Blair Conklin has taken out the 2016 United Skim Tour (UST) world title.
The skimboarder from Laguna Beach, California, won the 12th Annual Oktoberfest and gathered enough points to be crowned the world champion. It's his maiden UST world title.
The final event of the skimboarding season attracted hundreds of spectators to Newport Beach. In the decisive match-up, Conklin defeated Sam Stinnett and raised the world title.
"I guess things went my way this year. It was crazy to skim in the final with Sam Stinnett, a human I have been trying to keep up with since day one of competing," expressed Blair Conklin.
"What a year of skimboarding it has been for me. Taking some time to reflect on all that has happened this year and the 16 years of skimboarding leading up to this day, while putting off studying for midterms."
But Exile's Oktoberfest was also a special moment for Casey Kiernan, who added another world title to her trophy room.
"Thank you so very much to my friends and family who have continually supported, pushed, and encouraged me on this journey. It was especially difficult with just coming back from a broken ankle and it was a tight race until the end, but nothing can ever stop determination," expressed Kiernan.
After a few intense years, the United Skim Tour slowed down and kept a strangely low profile throughout the 2016 season. There were very few communications with the fans, and media outlets rarely received updates and results from the contests. Hopefully, the UST will return bigger and better in 2017.