By:  Aaron Peluso

One day in late March I was sitting at my desk working on real estate when my cell phone rang.  It was Beaker.  The weather and waves had been unreal the last few days and he wanted to put on a little contest the next day at West to take advantage of it.  He was calling up all the pros in town and getting the word out.

Early the next morning I awoke to bright blue skies and headed down to the beach.  Several riders were already in the water at 7:30 AM enjoying the great skim conditions.  It was cool to have 20 of the most influential people in skimboarding all down in one place sharing a rootsy session.  But it wasn't just a session.  It was a contest of sorts as well.  There would be four cash prizes awarded for biggest huck, best air, best barrel and best ride.

There were no judges, just riders.

Instead, everyone just enjoyed the session.  There were several video cameras out as well as a couple of people taking photos.  Everyone just skimmed their best and enjoyed the near perfect conditions.  And there were some great waves to be had, as you can see by the photos.

After the tide dropped and the session was winding down everyone split for the remainder of the day.  Later that evening everyone gathered at Bill's house where he had been hard at work all day compiling all the footage from that morning into a three minute segment, with music and all.  After watching it three times or so in his very crowded living room it was time to vote.

The final results:

Best Ride:  Brendan Stevens ("Noogie")
Best Air:  Brandon Sears
Best Barrel:  Erik Christensen
Biggest Huck:  Bill Bryan

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