Skimboarding (or skimming) is a boardsport in which a skimboard (a smaller counterpart to a surfboard without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface. Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach by dropping the board onto the thin wash of previous waves. Skimboarders use their momentum to 'skim' out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing. Another aspect of skimboarding is 'flatland', which involves performing tricks derived from skateboarding such as ollies and shove-its on the wash of waves without catching shore breaks. Skimboarding originated in Southern california when lifeguards wanted an easy way to get across the beaches of Laguna. Skimboarding has developed since then to extreme riding into big shorebreak.
Contents |
Riders generally favor a board length which reaches about their mid-chest height when stood on end.
Thickness of the board depends somewhat on the materials used in construction, but typically ranges from 3/8 inch to 1 inch. The most common thickness is 5/8" and 3/4". A few high-flotation foam core boards and "soft" boards have been built with thicknesses in excess of 2 inches.
Most skimboards will have some nose lift, or rocker. There are three types of rockers generally used for skimboards. There is a constant rocker, which means that the board has a constant curve from nose to tail. Constant rockers are known for better control on bigger waves. Another type of rocker and the most commonly used is a hybrid rocker. This means that the board has a curve on the bottom through about 3/4 of the board's length, the rest (meaning the flat part) is usually the tail. This type of rocker is good for both speed and control on decent size waves; also the best type of board for flatland tricks. Last of all, a traditional rocker means that the board is almost completely flat except for the nose.
There are many types of dangers that skimboarders can face on a daily basis. It is not uncommon to see fractures or dislocations of the lower limbs, some requiring serious medical attention. Lacerations, twisted ankles and bruises are also common, due to impacts with the board itself, or rocks, logs and other obstacles present on beaches. Hamstring injury is also pretty common due to the fast and extreme movement of skimboarder's leg when they run toward the water and jump on the board. Drowning amongst skimboarders is not as likely as amongst surfers due to the shallow water in which skimboarding is usually practiced. However, if unconscious, a skimboarder could easily drown. Also, due to the shallow water, breaking your neck is a very dangerous possibility when riding big waves.
A study was done in a British journal on the dangers of skimboarding and it states, "Over a 5 month period—May to September 2003—10 patients were seen by the fracture team at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Of the 10, eight were male, with an average age 18.7 (range 12–31). There was an equal incidence of left and right sided injuries. All the injuries were closed with no neurovascular symptoms or signs. Eight were to the lower limb, all of which were fractures of the distal tibia, ankle, and mid-foot. Six patients required hospital admission, all of these injuries were from skimboarding.""
Many injuries that skimboarders suffer happen over a long period of time. Such injuries include: fractures, leg pains, shin splints etc. Some of these injuries can be prevented by stretching before and after a session.
Another foot injury that can occur is "Skimboard Toe". Much like "turf toe", it develops from overuse and can eventually break your toe, tarsal, or metatarsal. This usually occurs from torque in the front foot while riding.
Freak accidents can occur in the blink of an eye. Many types of head injuries can occur such as large cuts, concussions, and contusions in the brain when getting slammed into the sand. It is also common to get slammed so hard that sand can become lodged in areas of the body which may cause extreme discomfort.
Many consider the center of skimboarding to be located in Laguna Beach, California where skimboarding became popular when life guards would skim across sand on pieces of wood. Skimboarding originated however, in Dewey Beach, Delaware in the 1950's. In Dewey Beach every year the world Championships of Skimboarding are held on New Orleans street. Dewey is home to the best conditions in the world for skimboarding. The biggest skimboarding waves are found in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However, people skim in many other locations throughout North America, Europe (the main locations being Portugal, France, Spain, United Kingdom & Holland), Australia, Asia, and South America. Many people skim inland because of difficulty with shore access. Flatland skimboarding can be done nearly anywhere: lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds, golf courses, puddles, or even wet grass. Flatland skim scenes have developed in places such as North America (Outer Banks, New Jersey, Washington, British Columbia, Ontario, Delaware, California, Florida, Utah, Texas, The Great Lakes and the Maritimes) Australia (Melbourne and Parramatta), Wellington NZ. In Europe, the Flatland skim scene growing fast, with the biggest group of skimboarders situated in the Netherlands. Skimboarding is popular on many beaches where it is impossible to surf, for example on Boa Viagem, Recife, Brazil, where surfing is banned due to the threat of shark attacks. Downhill skimming is anonther type of skimboarding, similar to snowboarding, it is usually found on golf courses where short grass and puddles make ideal conditions. This is not that popular because many golf courses need a hurricane to pass through in order to get a great skim. Also another place where one can always have down hill skimboarding is at the beach. This is where an adjoining lake enters the ocean and a perfect down hill skim can be found. The secret places must be found but when they are the skim is everlasting and extremely fun.
Inland boards tend to be made of wood. Wood core boards are quite rugged. They are meant for grinding rails and doing tricks. They stand up well against rocks and shells, obstacles, and general wear.
High-performance skimboards are usually made in several layers, thus "composite" construction. They may have a shell made of fiberglass, carbon or kevlar. Fiberglass is the least expensive and most common of these. The most popular core is a resilient high-density foam. Their exterior surface is glazed with polyester or epoxy resin, like modern surfboards. Board makers are also experimenting with different materials such as bamboo sandwiches, honeycomb cores, wood cores, various stringers, rail reinforcements, and other variations from the mainstream fiberglass and foam.
"Foamies" (boards with foam core materials) have more buoyancy to provide lift for wave riding, almost like a surfboard. But lightweight boards can be difficult to handle, as they are prone to flying on the wind when you toss them. They are also more easily harmed by dents and dings along the rails, or by cracking or delamination. The added strength of premium materials such as carbon and kevlar may help to offset the potential for damage.
The increasing international interest in skimboarding has resulted in the development of a competitive industry, catering for the ever-increasing demand for both quality and cheap skimboards. Each company has what they call team riders, people who skimboard in competitions while representing their company sponsor to promote their boards. They usually have an amateur and professional team who are supplied by the manufacturer with skimboards at no or little cost. However as a pro-rider the company usually pays for all traveling expenses for their riders on competition tours.
Skimboarding contests are held to establish ranking amongst skimboarders and provide a way for companies to market product. In North America there are three centralized organizations that hold events: United Skim Tour, Skim USA, and Skim Invasion.
In Europe, the European Skimboard League was created in 2009 to promote skimboarding across the world. It's creation has been seen as one of the finest moments in European skimboarding to date.
The 2009 League was won by Emanuel (Mega) Embaixador and in 2010 Hugo Santos. Both riders are Portuguese and ride for Zap Skimboards.
The league consists of 4 stages mostly held in the Summer months, although UK & Spanish events tend to happen just outside of the holiday season. The stages are held in Portugal, France, The UK & Spain, each hosted at one of the best skimboarding locations found anywhere in the world.
The UK event is held at Tolcarne Beach in Newquay, Cornwall. Newquay is a location famous for its surfing scene and Tolcarne Beach is known as the UK Wedge to many surfers, bodyboarders & skimboarders.
The Victoria World Championships has in the past determined the World Champion of Professional Skimboarding but it moved to a points system through United Skim Tour. Most events consist of a set time and date but there has been a small movement to start holding waiting period competitions like the Vilano Throw Down, also the DB Pro-AM at Dash Point State Park. The pros all look forward to heading down to Cabo San Lucas every spring for the first official contest of the year. Some of the best skimboarders are Bill Bryan, Brad Domke, Morgan Just, Grady Archbold, James Lovett, Sam Stinnett, Paulo Prietto, Brandon Sears and Brandon Rothe. The 3 leading companys are Exile Skimboards, Victoria Skimboards and Zap Skimboards. There are two types of contests; flatland and wave riding contests. Flatland contests are created for fun because this section of skimboarding is not taken seriously. Flatland is hard to judge because every rider generally performs the same trick. It is hard to call it a true contest because the winner is often chosen due to popularity rather than skimboarding skill due to the fact that most riders are at the exact same skill level. Riders are judged on a plethora of maneuvers ranging from on wave turns to in air flips, spins, and board tricks.