Via: Skimonline.com / UnitedSkimTour.org

The UST Cabo Clasico is one of the most anticipated skimboarding events in the world. Solid waves and perfect weather regularly grace this event, and those who have attended it always come back with good memories.

A massive south swell filled in Friday, the first of three potential contest days in Cabo San Lucas.

Contestants arrived at Lovers Beach at 9am to find solid double to triple overhead waves breaking far off the beach. After a short deliberation the decision was made to let low tide roll through, then meet in the afternoon at Yellow Hotels where more shelter from the swell and a rising tide would offer more chance for reachable skimboarding.

Come three in the afternoon the waves were still big and the setup was less than ideal. Many waves were troughing up on the sand and the long swell interval was making it hard to reach the best waves. Still, the decision was made to run the preliminary heats of both the pros and the amateurs to make way for man on man heats in the following day(s). The competition was brutal and the day was carried by those who were able to find the select few waves that shaped up into something substantial. Those few waves that were good, tended to be pretty solid. But the process of finding them was frustrating for many competitors.

Still, the vibe on the beach was great and spectators were treated to unskimmable massive sets every 20-30 minutes that were awe inspiring.

During these preliminary heats it seemed like Sam Stinnett and James Lovett had the spot the most dialed in. Day two would be a whole new animal. The plan was to meet at Solmar beach at 9am.

Day two of the 2010 UST Cabo Clasico was even more exciting than the first. A slight drop in the swell size allowed the event to be held at Solmar beach for the first time since the mid 1990 s.

Man on man heats started around 10 in the morning and right from the get go there were some intense match ups. The competition in many of these heats easily looked as if it could have been a final. James Lovett and Scott Flores, both hometown heroes had a particularly intense battle in this early round resulting in an upset with Scrappy making the cut by demonstrating top notch competitive skimboarding. Brandon Rothe and Brad Domke also had a close heat with Rothe edging out Domke with solid consistent scores. Meanwhile likely favorites such as Sam Stinnett and Bill Bryan skimmed with a confident consistency that left little room for doubt as to who would make the final. One notable exception came in the semi s when Isaac Zoller nearly upset Sam until Sam found the high scoring ride he was looking for seconds before the end of the heat. Bill Bryan was heard saying nice try Isaac as Sam slid out the wave.

Conditions were a bit more consistent than day one which meant more waves for the riders to showcase their skills. Wraps were the the norm but there were plenty of solid liners and occasional airs as well. It boiled down to Paulo vs Sam and Bill versus Scott in the man on man final. Those heats were close with Bill edging out Scott and Sam edging out Paulo. Then Paulo and Scott skimmed to determine who would get 3rd and 4th. Scott went for some aggressive airs but couldn t put it together in the strong winds. Meanwhile Paulo skimmed probably his best heat of the day incorporating tricks into his skimming that had rarely been seen all day long.

Afterwards in was time for Sam and Bill to battle man on man. In some sense this seemed like a historical match up rarely seen in any sport. On one side was, Bill Bryan at age 37 being something like 17 time world champion and the undisputed best skimboarder of all time. On the other side was the 17 year old five foot six skim phenom which many think has the best chance of stepping into Bill s lofty shoes, someday. That day would prove to be not today however as the man on man final left little doubt as to who the winner of the event would be. The heat was skimmed almost entirely on what would be frontside wraps, presuming the rider wasn t riding switch, which Bill did flawlessly on one driving wrap barrel. Sam skimmed competently with standard frontside wraps but just couldn t match Bill s switch rides and trademark beaker wraps . In the end, the final results broke down as follows:

PROFESSIONALS

1. Bill Bryan
2. Sam Stinnett
3. Paulo Prietto
4. Scott Flores
5. Isaac Zoller
   Brandon Rothe (tie)
6. none
7. Brandon Sears
8. Tim Fulton

AMATEURS

1. Chopa
2. Daniel Norris
3. Kai Lowe
4. Jose Eduardo