Burnett and Nguyen both Claim First at Vilano Beach in St. Augustine
Florida contest director Steve Pullara has always chosen his contest dates for mid August to line up with solid weekend high tides and Florida’s hurricane season. This year, hurricane Henri came through, delivering a solid one-to-three foot swell during the contest window, providing some of the best skimboarding waves Vilano Beach has seen all season according to locals.
The Florida Pro/Am was held on August 21st and 22nd at Vilano Beach in St. Augustine. This was the third event for the professional men and the second event of the season for the professional women. With point totals starting to stack up in each division, this contest was set to make a big impact on how the standings of the UST played out as the season entered its second half. The professional men’s field included 10 riders, mostly from the east coast as well as one international rider from Mexico. Similarly, the women’s division included 4 riders, with 2 from Florida, 1 traveling from California and 1 from Mexico.
Round one of the professional men kicked off early on Saturday morning with some of the best waves of the weekend. The swell was holding steady at three feet and riders were mixing it up with a variety of airs and strong turns. Zack Carter pulled a very impressive backside air that got the judges talking. Florida’s Jackson Tenney and Dave Armstrong both had strong showings in round one, advancing on to the quarter finals. Carter and Naji Taha were unfortunately eliminated in round one, despite each scoring a handful of strong waves. The contest then moved onto the amateur rounds before returning in the evening for another round of professionals.
In the quarter finals for the men, a few of the top ranked skimboarders started to shine in their heats. Gerardo Valencia made his presence known throughout the entire weekend, as he was consistently boosting airs frontside and backside higher than any other competitor. Chester Burnett took a hard slam early in his quarter final heat, banging his knee on the sand and leading to a pretty serious cut. Despite this, Burnett stayed steady in his heat and advanced to the semi finals before heading to the hospital for a few stitches. Derek Shenton and Sam McCoy are two others who made it through their quarter final heats, setting up for a showoff in the semi finals on Sunday.
The professional women started with a four-person seeding round. Top ranked rider Sophia Nguyen has proven herself to be one of the most consistent riders in the field, and this showed again as she took first in this round. Her strong tech skills and precise wave knowledge consistently score her higher than the rest of her field. Amber Torrealba, a Florida native living in California, snagged second in this round over Casey Kiernan and Irais Ibarra. The final was set with Nguyen and Torrealba.
Both semi final heats in the professional men’s division saw razor thin point margins, each being decided by less than two points. Ultimately Burnett’s unrelenting tech scored him 0.2 points above Shenton, even with Burnett’s stitched up leg. Similarly, Valencia scored 1.5 points above competitor Sam McCoy. These two are both ranked very high on the UST standings, so this heat was a major deciding factor in the current points standings.
The final for the professional women saw Nguyen again stay consistent and strong throughout the entire final. Judges were rewarding her with multiple 10s throughout the weekend, and this final was no different. Ultimately, Nguyen held her lead over Torrealba, securing her second win of the season.
The final for the professional men saw two very different approaches. The waves were setting up lining down the beach to the north with both regular foot riders choosing to skim frontside for most of the heat. Burnett was catching a variety of long liners throughout the heat, with one such ride including a multi-second fire hydrant into a mini cover up. Valencia took a more explosive approach, opting to hit the waves late. His approach included manufacturing frontside airs into the flats of small one foot waves. Burnett answered back with another long frontside liner that included two 360 shuvits down the line. Burnett’s longer waves and technical game scored him the upper hand in the final, and he was awarded first place at the 2021 Florida Pro/Am.
Professional Men
- Chester Burnett
- Gerardo Valencia
- Sam McCoy
- Derek Shenton
Professional Women
- Sophia Nguyen
- Amber Torrealba
- Casey Kiernan
- Irais Ibarra
UST Points Race
With just three events on the calendar, and the top two best performances counting toward each riders points total, this event was a crucial one for the professional women. After winning first in Delaware and second in Florida, Nguyen clinched her fourth UST title with this victory. She was awarded another 1000 points, earning her the maximum 2000 season points. Congratulations to Sophia Nguyen on another great season.
The men’s point race is really starting to heat up after three events. Mexico’s Gerardo Valencia for the first time in his career has risen to the top of the leaderboard. After this second place finish along with this third place in Delaware and fifth in North Carolina, Valencia currently has 2240 points. Behind him are both of the McCoy brothers: Sam McCoy has 2136 points in second and Lucas McCoy has 1901 in third. Closing out the top four is the FL Pro/Am champion Chester Burnett with 1781. The tour will go to the west coast for the final two events of the season. Stay tuned!
View current Men’s standings here.
View current Women’s standings here.
Words by David Haefele
On site notes provided by Brad Evers
Photos by Sara Leclaire (IG)