Review of 2nd Stage Exile SkimNorte 2011 celebrated in Espinho on July 16th & 17th

Today we want to review the 2nd Stage Exile Skim Norte Open 2011 celebrated on July 16th & 17th en Espinho (Portugal). This Open is a stage of national portuguese skimboard league. The contest was organized by "Clube Skim Norte" & the "FPSurf Nort". The event was sponsored by Exile Skimboard with the support of CMEspinho. Another sponsors were HB Surf Shop , SCS Surf Shop , Waimea Surf Shop, Tribo do Sol e EQEC, Lda.

The 2nd Stage Exile Skim Norte Open 20011 had 39 riders inscribed of wich 25 were inscribed in the Open. The wave conditions were so appropiate for skimboarding: 1 meter in size from west direction waves.

This meant holding the second round and the quarterfinals of the Open. The Women's final was held withith Sofia Lopes as triumphant champion, followed by Filipa Pinto (2 nd position). The surprise was Rita Castro making his debut in national competitions this weekend reached a deserved 3rd place.

Another surprise of the day was the elimination of André Abrantes who wons the contest held in 2010. Also highlight the performance of Diogo Abrantes (brother of the rider above) as well as the Simao Pinto and Hugo Santos, the latter being a clear dominator of the heats on Saturday.

Sunday 17 conditions deteriorated enough having north-west wind and hot sun. Finals were held the Under-14, U-16 and U-18, in addition to the semifinals and finals in the Open. Even with the above conditions the turnout was massive, enjoying these large maneuvers.

In the Under-14 category the winner on merit and distance of its competitors was Luis Ferreira.

In the U-16 enjoyed a very interesting fight between Alfonso Ruiz and Diogo Abrantes. Finally Diogo Abrante wons. In the U-18 Simao Pinto won the final with relative ease, confirming their special fitness and consolidating its position as one of the two best national and European riders.

We reached the semifinals of the Open. The competitors demonstrated a high level to a sea facing very difficult. In the first semifinal Hugo Santos and Eduardo Joaquim defeated Ricardo Abrantes and Pedro Silva. In the second semifinal Simao Pinto and Diogo Abrantes overcame Mário Gomes and Norberto Ferreira.

In the end he was the slight difference between the competitors. The difference between the first and the fourth runner-up only 3 points. Finally Hugo Santos (Clube Skim Norte) won the Open. Simao Pinto was followed in second place, Eduardo Joaquim occupying third place and Diogo Abrantes ranking fourth.

This information has been made ​​possible by the "Clube Skim Norte" (http://skimnorte.com/default.aspx) and especially Luzir and Rui Marinho. From VSTBwe thank you. You can see more photos of the event at the following address:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150261313388158.350351.327326148157 and https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set =a.10150262258463158.350709.327326148157