1st annual International Skimboarding championship “The battle of the crab”

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

The beachside paradise of Mazunte, Oaxaca was the setting where, this past 3rd and 4th of November, Mexico’s first skimboarding championship took place.

The contest was divided into three categories: Beginner, Amateur and Pro, which brought international riders to the competition that included notable brothers, Jacob Stinnett and Samuel Stinnett (the reigning UST champion). The contest also included some of the best skimboarders in Mexico from the states of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero and Baja California, with the most prominent being Cesar “Tule” Lazareno and Paul “Chopa”Guijarro.

The first day of competition began at 8 a.m., kicking off with the Beginners Category and an incredibly improved swell. This was the busiest category since it involved a large number of competitors of different ages and also from different parts of the country, proving that young people throughout Mexico are truly the ones spearheading this sport.

At 2 p.m., the Pros Category (the most highly anticipated category of them all) began with good conditions. The competitors of different states faced off in 6 heats, each one lasting a total of ten minutes. In this category, the best competitors of Mexico competed alongside some of the best in the world, offering a show that has never before been seen in our country, giving the crowd a series of tricks that left them, as well as other competitors, with their mouths hanging open. During this heat, we saw tricks such as: aerials 360s, 180 shove-its, big spins, tubes, 720s, backsides, one-foots, 180 ollies, and many, many more. This battle determined the athletes who would advance to the semi-finals that took place the following day at 4 p.m.

On the last day of competition, things didn’t get started until 3:00 in the afternoon because the waves had dropped considerably that morning.

At 3 p.m., the Beginners had their final heat that lasted a total of ten minutes and turned into a full-on battle, with “Cheyito” entering a wave with a good, clean style then getting covered by the tube. Soon, Ivan Cortes appeared with his solid technique, catching a large wave and getting covered in the end as the crowd cheered him on. Chabela decided to take her first wave and, upon exiting, did a backside maneuver that caused the crowd to go nuts. After that, she took her next wave but unfortunately fell. Taking advantage of this was Ivan Cortes, who took a decent wave and was again covered by an excellent tube. Chabela still had her final wave, however, and when she caught it she enjoyed a great ride, getting covered by the tube and ending with a shove-it that won the crowd over and also gave her an indisputable first place win. It’s worth complimenting her, as she’s just 15 years old and going against a number of older and stronger male competitors.

Now, with an amped crowd and a great beachside atmosphere, the Amateur Category had their final heat, lasting ten minutes. Everything began with Chamy, who took a very large wave and made a clean exit, ending with an ollie out. Then, Llama appeared, entering the wave with a 360 before getting covered by the tube. Upon exiting the tube, however, he lost his balance and unfortunately finished without his board. When Edmar emerged, he entered with a 360 and exited with a solid backside maneuver, leaving the crowd ecstatic once again. With this, he showed his power and proved his superiority by ultimately taking first place in his category.

In the final battle, Jake, Tule and Chopa faced off, giving a true show of world-class quality where, after their 10-minute heat, Tule was crowned the winner of the competition thanks to his fluidity and variety of tricks (not to mention his style and the size of the waves he caught).

We congratulate all the competitors, sponsors and the crowd that helped make this unprecedented event happen in Southern Mexico.
        
Final results: