Sears takes Laguna skim board event

Victoria Skimboards’ Brandon Sears came out on top of a competitive

field of more than 100 contestants to win the third annual Laguna

Surf and Sport Pro/Am Skim contest held at Thalia Street beach.

The event drew several local amateurs but it was the pros who

showed off their aggressive, technical riding.

Victoria Skimboards athletes Jaime Kaya Lovett and Brandon Rothe

took second- and third-place, respectively.

Sears, 19, and Lovett, 16, both wowed the crowd with a 360 shuv-it

on his way out to the wave, followed by a wrap barrel.

A shuv-it is a technique where a rider uses footwork to do a

180-degree turn.

Rothe, 19, also came up with precise shuv-it wraps.

Other notable performances came from 19-year-old Paulo Prietto

with his mechanical airs and the fluid floater barrel rides of Jason

Wilson, 21.

Victoria Skimboards’ Bill Bryan, who did not compete, ran the

one-day format contest.