This is part of the LagunaBeachBest.com “Di’s 5: What to Do in Laguna Beach This Weekend.” Click here to check out other events and activities for July 15th – 17th in Laguna Beach!
[singlepic id=292 w=320 h=240 mode=watermark float=left] The Grandpappy skimboarding event of all skimboarding events – The Victoria Skimboards World Championship of Skimboarding – is happening this weekend in Laguna Beach, July 16th and 17th. Grab your friends, a couple of beach blankets, and plenty of quarters and dollars for the parking meters and beach burgers, respectively, and park yourself at this phenomenal event. (Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen. We all got crispified like bacon last year.)
“The Vic” is the World Championship Skim event; it sits midstride in the season’s United Skim Tour. It has a way of upending year-to-date standings, clearly separating the top of the pro charts from the contenders in Aliso Beach’s take-no-prisoners waters. More than 100 pro skimboarders from all over the world compete in this event, and the amateur classes just keep getting larger in number (last year, the 15-17 year old category almost outranked the number of pros competing).
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There’s no better place to see the BEST talent in the skimboarding world, and no better place to see EMERGING talent make its way from grom amateur status to pro potential. And, of course, it IS the world’s leading skimboard event – rightfully so – as the sport of skimboarding was largely founded here on the south beaches of Laguna Beach with Victoria Skimboards providing planks for the ride.
Last year, Morgan (Mo) Just edged out longtime champ Bill Bryan to take his first win at The Vic. Shortly thereafter, Mo tangled with some kinda wave machine down south and mangled his ankle and foot, effectively benching him for the end-of-season competition.
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This year, after the first two events of the UST tour, Bill Beakdog Bryan is in 1st position, well ahead of the pack. (Note to self: Is this guy EVER going to quit?) Mo Just is currently in 2nd, with fellow pro skimboarders Sammy Stinnett, Brad Domke and Austin Keen separated from Mo’s lead by mere digits.
Everything starts rolling around 7:30 on Saturday morning. The pros usually start their first heats a couple hours thereafter, but the ETA is always a moving target, based on what Tex Haines, founder of Victoria Skimboards, sees the ocean doing out there. All age classes compete to semi-final status, and the games begin again, bright and early on Sunday, through the final heats.
I’ll be down there in usual position taking photos. I won’t be covering every age class this time around, but will still post photos for sale at my online photo gallery, www.SkimboardPhotos.com
See you on the beach!
Click here to check out other events and activities for July 15th – 17th in Laguna Beach!
© 2011, Diane Armitage, LagunaBeachBest.com