The OBX SkimJam, held from July 26th through July 28th at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, North Carolina, ran as the stop 3 of the UST 2024 season for the pro men with 27 professional men in attendance. While the conditions on Saturday and Sunday were challenging, the professionals in attendance put on a technical show throughout all six rounds, where the best riders of the weekend relied on whitewash rides and technical tricks.
Dane Cameron from Laguna Beach, CA, emerged victorious, securing 1st place. Sterling Myers of Indian Rocks Beach, FL, achieved his best UST result to date with a 2nd place finish. Joao Lucas from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, claimed 3rd place, also his best ever UST result, followed by Timmy Gamboa from Laguna Beach, CA, in 4th. Zac Henderson, also from Laguna Beach, took 5th place, and Lucas Fink of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, rounded out the top six.
A highlight of the event was Timmy Gamboa’s varial flip in his quarterfinal heat against Lucas Fink, earning the highest score of the contest and leading to an early exit for the three-time UST champion, Fink. In the semifinals, Sterling Myers defeated Gamboa, advancing to his first-ever UST final, while Dane Cameron edged out Joao Lucas in a crucial heat, reinforcing his position as the UST points leader.
The final saw Dane Cameron and Sterling Myers in a technical showdown. Dane’s highest scoring ride included two tre-shuvs out to a wave, banking off the whitewash, and a clean 180 shuvit back onto the sand. Despite Sterling’s impressive backside liner to 540 shuvit, it wasn’t enough to come back against Cameron’s lead.
With a $15,000 prize purse, the event paid out some of the biggest pro prize purse amounts to date. Dane Cameron walked away with over $5000 in prize money for his first place finish.
Results
Pro Men
- Dane Cameron – Laguna Beach, California
- Sterling Myers – Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
- Joao Lucas – Rio de Janiero, Brazil
- Timmy Gamboa – Laguna Beach, California
- Zac Henderson – Laguna Beach, California
- Lucas Fink – Rio de Janiero, Brazil
After the third event in OBX, North Carolina, Dane Cameron extended his lead in the standings with a total of 2643 points, thanks to his victory which awarded him 1000 points. Leo Freitas remains in second place with 1975 points, while Gerardo Valencia holds onto third with 1849 points. Timmy Gamboa is close behind in fourth with 1793 points, and Chad Wadsworth follows in fifth with 1662 points. Lucas Fink, who did not attend the first event and thus has a 0 point finish, is in sixth place with 1575 points. Since only the top four performances out of six events will count for each athlete, Fink should be expected to jump up significantly in the latter half of the season after stop 5 when he has a full scoreline of finishes.
Words by David Haefele (IG)
Photos by Garet Pearson (IG), Devin Demenezes (IG), and Eunsung Kim (IG)
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