3rd Annual Sandskater/Zap UK Skim Fest 2004
Now in its third year, the Sandskater/Zap UK Skim Fest was held over the weekend of
18/19 September. The Sandskater organized event, brought together the largest collection of skimmers ever seen in the UK. People had travelled from all over the UK
and Europe to be at the Skim fest. They came from as far a field as the Channel Islands, Scotland, Wales and
even Austria. Around 200 people turned up each day to enjoy skimboarding and learn new tricks from the pro riders that had traveled over from the USA especially for the event.
 After a successful skim fest last year, Bill Baxter had returned to this years event, but this time were joined by
his buddy and filmer, John Spizale. A last minute addition to this years Skim
Fest was Exile Skimboards pro rider Brendan 'Noogie' Stevens who had been in
London all summer.
The conditions weren't the best this year. Three days before the Skim Fest, a
storm took away most of the slope on the beach. This meant the unbroken waves
were breaking to far out to reach on a skimboard. The steady 20mph winds didn't
help the conditions much either!
However, everybody enjoyed themselves, and from the moment the pro riders hit the water, the beach was packed with onlookers keen to see what can be done with
the less than ideal conditions. The public weren't' disappointed. The pro's unleashed
a series of aerials, liners and tech tricks, much to the delight of the crowd gathered on the beach.&
Every year the Skim Fest raises money for a local charity. This year it was
the Devon Air Ambulance which provides an invaluable
service for many rural areas in Devon. Just under £500 (around US$900) was raised
through the sale of prize draw tickets. The prizes were donated by Sandskater, Zap Skimboards and Slick Industries.
Peter Sury, who had travelled all the way from Austria, was lucky enough to win
the main prize which was a Zap Wedge Skimboard worth £125.
A bigger and better 2005 UK Skim Fest is already in the planning stages, and will be
held on the same weekend in September.
South Hams Radio interviews
To listen to South Hams radio interviews with the Bill Baxter, Brendan
Stevens and Matt Martin all you have to do is right click the links below and
select "Save target as". All files are in MP3 format.
Interview 1 | Interview
2 | Interview 3
Thanks must go to the following people for helping to make this event such a success
Zap Skimboards - Thanks for all the gear
Slick Industries - Thanks for everything you sent
Bill Baxter, John Spizale and Brendan Stevens - thanks guys!!
Everybody that helped us out over the weekend - you know who you are. Its
appreciated guys!
Everyone who turned up at the skimfest - thanks for supporting us!!
Related info:
2004 UK Skim Fest photo gallery
Skim Fest organisation article
Email this article to a friend!
<< Go back
|
