The most anticipated skim contest of the year is finally here, and we have just wrapped up day one at none other than the infamous Dewey Beach, Delaware for the second to last leg of the 2025 SkimUSA season and stop number four of six for the men, and two of four for the women on the United Skim Tour!
Team Zap made it through a beautiful but windy day 1 with a consistent NE wind coming in at about 18mph all day long. Due to the conditions being the least favorable of the weekend, the pros got a lay day today and are looking to compete tomorrow and Sunday.
To kick off the 43rd annual Zap Pro/Am World Championships, we started the day off with our Menehune Monsters taking the stage and showing us just why we call them so. Both Brody and Gio killed their first two heats and advancing with ease all the way to the semi-finals, throwing 3 shuvs out, like nothing, new and creative combos, and style for miles, it was no question!
Moving straight into the Boys, Jr. Men, and Jr. Women’s divisions, there is a lot of promising and inspiring upcoming talent with the younger generations, and it is so awesome to watch! After those heats wrapped up, we were ready to wrap up the day with two rounds of semi-pros and a couple rounds of men! Our stars of the show skimming both divisions are powerhouse skimmers Zach and Evan Rubin. With great outcomes from day one both Zach and Evan are comfortably moving into the semi-finals, with fantastic demonstrations of not just their technical or wave riding ability, but also their ability to adapt to the changing conditions!
Both Zach, and Evan, were of the few that were able to get out past the inside section and hop not only one, but two waves to get out to wrap some bigger sets and bring them back up the beach. Not to mention the 3 shuvs, out to the wave, on the wave and back up the beach, 5 shuv combos and big spin re-entries. Not far behind them, joining them in the Men’s semi-finals on finals day is Nico Traykovski. Putting together very creative combinations, Nico worked hard in his first contest appearance of the 2025 season, and we are stoked to see him back in the mix!
We also want to give a very special shout out to our girl Kate for making it through the first round of the semi-pro division and putting on a great show in the second round! She is putting in the work, and these boys better watch out!
As far as the rest of the weekend goes, conditions are looking up with the wind getting lighter as the days go by and hours tick away! We are super amped to see what is in store for the pros, so make sure to come and check out the contest on McKinley Street tomorrow!
Text: Sydney Pizza
Photos: Devin Demenezes