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 Skimboarding News for the Year 2000
If you have any Skimboarding related news, tell us at webmaster@skimonline.com View 1999 News 12.20.00 Skimboarding
Added to the Dictionary
- Skimboarding is now
officially recognized in the 2000 version of the American Heritage
Dictionary. 12.07.00 University Sanctioned Skimboarding Club - Want someone else to pay for your contest entry and travel fees? No problem, just pack your bags and your books and enroll in the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Since the University now officially recognizes skimboarding as a sports club, the members are entitled to some school funds in order help them along in their skimming activities. Scott Hayes and some friends have been working to get this club running since last summer. Six months and ten pounds of tedious paper work later, their vision is a reality. Right now there are about 10 members and they are working on getting the basics down and hopefully will be ready for some contests next summer. Pretty badass if you ask me... 12.06.00 Skim Online Acquires a Professional Digital SLR Camera - Stoked! That is the only way to describe how I feel right now. Every time I think of the charge on my credit card I get a little less stoked, but I try to put that in the back of my mind. The Canon D30 is a brand new digital camera that uses new technology for superior photos. And who can argue with superior photos? This will be great for Skim Online's readers as it ensures that I will be able to post great photos for years to come. 11.24.00 Bryan Bros. Don't Go Pro/Am Results - As promised, here are the full results. The two riders I previously blanked on were Jesse Westgaard and Dan McMillian.
As always you can view the results anytime in the 2000 results page, part of the contests section.
Check out the Skimfest
Flyer for more information. To those of you here in Southern California, keep praying for surf. For those of you elsewhere, laugh at our misery while you can, we both know you won't be laughing for long... 10.05.00 Aliso Creek Flowing Once Again - On September 7th Skim Online reported that Aliso Creek was no longer flowing to the ocean. Skim Online also speculated that the reason for this was to avoid coastal pollution by diverting it further out to sea via a subterranean pipe. Well, the creek is once again flowing into the sea. While checking out the waves a couple of days ago I recognized a fowl smell which sure enough turned out to be the result of fresh pollution running into the ocean. The waves were decent but the smell was overpowering. It remains to be seen if the aforementioned pollution diversion program has been abandoned, never existed or is on hiatus. More information on this issue to follow. 09.28.00 San
Diego Waveloch Machine Going on Tour
-
All good things must come to an end and at the Wave House in San Diego
the fun will end on Sunday, at least temporarily. The machine will
soon be dismantled and sent to the first stop of the new tour,
Australia. The machine currently installed at the Wave House is the
same machine used for the swatch tour last year. It was installed
at the Wave House for a short period before construction starts on a
permanent machine this fall. The permanent machine is expected to be
completed around May 2001 and will have two breaks, a left and a
right... 09.23.00 New Skimboard Clothing Line - "Run Drop Slide" is the name of the first ever skimboarding clothing line. Steve Pullara - organizer of the Florida Skimboarding Pro/Am - has been dreaming of starting this company for over a decade. Well, it has finally materialized. Skimboarders all over the world seem to be pretty stoked about getting some clothes made just for them. Plans are already underway to ship the clothes overseas to both England and Japan. It is definitely cool to see such a positive reaction to the first skimboard clothing line. It is a good sign for the sport. Initially available will be a Baseball T Shirt and Basketball Jersey both sporting a Run Drop Slide logo on the front with "00" on the back. Check the site for pictures. Run
Drop Slide's Official Site - Pictures of the goods. 09.23.00 New 10th Street Bros Video Now on Sale - "Chapter 11, Goin for Broke" is the name of the latest Bryan Brothers skimboard video. It was officially released for sale after the Santa Cruz contest last weekend. The video made numerous premiers in its unfinished version all over the U.S. this summer while being constantly worked on. George and Bill were working hard to complete the video during some of the best swell of the year in early Sept, a testament to their dedication. Of course, George was able to slip out for a couple of afternoon sessions. I have seen the video 3 times in its unfinished version and it seems to be very good. Comparable to Sandcrabs and Area 949, one of the best yet. Full review coming soon. 09.18.00
George Bryan Wins in Santa Cruz Upset
- George Bryan defeated his brother Bill in the
O'neil Skim Bash held this past weekend in Santa Cruz. It has been reported that the competition was tight and George narrowly defeated the favorite (...Bill) in the final round. Congrats to George for mixing things up! Here are the top eight pro finishers:
09.15.00 Jus Martel Wins the Rhode Island Skim Jam - Blue Shutters Beach was the scene of the first skimboarding competition ever held on the shores of Rhode Island. The event, small in comparison to other events on the ZAP Pro/Am Tour, was more than a competition, it was the opening of the door to expose the talented skimmers of the New England Region. "The level of skimboarding we saw at the Rhode Island Skim Jam was every bit as high as what's going on at the East Coast Championships yet we never see these guys on tour" commented contest Director Harry Wilson. The Blue Shutters Bach crew cleaned up taking top positions in 8 of the 10 events. Top professional skimmers and local legend Jus Martel lead the charge with authority by cleanly eliminating fellow pro athletes Bill Baxter of Dewey Beach and George Bryan of Laguna Bch without ever losing a round in the Head to Head match ups. And if that wasn't enough Martel took the Big Air Cash Bonus of $85.00 by narrowly edging out George Bryans'two handed grab with a no hands boost right at the end of the heat. In the amateur ranks, the New Englanders to watch in the 2001 season will be men's division skimmers Steven Ziegelmayer and Derek Pavao both had outstanding performances. Special thanks to Jeff at Core Sports for putting the whole thing together. Look for the Rhode Island Skim Jam to be part of the 2001 Zap Pro/Am Tour with a tentative contest date set for early June. Other notes of interest, The East Coast Skimboarding Championships have officially been set for Aug. 11-12, 2001 at Bellevue St. Beach in Dewey Beach. Thanks to Harry Wilson and Skim East for the Contest Summary. 09.07.00 Aliso Creek Under Construction - Aliso creek has been completely damned with an earthen wall. According to conversations with local lifeguards, the plan is to 'permanently' block off the creek about 100 yards inland and divert all the "water" through an underground pipe which dumps a few hundred yards offshore. The pipe is not new, it has always been there and to my knowledge has been used to expel the less treated sewage further out to sea, where it has less impact. Under this plan however the creek would remain dry for most of the year with no water at all reaching the shoreline (except during rain). The goal is obviously to reduce contamination in the beach zone where humans are more likely to get sick (not to mention notice). While this may be a good way to keep skimboarders and others from getting sick, it doesn't seem to solve the problem of too much waste being dumped in the ocean. At the same time I look forward to the absence of those mysterious ear infections. 09.03.00 Slotstik World Championships - Bill Bryan has done it again. On top for the fifth time in a row this summer (where he has competed). Here are the top eight:
The contest went off in nice, but not perfect conditions. Everyone was skimming incredibly well and the competition was tight. Saturday was a little smaller, but the waves seemed to be setting up better. Sunday was still good but just wasn't working quite as well in my estimation. The coolest thing about this contest is that it was a true "skimboarders contest". The Gold Coast Classic, as it used to be called, is held essentially in the middle of nowhere. There are some stairs next to the beach and a four lane highway, that's it. Because of this almost everyone on the beach was a skimboarder. It was cool to hang out and enjoy some nice waves and great weather with skimboarders from all over the world. This contest definitely had the bro atmosphere flowing, which is a good reflection of Slotstik Skimboards' style. 08.29.00 Wave House Now Open to the Public - The wave house in Mission Beach is a 7 acre complex which houses the same standing wave machine used during the swatch pro tour. For the first time ever, the machine is open to the public to ride. Act fast however because I understand that the machine will only be there until the middle of September. After that the machine will be go on tour and a new permanent one (with some nice added features...) will be built. Fees are currently $20 an hour for individuals and you may go and watch for free. For your $20 you will get to share the wave with 12 (or so) other riders. Everyone I have ever known who has tried the thing has loved it so get your ass down to SD and try it out. Look for some pictures on Skim Online in the near future. 08.28.00 Keith Fanning Wins in Virginia Beach - Keith Fanning took first place at the Virginia Beach contest this past weekend. From the results, it looks as if Bill Bryan was not present even though he had planned on attending the contest. Nevertheless, Keith had to edge out some very talented riders to take first prize. Here are the pro results.
These results were provided by a Skim Online reader so they cannot be personally guaranteed to be correct. Full results will be posted when they become available. 08.28.00 Texas Skim Contest - If all goes according to plan Texas' first ever skimboarding competition will be held this October 7th and 8th in Galveston. Rick Sawyer is running the contest and has determined that the most appropriate site in town is the Flagship pier on the Galveston Sea Wall. If there are enough entrants there will be a beginner and advanced division. Rick is hoping to have contest shirts for all competitors as well as trophies for the winners which isn't bad considering the entry fee is only five bucks. Though this promises to be a modest sized contest it is great to see people getting hyped on the sport and promoting it where they live. Props to Rick and the Texas crew. 08.25.00 Quicksilver Manufactures Wood Skimboard - As reported on the Skim Online Message Boards, a wood skimboard (apparently) manufactured by Quicksilver has been spotted at a surf shop. While Quicksilver is a great company who's support we welcome as skimboarders, manufacturing a wood board is a problematic choice. Professional riders such as Bill Bryan are doing their best to prove that this is a sport to be reckoned with. Wood skimboards, while "fun" for riding on the sand, result in a distinctly different form of skimboarding. "Real" skimboarding takes place in the waves where ground breaking maneuvers are performed. Wood skimboards do not provide riders with wave riding capabilities. In fact they often result in riders not realizing the full potential of the sport. If I had a penny for every person who bought a wood skimboard thinking it was almost as good as the foam one next to it on the rack, I would be a rich man. Surf shop owners are often not educated as to the benefits and detriments of different types of skimboards and as a result often recommend the cheap, high profit margin, wood skimboards. This sport has been trying for decades to break free of the laymen's understanding of skimboarding as "that thing you do on the sand". The end of the proliferation of wood skimboards will prove to be instrumental to this movement. 08.22.00 Bill Bryan Seals the Deal in Dewey - Bill Bryan won the east coast skimboarding championships decisively in Dewey Beach this past weekend. Here are the final results.
Jesse who is a rookie pro this year was ripping and got 5th place. Everyone was stoked to see him do so good his first season as a pro. The top four pro rankings were decided using a man on man system of elimination. This system used a series of shorter two man heats where a rider had to be beaten twice to be eliminated. If you won your heat you got to take a seat while the loser had to skim again. The first rider to lose twice got 4th place and so on. It was interesting to see this in practice and is very different from the standard method. As it worked out both Erik and Bill were undefeated going into the last match-up. They had to skim against each other at least twice. Erik was ripping in the meager conditions, but just not as much as Bill was. Bill won both heats pretty decisively and in doing so won the competition. But that's not all he won. He also won the East Coast Tour by getting the most points in a series of contests. Going into this contest he was not the leader, Brad Evers was. This made Bill and Brads man on man heat in the final even more critical. The tour is a winner take all system where the person with the most points at the end takes home $2000 in cash. Bill edged out Brad man on man thereby securing the East Coast title, and the 2 G's. It was an amazing thing to see. Bill's total take from the contest totaled $4100 in cash. Look for a full write up of the behind the scenes action, photos, and more to be added soon.
08.14.00 Bill Bryan takes Vilano in good conditions -
Bill Bryan returned to Vilano this year and took top honors. The top six pros were. I am happy to report that the swell is currently expected to be about chest high this weekend in FL (according to surfline.com)! It's still too far out to tell about Dewey. Hopefully both events will get some good waves. Major props to Steve Pullara for not only organizing the entire Florida contest (every year) but also offering to let me crash at his place. Very cool of him. As I will be away from my computer it will be difficult to update my page but I will see if I can get access to a computer. I should be able to get some pro results up by Monday afternoon (14th) if all goes well. If I can't actually get it on the page I will definitely post results in the message boards. Dewey results should be up late Monday the 21st (I hope...). I bought 25 rolls of film so there should be some good shots too... 08.07.00 Florida Skimboarding Pro/Am Approaches - The Florida skimboarding Pro/Am is scheduled to go off this coming weekend in Vilano Beach Florida. It is different from other major East Coast Contests in that it is not part of the Zap's East Coast contest circuit. Everyone always shows up though as it tends to be a very good event. Steve Pullara, who runs the contest, has been hammering out the details and watching the weather anxiously. Luckily there is some increased storm activity in the Atlantic which looks like it may produce a nice swell for the weekend. We will keep our fingers crossed. Look for contest information and results here on Skim Online following the event. Visit the Official
Site! Look for full contest
coverage on Skim Online after the event. 07.24.00 Victoria contest Goes Off - Blessed. That would be the best word to describe the contest last weekend. Good waves, good weather and good people all descended on Laguna Beach to make for one of the most memorable skimboarding events in history. The Victoria, which has been plagued with bad waves and weather in the past, experienced near perfect conditions. The sun was out all day and the waves were pumping during the morning hours. Contest officials were quick to schedule the pros to run during the morning and the result was some of the best contest riding in history. Here are the pro results:
All Sunday morning the pros battled it out in excellent conditions. Every rider was going off but in the end only a select few made the cut. The top four is mostly a repeat of last years finalists with the only exception being Jeff Gomez. If you have read his profile on Skim Online then you would already know that he has been ripping and it should come as no surprise that this guy made the top four. In fact Jeff even gave the master, Bill Bryan a run for his money as some people thought was going to win it. In the end however there could be only one. Bill Bryan glided, wraped, aired and spun his way right into first place for the eighth time, once again proving his dominance. After the contest everyone headed over to the Coach House where the new Bryan Brothers video was premiered. A good time was had by all. Victoria Pro/Am Contest Results Look for photos and video review to be added to the site soon. 07.14.00 One Week Until the Victoria World Championships - The Victoria contest held every year at Aliso in Orange County CA is the oldest in the world. It is also one of the most competitive and fun to watch. The contest is not officially the world championships of skimboarding but since the level of competition is matched by no other contest, it is the best judge of who the worlds top skimboarders are. Last season Skim Magazine tested out a points system for major contests. This was a very good start but since a good number of the worlds top riders are absent from multiple contests it wasn't completely accurate. Hopefully the system will be perfected soon so that there will be no doubt whatsoever. In the meantime, the best ruler remains the Victoria contest because everyone is there. I hope you will be too. Check out the 2000
Contest Schedule.
06.29.00 Outer Banks Skim Jam Results - Bill and George Bryan once again claimed the top two spots during the Outer Banks Skim Jam in North Carolina. This should put to rest any doubt about the boys' ability to perform this contest season. Neither of them placed in the top four in the only other major contest this season, the Panama City Beach contest. George was quick to say that the waves in North Carolina were good and remarked that the down-the-lines were especially fun. The next major contest of the season is the Victoria Championships in late July. It should be interesting to see what happens there. Full
Outer Banks Contest Results Check out the Skim
Spots section for more information on skimming in Cabo. 05.10.00 Laguna Beach Demands Action - Laguna Beach is considering imposing a fine of $5000 dollars a day on neighboring Laguna Niguel. Laguna Niguel is situated inland from Laguna beach and much of the runoff in Aliso Creek originates there. Aliso has a reputation for being one of the most polluted beaches in the coutry. With this action it appears that something may finally get done. 05.04.00 - The Best is Yet to Come for Panama City Contest - I just got off the phone with Tony Johnson of Mr. Surf's Surf Shop who along with his wife Lib organized the contest this year. If he has his way, next year will be even more fun than this year. The contest started out in 1998 as a local event but already has grown to be one of the largest contests in the country. Next year he is shooting for a pro purse of over $6000 which could very well be the largest in the country. Tony realizes that the "wave conditions might not be the greatest" but enjoys putting on a contest where "everyone can come and have a good time". And so far, everyone has. One reason that next year promises to be even larger is that it will occur during a spring break weekend. With that many kids partying, everyone is bound to have a good time. Among the things already being planned for next year is a pre-contest luau for all the visiting contestants. With planning this far in advance I don't see how the contest could do anything except get better. Tony would like to thank his wife Lib for all her contributions and all the visiting pros for making the trip. 05.01.00 - East Coast Skimboarders Dominate Panama City Contest - The contest which was held on the western (gulf) shore of Florida was particularly large this year. Contestants enjoyed relatively good conditions in the morning and less than favorable ones in the afternoon due to the wind. The pro's in particular were forced to be creative with the waves. Here is how the pro division shook out:
Although Bill Baxter recently made the move to Laguna Beach, he has been one of the more recognizable east coast pros for many years. West coast riders often place very well in on east coaster's home turf, but this year the East Coasters held strong, completely shutting the west coast out of the finals. Congratulations are in order. Look for contest pictures and complete contest results to be added later this week. For now you may check out an article covering the contest on MSNBC.com 04.26.00
-
Florida' Gulf Coast Contest is Going to Be Huge! - Contest
slots filled up early for what is normally a relatively subdued
contest. Total entrants could have easily exceeded 200 if it were
not for limited space considerations. The contest is being
promoted on radio stations throughout the state and is evolving into
more than a simple contest. There will be a seal team doing
demonstrations on the beach as well as a Corvette car show in the
parking lot. Many, though not all, of the worlds top professional
riders are expected to attend. Much of the response is due to the
Cities policy of promoting specialty events in their town in combination
with the continued growth of the sport. Good waves and weather
conditions are expected and Skim Online hopes that everything goes
off, without a hitch.
01.31.2000 - SKIM Magazine to run World Championships? - I spoke recently with Tex Haines of Victoria Skimboards. He told me that Butch (of SKIM Magazine) was interested in taking over the contest. Victoria Skimboards has done a great job of running the contest for some 22 years. Victoria would stay involved as major sponsor but may delegate some of the duties of running the contest to others. I am told that sponsors do not like to see board manufacturers as contest organizers. Sponsors often see a conflict of interest when board manufacturers want their riders to win, and they judge the contest. For this reason the contest might be more attractive to prospective sponsors if it were run by a third party like SKIM Magazine. The most likely event is that both Victoria and SKIM Magazine will contribute significantly to running the contest. Of course, Butch (editor of SKIM Magazine) is a very busy man right now so the jury is still out on whether or not this will happen, this summer or ever. But if it does it could be a major step toward a more professional sport. 01.7.2000 - Skim Online Launches New Site - After weeks of work, the new site is finally ready. It is optimized for 4.0 and later browsers (Explorer or Netscape) and 800x 600 resolution. If your system does not meet these requirements the page will not appear as it was meant to, sorry... Other than that, I hope you like the new look and find the information better organized. Certain things still need to be done, namely... the spots section is still under construction. Enjoy. |
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