‘Te’ is ’23 Boogie Down at Obyan champ

After a 10-year hiatus from the ocean, Vincent “Te” Villagomez made an epic return and was one with the waves this time around to claim the title.

Villagomez outperformed 12 other surfers, including three competitors from Guam, and three women, over the two-day weekend competition at Obyan Beach and was crowned the champion yesterday.

Despite a 30-minute delay in the finals showdown due to safety concerns, Villagomez swept up the competition and barrel rolled his way to first place after he collected the most points of 1,208 from the competition’s three judges—Linus Mizutani, Shuji Takanobu, and Vince Tudela.

Second place went to last year’s bronze medalist, Solomon Castro with 1,198 points, while third place was Jacob Yamagishi with 1,024.

Villagomez said after his win, “I feel great. I’m happy to be here, happy to be in the water, especially with all the support. It’s good to be back.”

About the competition, Villagomez said, “It was just like a regular day—just doing what I do and having fun surfing. Just being one with the water feels good.”

The tricks that landed him the first-place win, according to the 20-plus-year surfing veteran, were the barrel roll tricks he made from the inside. “It’s difficult to do and it’s very shallow. I got scratches on my fingers,” he said, as he showed his wrinkled and scratched up fingertips.

In the inaugural event last year, Villagomez competed but did not make it to the finals. Last year was also his first time back in the water after losing his father and brother to ocean-related accidents. The emotional Villagomez dedicated his win to the both of them and said, “They’re gone, but they’re always with me out there for sure.”

Villagomez said he will definitely compete again next year. “I come here often. This is my gym. After work, I come here, I clock in, and I do my thing.” He then thanked his fellow boogie/body boarders. “They’ve been around helping me and getting me back here. Shuji gave me my first board to use in last year’s competition. Before that, I was on a 10-year break, but now I’m back.”

The organizing committee of Boogie Down at Obyan are board members of the Marianas Surf Skate League. The Boogie Down at Obyan organizing committee included director Joe Villacrusis, co-owner of Salty Skin Pacific; tournament director Edward Manibusan, who is the owner of Saipan Surf Company; and media director David Cabrera, owner of the local shop Local Bones; and Salam Younis, co-chairman of the MSSL.

Manibusan said after the event that it was a great success. “I think we were able to build upon last year’s event. We also brought in surfers from Guam, which is huge for us. Even though we’re different islands, different governments, we do have similar love for the ocean, similar love for the environment, and keeping our environment clean, keeping our beaches clean. We just want to keep that going every year as much as we can, along with the support of companies such as Marpac, TurnKey, and the government agencies that help us out and all our other sponsors.”

Manibusan on Villagomez’ winning first place said he always sees him out in the water and it shows because he knows the break. “It takes some experience…the folks who surf out there the most—they know the breaks, they know the currents, they can read the waves, faces of the waves. “Te” is a really hard worker and I know he really wanted it as well from last year. So, it’s really great to see him here. I just heard about his story, but I think he did it for himself and also for his family and loved ones.”

With the women surfers who competed this year, Manibusan said that it’s a big milestone for them and is looking at creating a separate women’s division eventually.

Kaya Rasa, Kristina Anderson, and Guam’s May Mendiola graced Obyan’s waters and were the first women to compete in the competition. Mendiola made it to the finals and placed fourth overall.

Additional thanks were made by Manibusan to the participants, Department of Public Safety, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Division of Parks and Recreation, Saipan Mayor’s Office, Marianas Visitors Authority, and Coastal Resource Management.

Marianas Surf Skate League board members and Boogie Down at Obyan organizers, from left, David Cabrera, Edward Manibusan, Joe Villacrusis, and Salam Younis pose for a photo at Obyan Beach after the 2nd Annual Boogie Down at Obyan last Sunday.