Sam Stinnett Wins The ECSC
Sam Stinnett picked up his first East Coast victory this weekend in Dewey Beach, Delaware. Here is a breakdown of the event details as well as some photos all care of Matt Adams.
Day One
Dewey has been a pretty special place for skimboarders this summer. There’s been shorebreak the whole summer and almost always something to skim at low tide. All in all, we’ve been pretty lucky. All of that changed, however, two days before the East Coast Championships when NE winds pounded the shore and flattened the beach. Slope or no slope, though, the contest went off as scheduled.
The first rounds were greeted with messy white wash leftover from the heavy surf off the beach. In the first heat of the pros, Brad Domke started off strong, setting a pace that he would hold the entire contest. Max Smetts had a standout pro debut, and was able to hold his own, beating out Cheyne Terjesen and John Akerman to advance through his first heat. Also noticeable was Connor Willem, who was able to make the most of the conditions and beat out Woody Harris and Corey Mahoney, who both had high-scoring waves.
Day Two
The semi-finals were all set to take place on the 2nd day and the drama started early. Bill Bryan was late to the first heat and almost missed it entirely. Missing precious minutes of competition time, he was not able to close in on Micheal Brickle and placed 4th in his heat. Max Smetts cruised through his semi-final heat. Also advancing were Alex Hood and Brad Domke, with the final four being Brad Domke, Sam Stinnet, Alex Hood, and Max Smetts.
During the final, it seemed that Brad Domke had a chance to clinch a victory but an interference call hurt his score dramatically. As a consequence of the interference call, the score of his highest wave was removed. In his first pro contest, Max Smetts did well working the south end of the contest site. Somehow, Alex Hood was making the best of the conditions, reaching waves there were previously unskimmable, but in the end, no one could touch the skills of Sammy Stinnet. He rode his way to victory in what is sure to be one of the youngest but most talented finals in ECSC history.
1. Sam Stinnett (Exile, Main Street)
2. Max Smetts (Zap)
3. Alex Hood (Zap)
4. Brad Domke (Exile)
5. Austin Keen (Exile, EOS)
6. Michael Brickle (Victoria)
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