surfing that conforms with social distancing.
With or without a decree, many surfers are simply doing what
they can to dodge attention - and each other.
"I came early to avoid this total isolation controversy,"
said Ricardo Bacão, a 65-year-old surfer from Rio's Ipanema
neighborhood, as he exited the water on Sunday morning.
"In the same way that people run, they hike, they ride
bikes, somebody can grab a board, leave the house, go directly
to the water, paddle and go home."