Ben Skinner Crowned King of the Longboard

PLAYA DE SOMO, Ribamontan al Mar - Cantabria / Spain - Ben Skinner (GBR) 29, was today crowned King of the Longboard an ASP Europe sanctioned specialty event defeating a strong international field of riders in long peeling 2ft waves in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Skinner finished the event with a total event score of 32.35 out of 40 to demonstrate his dominance of both performance and classic longboarding.

A newly designed format by Cantabrian Surfing Federation Technical Director, Pedro Gutierrez, saw a combination of both performance and classic longboard styles displayed over two days with a total of 4 waves tallied to crown the overall winner.

Skinner lead the race coming into the final day of competition which saw unfold classic longboarding at its finest. A full array of manoeuvres were laid down on the clean walls of Somo including hang-tens, drop-knee turns and some amazing foot work to impress both judges and spectators.

With a handful of strong scoring rides Skinner finished off with an 8-point plus ride to seal the deal and become the inaugural King of the Longboard.

“I'm pretty stoked!!! It is such a nice thing to be able to surf both disciplines of our sport,” began Skinner. “I think it is really important we embrace both and this is a perfect example of that and it was just brilliant. I loved it. Thanks everyone involved and thanks Somo and the ASP.”

The waves of la playa de Somo were excellent over the two days of competition and Skinner highlighted his thoughts on conditions.

“It's got that nice steady pace. It's not too steep but it's not really fat either. There are some really good nose-ride sections and plenty of sections to explode on as well. So for this kind of event it is just perfect.”

Skinner enjoyed competing under a new format and sees possibilities in future additions to allow the growth and development of longboarding in general.

“I think it is the way forward for longboarding as I said embracing both disciplines and really being able to do both and on both actual styles of boards as well. Having big heavy single fins and then moving on to your lighter boards and being able to adapt. It is a really interesting concept and I think you are going to see a lot of interesting surfers develop from it.”

Finishing in runner-up position was Aurélien Meynieux (REU) 30, who was unable to pull back the lead despite staging a strong performance today with the single highest wave score of 9.00 out of 10 backed up with a solid 7.00 in the first heat of the day.

Final spot on the winner's podium went to Alberto Fernandez (ESP) 21, who finished third overall. One of the most consistent riders in both performance and classical, the young rider from Seville, southern Spain, marked himself as a contender if future editions.

King of the Longboard Overall Results

1st Ben Skinner (GBR) 32.35 points
2nd Aurelien Meynieux (REU) 22.65 points
3rd Alberto Fernandez (ESP) 21.6 points