Surprises come from where you least expect them. In the Northern Mariana Islands, a bodyboarding competition unveiled unimagined talents pulling off impossible tricks and maneuvers.
Welcome to the 2015 PIC Saipan International Point Break Competition, a bodyboard and flowboard contest founded in 1998. The event attracts local riders and athletes from the USA, Korea, Japan, Philippines and Russia.
The rules are quite simple. Open and Expert competitors get two 45-second rides to showcase their best moves. The best ride is seeded into the elimination bracket; winners area announced across 12 divisions.
However, Ray Babauta is the man of the moment. Footage showing his incredible performance on Saipan's Flowrider is taking over the world of bodyboarding. How many pros wouldn't pay to learn from him?
Babauta combined flips and spins with 360s, 720s and pop shove-its while displaying a full bag of tricks in both prone and Drop-Knee positions. In the end, Ray stormed the Men's Pro Bodyboard division and finished second in the Men's Flowboard category.
2015 PIC Saipan International Point Break Competition | Results
Men's Pro Bodyboard
1. Ray Babauta
2. Kim Jae Won
3. Francis Heartman
Men's Pro Flowboard
1. Keoni Ichihara
2. Ray Babauta
3. Dan Westfall