There’s a reason why Ryan Parola and his buddies called their skimboarding contest the Senseless Skimfest.
RESULTS
Pro division winner
David Safradin
Women’s Division winner
Jackie Gollbach
Grand masters division winner
Dean Poshard
12 and under division winner
Lorenzo Disarro
13-17 division winner
Preston Anderson
18-22 division winner
Wyatt Colen
23-29 division winner
David Haefele
“It’s called senseless because skimboarding is just a bad idea in general,” said the contest organizer with a laugh at the 11th annual event at 26th Avenue Beach on Saturday. “Basically taking a hard piece of equipment and running at waves crashing on the beach.”
Though it may not be the safest activity around, participants of all ages tried their luck at the event, which brings people together in the name of skimming.
The day began around 9 a.m. with fog holding off the wind, and, although it did increase later in the day, people’s enthusiasm was not affected.
“All the contestants were really cheerful even as the conditions got worse in the afternoon,” said Chris Chapman, who provided the loudspeaker play-by-play for most heats and also competed. “They were still really hyped and wanted to ride.”
Parola, who founded the contest in 2001 with three of his friends, estimated that there were about 30-40 competitors over the pro division and six amateur divisions Saturday.
David Safradin of Moss Beach was the big winner of the day, taking the pro division from among six contestants.
The pro group ran three one-on-one heats. The winner of each heat was entered into the final round, and the three second-place finishers competed for the fourth final round spot.