Words: Max Smetts // Photos: @devindmedia
The 30th Florida Pro/Am hosted by RDS Skim Company went down on August 17th and 18th at Vilano Beach, FL. With the team fresh off a great weekend at the Zap World Championships in Dewey, the crew was looking forward to a fun contest back in Florida! The contest format that Steve Pullara from RDS uses provides a great environment for competition with the Amateur divisions. Every rider gets an opportunity to skim two heats with the first round being a placement round where the competitors are all seeded and no one is eliminated yet. This makes for a laid back atmosphere and promotes growth among riders getting their first taste of skim contests.
Typically, we look forward to fun conditions at Vilano Beach for skim but the beach hasn't been set up properly to give the best shorebreak. There were a lot of flatland style tricks being thrown down with the less than ideal conditions available for the riders. It was still exciting to watch the technical tricks and riders battling it out with what they were working with.
In the Amateur ranks, Bodhi Boomhower, Giorgio Tomasi, Trent Moranda, Graham Shelton, and Kaleb Perkins were all impressing the crowd with their technical maneuvers. It's been fun to watch them all pushing each other this summer!
In the Pro ranks, there were a lot of tricks to keep track of in some tightly contested heats. Sonny Boy Aporbo made his first appearance in a Florida event and wowed the crowd with crazy aerials. He finished in 6th place. Leo Freitas was very consistent with his technical riding finishing in 5th place. Dylan Duncan and Gerardo Valencia were ripping all weekend and showed plenty of style to finish 3rd and 4th respectivally. The man who took down all these talented riders was ZAP team rider Mason Broussard who displayed flawless skimboarding moves all weekend. His combos brought him to the victory at the 30th Annual Florida Pro/Am!
We want to congratulate all the riders who placed at the Florida Pro/Am! It was a great weekend and we are always stoked to support it. See you at the Mulligans Skim Jam Labor Day weekend!
About RDS Skim Company & Florida Pro/Am:
The Florida Skimboarding Pro/Am (FL Pro/Am) is the third longest running Professional/Amateur skimboarding tournament in the world (As for the Professional division, Tex Haines created the First, Harry followed and then I added the Pro division to my tournament in 1996).
The Fl Pro/Am is the only Amateur event in the World that allows each athlete two chances to advance before being eliminated. This tournament runs more divisional heats than any other Skimboarding Tournament in the World, spanning three full days and over 30 hours of individual heats. Skimboarding athletes come from more than 75 different beaches from all over Florida, the USA, and the World.
A Skimboarding tournament dream that started once I moved from Tampa to Vilano Beach, Florida USA in February of 1989. Though it took well over a year to get everything in order to hold an event (The very first was Oct 1990). This tournament has always been my gift back to Skimboarding for all of my best sessions, contest personal results, Skimboard Magazine publications from early 80's Florida Skimboarding, lifelong friendships, and wonderful memories. The Fl Pro/Am has always been an end of summer bash that has grown to exceed any and all of my expectations or dreams. Over the years and into the future, many of my Skimboarding friends as well as personal family members, have helped me each and every year fulfill this dream for the sport of Skimboarding. Thanks for all of their help during this event from start to finish.