Bryan on top at ‘The Vic’

Organizers of the World Championship of Skimboarding had to scramble to relocate the annual competition Saturday when a sewage spill closed the event’s traditional Aliso Beach location for the weekend.

The spill that saw about 1,000 gallons of raw sewage enter Aliso Creek and flow into the ocean had competition organizers sweating. The competition was moved further south to West Street Beach.

Trigg Garner, who works for Victoria Skimboards and organizes many parts of the competition said it was hectic moving the competition, but once it got reorganized, the skimboarding action was intense. He said there were no problems from nearby residences.

“Locals know that kids skim down here all the time so they don’t really mind us taking over the beach,” Garner said.

Some of the competitors felt the relocation was actually a blessing in disguise.

“We’re thanking the county’s inefficient sewer system for making us move to my favorite beach,” said Laguna Beach resident Bill Bryan, who won his 14th world title at Victoria Skimboards’ annual competition Sunday.

The World Championship of Skimboarding — known better as “The Vic” to those familiar with the sport — took a departure from the open format it used for 30 years and held an invitational this year.

There were about 40 pro skimboarders vying for the top prize this year and about 100 amateurs. Competitors came from around the world including Japan, Chile, and Portugal. Many more were Laguna Beach locals that either grew up in or moved to the city.

Johnny Collins, a long time skimboarder and judge for the pro finals, said Laguna is the epicenter of the skimboarding movement, so it’s no surprise to draw out so many locals for the event.

“Laguna’s a really good place for the sport,” Collins said. “When these guys come here they don’t leave a lot of times.”

Competitors in the pro final were given 12 minutes to catch 15 waves. The top five rides were judged to compile a score.

The final heat saw a rematch from last year’s competition between Bryan and Jaime Lovett. Lovett was the announced winner last year but computer tabulations later showed Bryan to be the winner.

This year Bryan again received showers of praise after creating showers of spray riding Sunday’s waves. The 34-year-old Bryan won after running a final heat with few — if any — errors.

“If you play a video game and have all the cheat codes, that’s him,” Collins said of Bryan’s run.

Bryan was happy to be competing after an infected knee kept him out of contention for six weeks. It wasn’t until about 10 days before the contest that Bryan was able to start getting into shape.

Morgan Just took the prize for second with a solid run and some precisely executed tricks.

“I went out and had fun,” the 21-year-old said with a huge grin after leaving the water. “It’s like a chore to get out of the water.”

Lovett took third and Paulo Prietto took fourth.

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