Skim USA Team in Portugal
By Jason Wilson
As coach of the Skim USA team, I recently had the opportunity to travel to Portugal with some of America’s top amateur skimboarders. Our crew consisted of Libby Rendall, Perry Pruitt, Max Smetts, and Dan McDonald. Also along for the ride was Skim USA director Harry Wilson who was the main force behind making this Skim USA trip happen. Him and many other volunteers worked very hard to raise the funds to cover most of the travel expenses for the team. The goal of our trip was to give the young amateur riders a chance to test their skills in international competition, to experience another culture, and to ride some new waves.
We set out on our journey the first week of August to hit the 2010 Ocean Spirit Skim Contest in Santa Cruz, Portugal. When we arrived at the airport in Lisbon, Portugal, skim ambassador Emanuel Embaixador (a.k.a. Mega) greeted us with fellow American skimmer Brad Domke. After saying some quick hello’s and grabbing our 9-passenger rental van we all set off for the coast where we would spend the next few days skimming and competing in the Portuguese shore break.
When we first arrived in Santa Cruz, Mega showed us a few beaches and the contest area. We warmed up, met a bunch of the skimmers that were in town for the event, and linked up with another American rider, Miles Grobman who would join our crew for the contest weekend. With a couple sessions under our belt and a little time to settle in it was time to compete. The Ocean Spirit Skim Contest is an amazing event which draws skimmers from many different countries to compete in the challenging Santa Cruz shore break. This year there were riders from the UK, Holland, France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and of course our crew from America.
The weekend brought sizable reform shore break and relatively light winds, as well as some of the fiercest competitors I have seen in a long time. The tough, troughy reform waves leveled the playing field making the rider who could snag the best waves of the heat most likely to win.
The American riders stood out the most advancing through all their heats on day one of the event. In the open (pro) division Brad Domke, Hugo Santos, and Rafa from Spain stood out with some of the best riding of the day. I also took first place in both of Saturday’s heats advancing to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
On day two of the competition the waves got bigger and more challenging to ride. Waves were difficult to pick off in Sunday’s early rounds and got better as the day ended and the final pro rounds were run. From Skim USA, Libby Rendall took first place with some of the only waves ridden in the difficult conditions of the women’s final. Max Smetts took first in the juniors division with some big airdrops and powerful wave riding. Perry Pruitt and Dan McDonald also took first place making for a full American sweep of the Amateur divisions. Perry actually received some of the loudest cheers from the crowd with a giant man-sized air-drop in the finals that sent the crowd into a frenzy! In the open pro division I was able to snag 9th place, getting eliminated in the in quarters to Hugo Santos and Andre Abrantes who both snagged some great wraps during the heat. The semi finals were very exciting to watch as the waves became more reachable and the level of riding increased. After the semi’s, the top four riders were left for a showdown in the finals: American Brad Domke along side Portugal’s finest Hugo Santos, Mega, and Andre Abrantes. Both Mega and Hugo skimmed with poise and knowledge of the break, while Andre never seemed to catch his rhythm. Hugo somehow always finds the biggest and best waves of any session or heat while Mega brings a fresh new style to Portuguese skimming. Brad Domke threw down some of the most spectacular and technical riding ever displayed in competition during the final. It was truly a great show! In the end though, it was the bigger and better waves that seemed to impress the Portuguese judges the most, landing Hugo in first, Domke in second, Mega in third, and Andre in fourth.
Big thanks to Jose Costa who organized the event and was recognized at the awards ceremony with a plaque presented by Skim USA’s Harry Wilson for his dedication to the alliance of skimboarders worldwide!
After the contest weekend we had two days to skim and relax. Mega showed us some fun wedging waves and liners that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. We skimmed and got the most out of every moment of the trip. Our American Amateur skimboarders carried themselves like true champions and represented well. A successful trip all around! It was a great opportunity to be a part of this memorable journey. I hope this will be the first of many Skim USA trips.
Leave a Reply