Home to some of the best skimboarding beaches on the east coast of the USA, Dewey Beach delivered solid conditions during day one and two of the 2019 Zap World Championships of Skimboarding. The contest started on Friday morning when the third stop of the Men’s United Skim Tour was greeted with solid 2-3 foot barreling waves and clean conditions. The top six ranked professional men were seeded into the second day of competition, providing a great platform for some of the top up-and-coming skimboarders to showcase their skills.
In round one, Brazilian professional Bruno Sa made a big statement in his UST debut taking first in his heat against Kyle Calandra and Gordy Levine. Other day-one standouts include Paddy Mack who took first in his stacked round-one heat, defeating Derek Shenton and eliminating John Akerman.
On Saturday morning, it was evident that the swell had dropped overnight. Even so, day two saw more of the prime east coast conditions Dewey Beach is known for. The professional women kicked off their round one with one three-person heat and another four-person heat. In the first heat, 2018 UST champion Sophia Nguyen took first over Amber Torrealba and Libby Rendall. In the second heat, Casey Kiernan and Alex Yokley advanced, defeating Ellen Wood and Emma Okoniewski.
From round two onward, the pro men competed in man-on-man heats. The top three ranked riders, Lucas Fink, Blair Conklin, and John Weber, all won their heats in round two, advancing into the quarter finals. Florida’s Derek Shenton made a big statement in the second round, taking down East Coast favorite Perry Pruitt from North Carolina. Dewey Beach local Lucas McCoy fed off the hometown hype in round two, defeating Max Smetts. Bruno Sa had another good heat on day two, taking down Paddy Mack.
The swell dropped considerably on Finals day, but there was still a decent pulse in the water that lent opportunities for the pros to bring out their tech game. For the pro men, the two Brazilian competitors, Lucas Fink and Bruno Sa, met in the Quarter finals. Bruno couldn’t quite connect with a lot of his major maneuvers, leaving plenty of room for Lucas to pull ahead and get the heat win. With the swell dropping, the quarter finals saw maybe only four or five sets during all four heats. Despite the lack of major waves, Blair was lucky enough to nab two serious set waves in his heat against Lucas McCoy, enough for Blair to advance to the semis. The quarters also saw John Weber and Zack Carter go head to head. Their heat had one of the best exchanges of the contest with two airs by each of them. Zack stuck a frontside full rotation air and quickly followed it up with a backside full rotation air. Weber then launched a massive backside 180 into the flats. John edged out Zack in that heat. Derek Shenton and Eddie Dixon battled in the last quarter final heat of the day, but Derek was able to bring out an unpredictable tech game that gave him the heat win.
In the professional women’s final, Sophia Nguyen skimmed with plenty of style and speed, giving her a clear advantage. Casey Kiernan fought back with some smooth backside turns of her own, and Amber Torrealba brought out her tech game. Nevertheless, Sophia was able to pull ahead in the heat and nab her first UST win of the season.
The professional men semi finals saw current UST points leader Lucas Fink up against Derek Shenton. The heat was close, but Fink was stomping nearly everything he tried, and it seemed like he could not fall. He threw a couple combos and this ultimately gave Fink the win and earned his spot in the final. Blair and Weber met in the semi finals for the second contest in a row. Blair had an out-of-character heat, and Weber looked to be better equipped to work with the east-coast conditions. This paved the way for Weber and Fink to meet in the final.
The pro men final started off with a bang with both competitors coming out swinging. Each of them had completions on their first six rides. Lucas and Weber both took advantage of their backhand, with Lucas sticking to the south side of the contest area as a regular foot and Weber mostly utilizing the north side as a goofy foot. Weber landed one of the best tricks of the 2019 Tour so far, a 360 shuvit stalefish grab off the lip. Lucas on the other hand opted for combos, and on one wave he stomped a 360 shuvit on the way out with a bigger spin off the lip. Weber seemed more patient during the latter half of the heat, while Lucas continued his small wave assault. Lucas’s combo strategy ultimately grabbed him the win, extending his lead in the UST standings.
Congratulations to all the competitors, and a big thank you to contest director Jason Wilson in addition to all the sponsors and volunteers for putting together such an incredible event.
Professional Men
- Lucas Fink
- John Weber
- Blair Conklin
- Derek Shenton
Professional Women
- Sophia Nguyen
- Casey Kiernan
- Amber Torrealba
- Alex Yokley
Photos: Kevin Newcomer and John Yeatman (IG | Trident Image Group)