After back to back events in France and Santa Cruz the last two weekends, the point standings are tightening up. With only one event remaining competitors will be giving their all this weekend in Balboa.
After winning the France event, Morgan Just jumped solidly into the top 5 UST and by following up with a fifth place finish in Santa Cruz he solidified it even more.
The real winner in terms of points however was Sam Stinnett who scored back to back second place results and as a result went from a dead heat for first on the tour to a 200+ point lead in first place. If he can manage a third place or better at this weekends event, there is no one that can beat him in 2011.
Brad Domke has the best chance at beating Sam this year as he placed a close third in France and eighth in Santa Cruz, which opened up the lead for Sam, but not by much. A first place finish by Brad and a fourth place or worst by Sam is what it would take for Domke to win his first UST title.
After missing France but winning in Santa Cruz, Blair Conklin has landed solidly in the top three his first full year on the UST tour. Nearly 700 points behind Sam, it is technically possible for him to walk away with a first, but realistically improbable. Even moving up to second place would require an early exit from Brad Domke. From a points standpoint Blair will need to do at least 189 points better than Bill Bryan who is currently in fourth in order to hang onto his third place in 2011.
It looks as though Bill Bryan who won the tour the last three years in a row and is hands down the winnningest skimboarder of all time will not be walking away with the UST title in 2011. A solid performance at Oktoberfest in conjunction with with an early exit by Blair or Domke could easily see him jump up to 2nd or 3rd however, which would be a an impressive way to round out a solid season.
Morgan is currently solidly in 5th place on the tour and with a significant point buffer both ahead and behind him, it looks as though fifth place might be where he winds up.
After 5th place, the rankings get much tighter and there is much more uncertainty going into the final event. Austin Keen is in 6th but is only leading Teddy Vlasis in 7th by a single point. They are then followed by Jake Stinnett, Jason Wilson, Brandon Sears and John Akerman, all of which are within 600 points. A solid performance by any of these riders in the final event will lead to a significant boost in their final 2011 UST ranking.
But don’t take our word for it. Check out the rankings for yourself!