The 2015 Sununga Skim Festival brought competitive skimboarding to a whole new level. For years skimboarders have wanted to run a contest in conditions that push the limits of our sport and the beach of Sununga provides waves that allow us to accomplish exactly that. Sununga is located in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the city of Ubatuba. Unlike many of the contests on the tour, this event has a 7-day waiting period that allow athletes and contest organizers to decide when to run heats in the best of conditions. This year’s waiting period began with a stormy day with high winds and rain, which was followed by three days of siders that carried competitors across the entire beach. As much as tricks were emphasized and pulled aplenty, Sununga is an in-n-out barrel magnet. Similar to surfing at Pipeline, barrel riding seemed to bring the highest scores in this contest. Ideal conditions from Tuesday through Thursday allowed the contest to be finished within the first four days of the waiting period. The photos speak for themselves.
This event has been a part of the UST for three consecutive years, with each year upping the ante of the previous. This year, complete with live webcast and a new system of scoring whereby the scores for each wave were announced shortly after ridden, the competitors in a heat, along with spectators on the beach and viewers from around the world, knew exactly where they stood during a heat. This also allowed riders to take a more strategic approach towards winning each heat. With a panel of five judges, scores for each ride were averaged and posted momentarily after the competitor finished each ride. This added a new element of excitement to competitive skimboarding that kept both viewers and competitors on their toes.
Big ups to Marcos Casteluber for all of his hard work and dedication for bringing all of the pieces together to create one of the best contests yet. Also, thanks to all of the sponsors of the Sununga Skim Festival: UOT, Red Bull, Exile Skimboards, Du Preto Skimboards, Zap Skimboards, AlleyOop, Filibuster, Acai Fruta Brasileira, and Hotel Solar das Aguas Cantantes, Thank you to the talented Be Ignacio for performing “Sununga” for our crowd. A huge thank you to the City of Ubatuba and Mayor Maurício Moromizato for their support.
1st: Blair Conklin
2nd: Leandro Azvedo
3rd: Sam Stinnett
4th: Pablo Marreco
Photos: Corinne Conklin