Ready to defend his title

Brandon Rothe is so smooth on a skimboard, he might not even get all the credit he deserves.

He’s the kind of rider who might not overly impress some in person, but go home and check out his clips on YouTube and jaws might start to drop.

Technically, he’s tight with his craft. Rothe takes it seriously, which is not to say he doesn’t have fun, but the time in the water is time for business.

“Some people, big competitors, have told me that maybe flailing your arms around will get you extra points,” said Rothe, 24. “I’m really big on just skimming the way I do. Everyone’s got their own style, so it’s cool.”

Everything would be even cooler for Rothe if he can win this weekend at Aliso Beach Park, the site of the 33rd annual Victoria Skimboards World Championship of Skimboarding. It’s a big weekend for all professional skimboarders but especially for Rothe, who was born and raised in Laguna Beach before moving to San Clemente last fall.

See, Rothe is the defending champion of “the Vic.” And he’d like nothing more than to win the championship again on his home break.

Victoria Skimboards General Manager Trigg Garner wouldn’t be surprised. He said he wasn’t even surprised to see Rothe snatch the title away from legend Bill “Beaker” Bryan last year. Bryan, also a Laguna Beach resident, is like the Michael Jordan of skimboarding, dominant for well over a decade. That might not even be giving Bryan enough credit, because “his Airness” only won six rings and Bryan has won “the Vic” a total of 14 times.

Bryan is also the defending United Skim Tour champion. Yet, when it was Rothe who stepped up to collect first prize after a long weekend of skimming last year, Garner didn’t bat an eyebrow.

“There’s always that little bit of surprise [when Bryan doesn’t win],” Garner said. “Bill is still that good. But not really [surprised], with the way [Rothe] was skimming.

“The only negative thing I could say is I don’t think some people recognize the technique of his riding because he’s so smooth. He’s definitely a technical rider; he just does it with a nonchalant smoothness.”

It’s the smoothness of someone who’s been doing this a long time. The grandma of his childhood friend, Mike Stanaland, had a big beach house down at Victoria Beach. He started when he was 10, with a wooden skimboard. Rothe’s first competition came at age 13, and he took off from there.

Last year, boosted by winning his hometown tournament, Rothe finished third in the UST standings.

“It was a lot of fun to do well in that contest,” Rothe said. “It’s my hometown and one of my favorite breaks. I was prepared. I just went and had fun.”

Rothe had less fun last year when he broke a bone in his heel while warming up for an inland skim event in Sacramento. The accident put him out for months and required him to put some extra padding on his board.

“That was a big bummer,” he said. “I had to sit and watch my buddies on the beach.”

The results from early this year have also been hit-or-miss. Rothe said he could have better than his 11th place finish in the opening event in Delaware, but there was a miscommunication and his ride to the contest didn’t show up.

Last weekend at the Long Beach Island Skim Jam in New Jersey, Rothe said he did “terrible,” losing in his first heat. Yet he said physically, he feels fine, which is bad news for opponents.

“[‘The Vic’] always hypes you up,” he said. “Last year in the final, two of the first waves my buddies got were insane. It definitely pushes you and makes you want [to] throw something in that’s just crazy.”

 Registration closed Wednesday, and there are expected to be about 140 participants for this year’s event, Garner said. That includes close to 40 professionals, including Bryan, Rothe and Laguna Beach’s Brandon Sears and Brendan “Noogie” Stevens. The quartet all made the finals at last year’s event.

Heats will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Aliso Beach Park. Amateurs have 10-minute heats and a 12-minute final, while professionals have 12-minute heats and a 15-minute final.

Garner said Victoria is also upping the bandwidth on its Aliso Beach webcam this weekend, accessible through www.victoriaskimboards.com.

Like last year, there will be an after-party at 7 p.m. Sunday at Seven Degrees.