The 20th annual Oktoberfest is here, and we could not be more ready! Day one at Balboa’s Pier, in Newport beach California was met with solid swell, great weather, and the Zap team ready to shred! Hurricane Lorena is on the way, and it is quite apparent that her and mother nature have coordinated to bring in swell for the weekend festivities! Building throughout the day, in the morning we saw a fair and typical 3’-5’ swell that built to about 6’-8’ by the end of the day.
Starting off the day strong, our pro men Gerardo Valencia, Leo Freitas, Mason Broussard, and Chip Sanders, were ready to rip! Feeling just at home and advancing through the first two rounds with ease, Gerardo showed finesse, control, and power as he dominated the day! Leo and Mason, not far behind, did much of the same, showing prowess and combinations that set them apart from the rest. Set for great match ups tomorrow the boys are ready to end their 2025 UST campaigns strong!
Our pro women of shred, not far behind Casey McCullough, back like she never left, had the crowd roaring! With 360 bashes off the lip and re-entries up the beach, not to mention style, Casey was on. Our UST queen, Alex Yokley got a bye into finals day, so be sure to check in for all the action!
Rounding out the day with Turner Scarborough, he put on a great show both in his age division and the semi-pros. Demonstrating a wide variety of technical maneuvers and style, he gave it his all to find some shade and end the year with a smile! Last, but not least, our Menehune Monsters are back! We get one last hoorah from the boys, before the season ends, both Brody Chandler-Thompson and Gio Tomasi are out in Newport showing everyone just how the east coast does it! Charging into head high waves and overhead sets, the boys ripped, without a doubt. Gio brings a quick and snappy turn to the table while Brody cuts through the water with a beautiful arc of spray behind him, leading both to find some shade in the California sun. Well done boys and see you in the final tomorrow!
Finals day is set to kick off at 8am PST, with larger waves than today, more sun, and a beautiful breeze to get us through the day! Be sure to check out the live stream from Premier Skim and tune into LiveHeats for real time updates!
Words: Sydney Pizza