During the last weekend of June, skimboarders from around the globe returned to the mecca of skimboarding for the 33rd Annual Victoria World Cahmpionships of Skimboarding at Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach, California.

The contest is by far the biggest skimboarding contest running and obviously longest contest running. It was the first major contest and remains the most prestigious skim event on the tour today. The contest, being dominated by Bill Bryan for most of the past 15 years, was set to be an interesting one this year as many professional riders are moving up and challenging the 14-time world champion, Bill Bryan.

Brandon Rothe, last year' (TM)s champion, got third in his first heat, getting knocked out of the contest, in the main upset of the contest. The professional heats were intense during day one, the day with mostly better waves, as athletes aggressively sent it in efforts to move on to the next round. Several stacked heats occurred early in the contest, resulting in the knocking out of big-name riders such as Brad Domke and Morgan Just.

Though day two of the event held less than satisfying waves, the pros were making the best of it by displaying technical skills and wave selecting skills that really separate the professionals from the amateurs. In small, trough conditions wave selection is probably the most essential part of making it through your heat.

An intense round of semis went off with Beaker, Paulo Prietto, and Mo Just being in one heat. All riders tore it up and people were biting their nails to see who, in this super close heat, would not make it to the finals. The other semi heat, consisting of BCS (the contests winner), Sammy Stinnett, and Jaime Lovett, was equally as enjoyable with a myriad of technical trickery and big airs from all contestants.

The final, in the end, would consist of 14-time world champion Bill Bryan of Victoria Skimboards and three Exile riders who have yet to take the world title, Brandon Sears, Paulo Prietto, and Sammy Stinnett. Bill Bryan went a bit for quantity over quality and paid the price, ending up in fourth place in the final. Sammy Stinnet made a big showing, as the youngest finalist ever in the WCS; I believe he is 16 or 17. Though Sammy picked off some of the better waves and threw in a host of technical tricks, he would place third in the end. Paulo Prietto, known to be the best skimboarder on the Exile team, showed off his technical skills as well while maintaining a series of wraps and frontside carves to complete his well-rounded performance. Regardless, he would take second to fellow Exile rider Brandon BCS Sears. Some speculate Paulo skimmed the final better than BCS. However, it was Brandon' (TM)s superb wave selection and big tricks with absolute ease that earned him the world title, a title I think well deserved.

Many of the amateur divisions were also extremely competitive. It is no secret that the teenage divisions hold some of the most competitive skimboarding, with young guns hungry for a WCS win that would put them next in line to enter the pro division and really excel. The little little guys, eight and under, had Johnny Mitchell skimming his way to first place. The 9-11 division went as a brotherly one-two finish with Turner and Pierce Tenney taking first and second respectively. Blair Conklin, as many suspected, took the 12-14 division, but with Ken Suzuki and Perry Pruitt following closely behind. All of these young dudes have extreme potential, and it won' (TM)t be surprising to see them enter professional early (like before age 18). The Wiley twins do it AGAIN, with a one-two finish in the 15-17 that has Kyle in first and Kalin in second. Trevor Stanaland and Derek Maroff take third and fourth respectively, chasing the Wiley twins. The 18-21 division went to Austin Keen, one of my favorite riders who was for a while an underrated talent, but recently cemented a position on the Exile team and turned heads all day at the contest. Jullian Deline took second place with Perry Wells from North Carolina following closely behind in third.

David Sterman edged out Hank Snapp in the 22-24 division, with Will Wright in third, and Mike Meltdown Yunich in fourth place. Kelly Hawlish took the 25-29 division. Lance Brooks took the 30-39 division with some good waves with Sumner Miller following in second place. 40 and up went to the man, the legend, Brad Dickey.

The ladies' (TM) division was a lot more than we had expected this year. Transplants from Hawaii and Florida showed up for a regular foot battle. Anna Prophet from FLA and Keiao Gucau-Cucasas from HI showed up as the young guns of the women' (TM)s division, taking out Jen Jacobs and Pamela Simpson with a number of tech tricks and wraps. In the end, Anna Prophet edged out Keiao with a well-rounded heat of frontside and backside rides involving technical trickery as only a Floridian can.

Brandon Sears finally gets a world title after many close calls in previous finals. Possibly the most burning question I ask myself now is, however, will Bill Bryan be able to pull off number 15? And, if he does, will that be the last of it or will he remain in the professional competition and rack up as many world titles as humanly possible?

Big thanks to all the sponsors and of course Tex and Trigg, running the majority of the contest. Skeletor for taking care of the mic for the first time, replacing the Worm. And all the skimboarders out there supporting the sport and bringing down their cameras to capture the moment and bring this sport to a wider audience'