Words: Sydney Pizza
The 19th Annual Oktoberfest presented by Exile Skimboards, at Balboa’s Pier in Newport Beach, California went down this past weekend, and was not something you wanted to miss. The Zap team geared up and got to work as this was the last stop on the United Skim Tour for the 2024 season, being the sixth stop for the men and the fourth stop for the women. One of the closest and most exciting title races that the sport has seen in quite some time all boiled down to this weekend, for both the men and the women.
Energy was high and the vibes were good on Saturday morning. The weekend had some of the most classic Newport Beach weather, starting off cloudy in the morning with a slight breeze and both dying off and letting the sun come out around mid-morning on both Saturday and Sunday. As far as the waves go, a consistent bump was in the water, but the bigger sets held off until mid-morning when the tide was pushing out. There were far and few between classic big Balboa sets, but when they came through, the boys had a field day! Overall, conditions were fun and allowed for all to demonstrate a variety of ability from big wave riding and long-driving barrels, to technical combos and creative liners.
Top professional team riders, Leo Freitas, Gerardo Valencia, and Mason Broussard walked into the weekend sitting at 4th, 6th, and 8th place respectively on the leaderboard, hoping to finish in those positions when all is said and done, and to put on a good show. Our newest professional rider, ET Beaugrand, put on a pier wrap clinic at his debut event, and gave it his all in a stacked heat during the opening round of the competition. We cannot wait to see what is in store for him in the future! Zeke Williams gave fellow team rider Mason Broussard a run for his money in the first round of the contest.
After some tough heats in the opening rounds of the contest as the third round approached, we were left with Gerardo Valencia to skim against world title contender, Timmy Gamboa and upcoming professional Zen Mir-Scaer. As well as Mason Broussard to battle for a spot in the quarter finals against the other two world title contenders, Lucas Fink, and Dane Cameron. After well fought heats with Gerardo coming out on top, he was then set to face off head-to-head against Zac Henderson.
On the women’s side, top professional team riders Sydney Pizza and Alex Yokely had some work to do, and they did not fall short! Syd, currently sitting in 3rdplace on the leaderboard, after coming off of a close second place finish to Chabe White in the final at stop number three, in Vero Beach Florida was hungry and looking to ruffle some more feathers this weekend in the title race. Alex, also after a close second to Chabe stop number two, on the tour in Dewey Beach DE, was also looking for more, and she found it!
After a first-round bye, our girls got seeded in the same heat and it was a battle till the end, with Amber Torrealba. Alex, finishing in first place in her opening heat, advanced all the way to the semi-finals and finished in a very well-earned 4th place! We are very proud and cannot wait to see what next season has in store for Syd and Alex!
On the amateur side of things, our newest and youngest addition to the team, Brody Chandler-Thompson had a stand out weekend. He was charging set waves that were anywhere between chest high to overhead for him, earning the highest scores in the whole division! He was well received by the locals and represented very well, by earning a number one finish in his first ever trip to Newport Beach! Congrats Brody, we can't wait to see what's next for you!
All in all, it was a great weekend for the team, and everyone was stoked to spend some time together and end the season with some fun waves! We look forward to seeing what the team will do in 2025!
For full results click here: https://liveheats.com/events/277115/divisions/481525
For final UST standings for the 2024 season click here: https://unitedskimtour.org/2024-mens-ust-points-standings/