After the contest on Sunday, be sure to hit up the Out The Back Wrap Up Party @ 7 Degrees in Laguna Beach (Laguna Canyon) which will feature Live music, Video montages, Awards ceremony, and 10th St. Bros. video premiere 7pm – 11pm Sunday July 27, 2008. Don’t miss out.

The rule was imposed at the 2007 VIC at the last minute, without consulting with any of the competing athletes. The rule itself was simple: A 10 wave limit per competitor per heat. (This was again changed on the beach: upped to a 12 wave limit in the final) It was imposed with the hopes that the limit would decrease interference between riders running for waves simply for the sake of running for waves and blocking other competitors from completing a scoring ride.

Below is the Petition in its entirety:

The Victoria Contest is arguably the most prestigious event in skimboarding. The format of the contest is an important facet to determine a winner. The proposed 7 scoring ride requirement and 12 wave maximum rule discourages progression and is not the best way to prevent interference. In fact, it may stimulate more close calls and interference because riders will be overly selective and bunch up on certain waves.

It is very difficult to catch 7 scoring waves on any given day in 12 minutes. We do not feel it is ample time to perform high scoring maneuvers in such time when dealing with the uncontrollable force of nature. Judging 7 scoring waves out of 12 total waves in 12 minutes calculates that a rider must catch 1 wave every minute.

We, the professional riders, believe that judges want to see progression and high scoring maneuvers. Furthermore, we believe that focusing on high scoring progressive maneuvers in skimboard contests is important for the growth and relevance of competitive skimboarding. With that in mind, we would like to amend the rules of the Victoria Contest by returning to a no set wave limit and reducing the number of scoring waves to 4.

Since the presentation of the petition, contest directors have been very positive in their reception of the athletes comments and they are currently working together towards a resolution. Stay tuned for the results!

The VIC aside, it is Skimboarder Magazine’s opinion that all contest sanctioned by the UST need to adopt a unified judging, scoring and priority system that is consistently enforced at every contest to further legitimize the entire contest season and the crowning of an overall champion.

Well informed, paid judges are a necessity. In surfing’s WCT, Judges are visually separated and not allowed to talk to each other, talk to athletes and via versa. There is a single head judge who overseas the scoring judges and handles any disputes. A single priority judge or a pair of priority judges keeping track of who has priority using highly visible, color coded flags that match competitors jerseys is a viable option. To enforce priority a unified system of scoring and penalties for interference must be created and adhered to. Without all of the above, Competitive skimboarding will have a very difficult time growing and reaching a larger audience.

  “They decided to ‘adjust’ the cost of our event permit.” Explained Trigg Garner  of Victoria Skimboards. The “Adjustment” went something like this: For years now, the cost of the permit required to conduct the contest at Aliso beach was $300 for a three day event. The new price; $1,500… a day.
 

“Its tragic, really” noted 17 time contest winner and skimboarding icon Bill Bryan. “Tex Haines, the owner of Victoria Skimboards, and contest director has been running this event for the past 30 years as a charity event. The contest doesn’t make money. Time and time again, he’s been inches away from throwing in the towel on whole thing, as the numbers just never ad up. But it means to much to the sport, and it means to much to the community that surrounds it, to give up on it just like that… It would be a huge loss.”
   

Indeed “The Vic” contest carries enormous weight in the skimboarding world, and its loss would be great. Given its history as the longest running contest in the sport, at one of the best beaches in the word for skimboarding, it has developed into the premiere proving ground for skimboarders around the globe. A win at The Vic in any division is something to covet, as the best of the best from around the world are in attendance, all fighting for the win.
 

Unfortunately, with the permit situation this year, the contest had to be scaled back to a two day period.

  “4,500 dollars for a three day contest was totally out of the question.” Said Garner, “Even at $3,000 for the two days, we’re stretched to the max”  The limited time frame also forced event organizers to shift the contest to an invite only format for the first time in the contest’s history. A necessary move to limit the number of competitors to fit the time allotted.

All of this seems so far removed from the contest, and indeed the sport’s, humble beginnings.  The very first Victoria contest took place in 1977.  But calling it the very first “Victoria” contest doesn’t put it in the proper light.  Perhaps a better way to refer to it would be the very first skimboarding contest.  The event was not held at Aliso as it is now.  Appropriately, “The Vic” was held at Victoria Beach, as it was the premiere spot of the day.  There was no pro division, and there wouldn’t be for quite some time.  Divisions were based upon age alone, and the oldest division was 19 & up.  This was a young man’s sport. 

The inaugural event was actually sponsored by the city of Laguna Beach, and as such was only open to those that resided within the Laguna Beach School District’s boundaries.  The cost to enter the event?  Two dollars.  The total prize money?  Over $1000.  It would be nice to see that kind of support from the community again.

The contest spent three years at Victoria Beach before the decision was made to move it about a mile south to Aliso in 1980.  The introduction of competitive skimboarding was pushing the local riders to hone their wave riding skills.  Better skills required better conditions, and Aliso was the natural choice to take things to the next level. 

It is often asked who won these early events.  “Who won the Vic?”  This simple question has no simple answer.  These early events had no professional division, and the age brackets changed from year to year.  So there was no real answer to that question until the 1987 contest, when the professional division was first created.

This years event not only marks the 31st Victoria contest, but it also marks the twentieth anniversary of professional skimboarding.  In those twenty years, participation in all divisions has soared.  A few years back the competition had to be extended to a three day event to accommodate all the participants, and even so, many were turned away.  While the competition has no doubt provided some excellent exposure for the Victoria Skimboards company, there can also be no doubt that the competition has been a huge undertaking both in effort and finance.  Luckily for all of us, this sport has dedicated people like Tex who pour their blood, sweat and tears into these types of events.  Without this contest, skimboarding would not be what it is today.