La Ribera is getting a new ambulance, and the community has 69 fishing teams to thank for it. The 2026 Copa Presidente de Pesca Deportiva wrapped up its awards ceremony on Saturday, August 15, at La Ribera beach with an announcement that went beyond who caught the biggest marlin: organizers are donating the tournament’s entire 408,000 pesos, roughly $22,000 USD, in entry fees toward buying an ambulance for the community.
For residents and visitors along the East Cape, where medical response times can be a real concern given the distance from larger hospitals in San José del Cabo, a dedicated ambulance is a tangible upgrade to local emergency care. The donation was announced by Juan Javier García Davis, the municipality’s director of Fishing and Aquaculture, alongside Carlos Castro Ceseña, the municipal director of Social Development, La Ribera’s municipal delegate Linda Maribel Silva Cosío, and Francisco Cota Márquez, director of the municipality’s Civil Protection and Risk Management office.
How the Tournament Raised the Money
The Copa Presidente offered a guaranteed prize pool of 300,000 pesos, split across three categories: marlin, tuna and dorado, with 100,000 pesos guaranteed per category, plus additional side-bet pools known locally as pollas. Team #29, “2 Amigos,” took first place in the marlin category with a 272-pound blue marlin caught by angler Arcadio Montaño, earning the guaranteed 100,000-peso prize. Team #56, “Baja Lakes,” landed a 256-pound marlin and walked away with 469,000 pesos from the category’s accumulated pollas.
In the yellowfin tuna category, team “El Primazo” took top honors with an 81.24-pound catch, while “Brad Decision” claimed a separate 5,000-peso polla with a 75.99-pound tuna. Notably, no winning dorado was recorded this year, so organizers returned the full 220,000 pesos in dorado pollas to participants, a move García Davis highlighted as a point of transparency for the tournament.
While those prize pools came from separate polla contributions, the ambulance donation came specifically from tournament entry fees, the full amount collected from the 69 participating teams. That structure meant every team that signed up for this year’s Copa Presidente was, whether they caught a fish or not, contributing directly to the ambulance fund.
Part of a Bigger East Cape Fundraising Pattern
This isn’t the first time a Los Cabos fishing tournament has turned into a community fundraiser. The move echoes past East Cape efforts covered in previous community ambulance donations and follows a broader pattern of tournaments doubling as civic fundraisers, similar to what organizers have done with Cabo firefighters’ shore fishing fundraiser. García Davis said this year’s edition reaffirms the municipal government’s commitment to sport fishing with a social purpose, one that supports La Ribera’s tourism economy while delivering direct benefits to residents.
What Comes Next
No timeline has been announced yet for when the new ambulance will arrive or begin service in La Ribera. For now, the tournament’s outcome adds to a growing list of East Cape events, including the annual La Ribera fiestas and fishing tourney, that blend sport fishing with tangible community investment. Anglers and residents interested in future editions of the Copa Presidente should watch for registration details as next year’s tournament approaches.
