It may have been cool and windy down at the bay Saturday, but that didn’t stop some 35 riders and a good sized gallery of spectators from enjoying the fourth annual Parksville ProAm Skim Comp.
“At least it’s not raining,” an upbeat event co-organizer Julia Mountain said from the water’s edge, pointing out “we had 31 kids come out for our (three-day) camp — it was awesome,” and the smiles on the youngsters who turned out to take part in the competition spoke volumes.
Hosted by Oceanside Skim Beach Culture (OSBC), the event continues to grow, and the sick tricks turned in by the six pros — including those with DB Boards that made the trip from Washington — and the up and comers, were something to watch.
“That’s for sure,” one elderly spectator agreed. “These guys are good…really good.”
“This is a great beach here, the sand is ideal,” Washington’s Logan Davidson surmised.
“Not too shabby at all,” said teammate and fellow pro Blake Zimmerman, and off he went for another run.
The event featured boarders aged eight to 20-something from Victoria, Sooke and Nanaimo as well as a cracker cast of locals including Ryan Mountain, 17 and Peter Christensen, 18. Worth noting is that Mountain, Christensen, and fellow Kwalikum Secondary grad Ryan Stewart have all been sponsored by DB Skimboards, one of the event sponsors, with Mountain being named as team captain for B.C.
Other sponsors that helped make the event possible were Smithfords, Alternative Groove, Zed Skimboards, Wabi Sabi, Island Surf Co. and Ryan Stewart (sidelined Saturday with an unrelated injury), who “donated some awesome prizes including four skimboards.
“We were very pleased to see quite a few of our skim camp kids out there giving it a go and we introduced a beginners class just for them,” Mountain said when it was over, confirming “spectators were treated to some great action as the boys were showing their flatland skills and providing some thrills and spills on the features.”
The comp also included a high jump portion set up in the middle of the tidal pool which saw the riders run, leave their board, leap over the bar, then try and land back on their board. More than one was able to stick the landing, and while just as many ended up wiping out and getting soaked, “it’s all part of the sport, I love it,” one rider shrugged with a laugh.
“Not really a normal skimboard event, but me being a horsey girl, we brought in our jump standards for some fun,” said Julia.
