2017 Red Bull Skim It: the beach of Manufaktura provided plenty of action moments | Photo: Piotr Szewc

The 6th edition of the Red Bull Skim It is done and dusted.

On Saturday, August 26, Lodz once again turned into a skimboarding paradise. This year's edition of Europe's biggest competition on an artificial track welcomed participants from across Europe.

The winner of the legendary event taking place on the beach of Manufaktura turned out to be a resident of Lodz, Michal Ambruszkiewicz.

Thanks to the victory on Saturday, he became the first Pole in history to conquer the European Skimboarding Cup title and put an end to Adrien Raza's three-year supremacy.

Between Wednesday and Sunday, Manufaktura turned into the skimboarding capital of Poland for the sixth time. This year, the competition once again provided truly surfing vibes – sunshine, clear skies, and over 30-degree Celsius heat.

Red Bull Skim It joined the European Skimboarding Cup as the final stop of the series, and, additionally, it was the biggest skimboarding event in Europe taking place in the city center.

The Saturday competition featured 30 skimboarders. Pro qualifiers consisted of one-on-one duels, while the final was based on a skateboarding game "Skate", where one competitor challenged his opponent to copy a previously performed trick.

If a competitor failed to repeat a given move, he or she received successive letters from the event name "Skim It." The first one to collect the full sign was Dawid Pruski, who took third place on the podium.

The final saw a battle between Daniel Sikorski, from Warsaw, and local star Michal "Amba" Ambruszkiewicz. Daniel consistently copied required maneuvers and at the same time presented other tricks that "Amba" was not able to repeat.

The competition was fierce and went down to the wire, but ultimately Michal Amburszkiewicz prevailed by only one letter.

Michal Amburszkiewicz: your 2017 European Skimboarding Cup champion | Photo: Piotr Szewc

With the victory under his belt, he collected the highest number of points in the European Skimboarding Cup standings and outstripped his biggest rival Mees Oostdijk, from the Netherlands, to take the top European podium spot.

"Wow! Becoming European Champion is a great distinction, but I have to admit that it required incredible commitment and many years of solid training," admitted Michal Ambruszkiewicz with a big smile on his face.

"I've been involved in the world of skimboarding already for 14 years, but it still remains a great passion of mine! Every year, the organizers of Red Bull Skim It surprise me with their imagination in creating new obstacles."

The female skimboarding champion at Red Bull Skim It 2017 was Aleksandra Dubas, joined on the podium by Klaudia Mikołajczyk and Agata Kotlenga, in second and third place respectively.

Besides the competition for more experienced participants, all interested people got a chance to try their hand at this water sport. The skimboarding track was free and, additionally, everyone could seek the assistance of coaches from the VHS - Village Head Skimboard training school.

This year, the stakes were really high, as the winners received prizes with a total value of over PLN 12,000.

2017 Red Bull Skim It | Top 3

Pro
1. Michal Ambruszkiewicz
2. Daniel Sikorski
3. Dawid Pruski

Women
1. Aleksandra Dubas
2. Klaudia Mikolajczyk
3. Agata Kotlenga

Amateur
1. Eryk Witan
2. Milosz Piechota
3. Jacek Ryszard

European Skimboarding Cup 2017 | Top 3

1. Michal Ambruszkiewicz
2. Mees Oostdijk
3. Adrien Raza

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