Bill first joined the pro ranks at a particularly large skim fest in 1990.  Everyone sensed at the time that he was going to do great things for the sport.  After winning that first event, suspicions only got stronger.  

He placed third in the Victoria contest that first year.  That is the worst he has ever done at the Vic, or at any contest that I can remember.  He has won the Victoria contest every year since 1990 except in 1996 when his brother George edged him out and in 2002 when Mike Stanaland made the long shot.  His record at events across the country are as good or better.  So here is to Bill... congratulations.

Oh, and by the way, there were other people in the contest too.  And some of them even know how to skimboard pretty well.  In fact, this years competition was closer than it has ever been.  Heats were stacked from the beginning and many many talented riders were cut in the preliminary rounds by the slimmest of margins.  The riders with the right combination of talent and luck did make it through however and the final twelve broke down as follows.

1. Bill Bryan
2. Brandon Sears
3. Erik Christensen
4. Paulo Prietto
5. Miles Grobman
6. Jus Martel
7. Jeff Gomez
8. Jamie Lovet
9. Nick Hernandez
10. Kyle Olson
11. Aaron Peluso
12. Morgan Just

The riders who snatched the top four slots were all very deserving.  Erik and Bill battled through the quarter finals and semi finals together while Paulo and Sears went head to head through the various rounds.  Erik actually beat Bill in the semi-finals while Paulo edged out Brandon in the quarter finals and semi-finals.  The fact that the results were mixed in the quarters and semis indicated that the title was truly up for grabs.  But in the end, it all comes down to one 15 minute heat.

While all four riders skimmed very well during this years final, it was evident that Bill and Brandon were the ones with the most energy and drive for the top spot.  Brandon skimmed so well that many thought he might have taken the top spot away from Bill for the second year in a row.  Personally it seemed to me that he was close on the backsides, but couldn't match Bill's frontsides, which makes all the difference at this event.  Paulo and Erik also got tons of great waves but just didn't seem like they had the same bounce in their step that Brandon and Bill had.

Of course there were other things going on besides the pro finals during those two days as well.

This year marks the first year that the Victoria contest age divisions match those on the east coast.  The most competitive division wound up being the 15 - 17 division with about the same amount of entries as the pros in just that age group.  It also resulted in some fairly strange match-ups as high school freshman were pitted against high school graduates.   Kyle Thoresen was able to squeak by Sam Ferguson, Jake Stinnett and Kenny Eggman to grab top honors.

Little Sam Stinnett was a crowd favorite dominating the micro grom division.  Tyler Stanaland took his division absent his normal arch-rivals.  Cabo's Drew Peace took 18 - 21 while Aaron Kriess edged out "reigning world champ" Ben Kotin, fishnet shirt and all.  John Collins handily won his division getting "Best Barrel" in the process (not to mention a sick 360 air).

Brandon Sears took best air but couldn't recall the wave that they gave it to him for.  Yep, he's just that good.  Or he just couldn't stop thinking about this air.  Laura Preston walked away with best wipeout once again.  Hey, she charges.  While Shonna Cobb won the women's division again.  Kristina Graf won the girls division after less than a year in the water.

The turnout at this years event was better than ever with lots of friendly faces and good vibes.

At the end of the day on Sunday everyone gathered around the scaffolding for the awards ceremony.  Tex Haines was awarded the Martin Prietto Memorial Sportsmanship award which everyone could tell meant a lot to him.  It was great to see him being awarded even a little something for the lifetime of work that he has dedicated to the sport.

After the contest is was off to the premiere of the new Bryan Bros video and some Sushi to go with it.  All in all, quite a successful weekend.

Thanks to the Sponsors:  Hershey's Milk, Poorboy Traction, Skim City, Volcom, Electric Visual, El Grippo, Costa Azul, Sex Wax, Arrow 93 FM, Hobie, Dewey Beach Surf & Sport, LS&S, South Laguna Skate & Surf, Astrodeck, and Go Go Bike