The National Fireworks Championship will be held at the Puerto Vallarta Sports Stadium (in front of the Sheridan Buganvilias Resort and Towers) on May 30, as part of the city’s 90th anniversary celebrations.

This is a prelude to the International Fireworks Symposium scheduled to be held in Puerto Vallarta in April of 2009.

Starting at 6:00 pm, this free event will be the largest fireworks display in Puerto Vallarta’s history with over four hours of pyrotechnics competitions.

Eight participating fireworks manufacturers from Mexico City, Sornora, Tlaxcala and Puerto Vallarta will each have a 20 minute extravaganza to wow the crowds .. and the judges … while competing for prizes totaling $200,000 pesos.

This National Competition is a dry run for the International Fireworks Symposium next year.

The events take place at Agustín Flores Contreras Stadium, which is on Blvd. Fco Medina Ascencio B7-K, from April 17-20 (Thursday – Sunday), with matches at 5:15 pm & 6:30 pm. Admission is FREE.

Several tons of sand has transformed a field at the Agustin Flores Contreras sports complex into a beach soccer stadium to welcome teams from the four North American countries competing for two tickets to this sport’s world championship.

This is the first time that México will host this international event. This is also the qualifying venue for the World Cup, the most important competition of the season for the Confederación Norte, Centroamérica y el Caribe de Futbol (Concacaf (Northern, Central American, Caribbean Federation).

The four participating teams will compete for the two tickets to the world championship in Marseilles during the three day event.

Each day there will be back-to-back games, with the first game starting at 5:15 pm and the second at 6:30 pm.

Thursday, April 17
5:15 pm — United States vs Costa Rica
6:30 pm — El Salvador vs Mexico

Friday, April 18,
5:15 pm — El Salvador vs United States
6:30 pm — México vs Costa Rica.

Saturday, April 19
5:15 pm — El Salvador vs Costa Rica
6:30 pm — Mexico vs United States

Sunday, April 20, there will be a game featuring Mexican team against an international “All Stars” team, with players from around the globe.

Marseilles will host the Beach Soccer World Cup next July, following the preliminary rounds held in:
Puerto Vallarta by Concacaf
Buenos Aires by the South American Soccer Association (Confederacion Sudamericana de futbol)
Durban, South Africa
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Benidorm, Spain,
allowing teams from all continents.

Sixteen teams will be selected from among these teams to play in the World Cup, which will follow the finals in Benidorm.

The coach for the national selection for beach soccer, Ramón Raya, announced that the support from the Fidecomiso de Turismo (Tourism Trust) and the Ayuntamineto de Puerto Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta City Government) has made this great sporting event possible for the city. He also says they are “very eager to have such an event. We will be prepared and our main objective will be to be represented during the world championship in Marseilles. We hope to have the support of Vallartans to continue making history in this sport.”

Mark your calendar now…
Agustín Flores Contreras Stadium
Blvd. Fco Medina Ascencio B7-K
April 17-20, 5:15pm & 6:30pm
Free admission

Since it’s inception in Montreal in 92 when attendees from more than 20 nations met, there have been 10 very successful fireworks Symposia,

• Montreal Canada 1992,
• Vancouver Canada 1994,
• Walt Disney World Orlando 1996,
• Halifax Canada 1998,
• Naples Italy 2000,
• Walt Disney World Orlando 2001,
• Valencia Spain 2003,
• Shiga Japan 2005,
• Berlin Germany 2006
• and the 10th anniversary back in Montreal 2007

and now… Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2009!

Photo credit – Mark Callanan

The Symposia were brought to life by CERL, the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory. After five Symposia CERL turned the administration over to a non-profit International Symposium on Fireworks Society, which continued on with the organization of the 6th Symposium at Walt Disney World .

This series of Symposia has become the world’s premiere international gathering of the pyrotechnic industry. Each Symposium focuses on bringing together individuals of diverse pyrotechnic background, to provide a fertile atmosphere in which to see the newest technology, to trade experience and ideas on ways to enhance the industry and to move the science forward.

The emphasis of the Symposia is on the presentation of papers and the discussion of topics dealing with the safety, scientific, engineering, artistic, and regulatory aspects of fireworks and other pyrotechnics associated with entertainment and celebration on a global basis.

More information