Lucas Fink Backside Hack | Photo by John Yeatman (Website | IG)
The Zap World Championships of Skimboarding took place at Dewey Beach, DE on August 11th through 13th, presented by Alley Oop Skim and Skim USA. The contest had 30 professional men and 8 professional women including riders from Brazil, Mexico, California, and up and down the east coast. The conditions were excellent throughout the weekend, with offshore winds and 2-3 foot waves on all three days. For the professional men, Lucas Fink of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil finished in the top spot, his second UST win of the year. Chabe White of Mazunte, Mexico won for the professional women, also her second UST win of the year.
The early rounds of the pros ran on Friday. Early standouts from the pro men included Eddie Dixon from Florida who snagged what many claimed was the best wave of the day, a frontside liner with two in-n-out barrels. Dane Cameron of Laguna Beach, Calif. had a great first heat linking combos like a tre-shuv out to a backside 360 re-entry air. Dewey Beach local Will Ashmore was another day-one standout who consistently found some of the biggest and best waves in each of his early heats, tucking into multiple barrels throughout the morning.
Chabe White Backside Air | Photo by John Yeatman (Website | IG)
Early standouts for the pro women included Sydney Pizza of Dewey Beach who took her smooth riding style and drove backside liners down the beach. Julia Dias of Ubatuba, Brazil had a great round-one heat, making use of her powerful backside turns. Ashley Poshard of Los Gatos, Calif. was another power skimmer in the early rounds, hitting waves late and throwing lots of spray.
Finals day started on Sunday as a new swell started showing in the early morning hours. Conditions on Sunday were even better than Friday, with a slightly larger swell and light offshore winds throughout the morning. Men’s UST points leader Yahir Valencia of Barra de Navidad started the day off strong with combos like a 360 turn on a backside liner with a 540 shuvit back in. However, in the quarter finals Y. Valencia received an interference call on the first wave exchange against Ethan Redefer, leading to Y. Valencia’s elimination. As the quarterfinals and semifinals progressed, standouts started to show. The first semi final was between Dewey local Ethan Redefer and Gerardo Valencia. G. Valencia of Barra de Navidad, Mexico brought out some incredible combos like a 360 shuvit to a frontside air. Redefer answered back and tucked into a driving frontside barrel with a doggy-door exit, the top score of the heat, which ended up being the difference maker, securing his spot in the final. The other semifinal saw Fink and Zac Henderson face off. Henderson landed some great tricks like a backside bigger spin. However, Fink linked multiple combos throughout the heat and was able to find himself on the biggest waves, leading him into the final as well.
Zap World Championships Setup | Photo by Maggie Fernandez (IG)
For the women’s semifinals, White and Poshard battled it out in the first heat. Poshard had multiple strong backside hits, but ultimately White threw in a variety of tech tricks on her rides and White ended up advancing to the final. The second semifinal heat saw McCullough and Pizza match up. The heat was very tight, and Pizza pulled ahead with about three minutes remaining. Soon after McCullough slid out to her best ride of the weekend and laid into a tight backside wrap and tucked into a barrel. That wave turned the lead over to McCullough and she hung on to advance into the final.
The men’s final with Redefer and Fink started with both riders running for the same wave, and Fink got the better of the exchange with 360 shuvit out to a driving barrel. Redefer answered back with a few nice frontside liners, but ultimately Fink put together a great heat and was able to hold the lead and take the contest win. “We did it again,” Fink said after his win. “Love Dewey Beach. Thanks everybody for such a great contest. Thank you UST for a great tour. We keep going. Boratime. What goes around, comes around.”
Ethan Redefer In-n-out Barrel in the Semifinal | Photo by John Yeatman (Website | IG)
The women’s final started with McCullough spinning a small backside 360 off the lip. White quickly answered back with a near vertical backside slash. Both riders traded rides back and forth, including a long frontside liner to shuvit by McCullough. White finished out the heat with a smooth backside liner with a 180 ollie in the flats. In the end, the judges gave the edge to White and she took home her second UST win of the 2023 season. “I’m really happy,” White said after her win. “We got the first place. I’m really happy to be in the next competition at Oktoberfest. This is a really nice win. I appreciate everyone who made this happen.”
UST Points Race
With her second win, Chabe White has pulled far out in front for the professional women with 2810 points, followed by Ashley Poshard with 2160, Sydney Pizza with 2017, and Amber Torrealba with 1975. Casey McCullough rounds out the top five with 1900; however, after missing stop 1, she can make up a lot of ground at Oktoberfest and still has a shot at the UST title.
After four events, Yahir Valencia has held onto his lead for the professional men with 3134 points. Despite missing stop 1, Lucas Fink has closed the gap considerably, climbing to second place with 2867 points. Close behind is Dane Cameron with 2674, Timmy Gamboa with 2194, and Zac Henderson with 2141.
Results
Pro Men
- Lucas Fink – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Ethan Redefer – Dewey Beach, Del.
- Gerardo Valencia – Barra de Navidad, Mexico
- Zac Henderson – Laguna Beach, Calif.
See Full Pro Men 2023 Standings
Pro Women
- Chabe White – Mazunte, Mexico
- Casey McCullough – Stuart, Fla.
- Sydney Pizza – Dewey Beach, Del.
- Ashley Poshard – Los Gatos, Calif.
See Full Pro Women 2023 Standings
Words by David Haefele
Photos by John Yeatman (Website | IG) and Maggie Fernandez (IG)
