Victoria Skimboards to Host Fifth Stop of United Skim Tour
The 46th annual Vic skimboarding competition is back. This year, the hotly contested event will take place at Aliso Beach on Aug. 26 and 27, drawing with it an international field of competitors from Japan, Brazil, Mexico and both coasts of the United States.
The professional men’s division is part of the United Skim Tour (UST), the world’s premier international professional skimboarding tour, sponsored by Laguna-based Victoria Skimboards.
“We’ve got a lot of history at this contest as we go into our 46th year,” Victoria Skimboards owner Tex Haines said. “The pro prize purse is crowd-funded by local donors and sponsors and is currently over $7,000. Last year, it got up to $12,000, and we expect to have a similar or larger purse this year. We’re very proud of that.”
Slated to compete in the pro men’s event are 2022 men’s UST Champion Lucas Fink of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 2021 men’s UST champion Gerardo Valencia of Barra De Navidad, Mexico and Laguna local Dane Cameron, currently ranked third on the UST. Professional women riders include Amber Torrealba of Palm Bay, Florida, who won the contest in 2016, 2018, and 2019.
After four stops in the professional men’s division, Yahir Valencia of Barra de Navidad, Mexico, currently leads the UST rankings, followed by Lucas Fink and Dane Cameron.
The remaining UST tour events include the Exile Oktoberfest in Newport Beach on Sept. 16 and 17. The points from the best four placings count toward each skimboarder’s 2023 UST points in the men’s division.
The United Skim Tour is the world’s premier international professional skimboard tour. The UST exists as a sanctioning body for the professional division of skimboarding events on both coasts of the United States and abroad. More information about the United Skim Tour is available at ocean.victoriaskimboards.com.
