Skimboarding

Skimboarding, also known as "skimming", is a boardsport in which a skimboard (much like a surfboard but smaller and without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. There are currently 3 U.S. based competitive organizations including Premier Skim, Skim USA, and the United Skim Tour. Wave-riding skimboarders perform a variety of surface and air maneuvers, at various stages of their ride, out to, and back with, the wave. Some of these are known as "wraps", "big spins", "360 shove-its" and "180s". 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. The sport's history is covered in the award-winning documentary "Shorebreak The Evolution of Skimboarding".

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 Laguna Beach lifeguards wanted to surf the local shore breaks that were too fast and shallow for surfboards. Skimboarding has developed since then to ride waves much like surfing, performing aerial maneuvers and pulling into the barrel of the wave. Professionals have even started getting towed by waverunners into much larger waves.

A new style called urban skimboarding has recently appeared, thanks to four times European champion, Adrien Raza. This way of skimboarding uses the city instead of the beach, which was the traditional way of skimming. According to Adrien Raza, he created this way of skimming due to a lack of good beaches near him. The main spots for urban skimboarding are fountains, canals, water mirrors, anywhere where there is a shallow body of water in the city.

Riders typically 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 1 to 2.5 cm (3⁄8 to 1 in). The most common thicknesses are 1.5 to 2 cm (5⁄8 to 3⁄4 in). A few high-flotation foam core boards and "soft" boards have been built with thicknesses in excess of 5 cm (2 in). A 1.5 cm (5⁄8 in) board is capable of sharper turns while sacrificing a little speed. A 2 cm (3⁄4 in) board will be able to glide out farther, but turns slightly slower.

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 and steeper slopes. 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 three quarters 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. A traditional rocker is typically used for east coast conditions where the waves are far out.

Skimboarders face a variety of daily risks and injuries. 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 (especially with a hard skimboard instead of a soft skimboard), or rocks, logs and other obstacles present on beaches. Hamstring injury is also common due to the fast and extreme movement of a skimboarder's legs when they run toward the water and jump on the board.

Drowning, as well as shark attacks, amongst skimboarders are not as likely as amongst surfers due to the shallow water in which skimboarding is usually practiced. Even though there are things that might cause these injuries it mostly relies on the conditions of the waters. Places with calm waters and small waves have little to no injury cases. On the other hand like in California, where the most skim-boarders are located, there are rough waters and large rushing waves at their beaches and also many rock structures in the waters. 85% of skimboard injuries have been traced to California beaches. Injury risk can be minimized through the choices riders make on where and when to skimboard.

Many consider the center of skimboarding to be located in Laguna Beach, California where skimboarding became popular in the late 1920s when lifeguards would skim across sand on pieces of wood. Every summer, Victoria Skimboards sponsors a contest called the VIC, which is held at Aliso Beach in Laguna; it is one of the biggest skimboarding competitions in the world. Other Laguna hot spots consist of Tenth Street, West Street, Treasure Island, Thalia Street, and Crescent Bay. In Dewey Beach, Delaware, every year the World Amateur Championships of Skimboarding are held on New Orleans Street. The Florida Pro/Am is held every year in August, on Vilano Beach and Vero Beach, known as the best East Coast skimboarding locations. Also the beaches on Florida's west coast can also provide some quality locations, like Sarasota, Clearwater, Anna Maria Island. Big skimboarding waves are also found in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However, people skim in many other locations throughout North America, Europe (the main locations being Portugal, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands), Australia, Asia, Middle East and South America. Some 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. In the United States, flatland skim scenes have developed primarily in states not bordering the ocean. Flatland has also developed in British Columbia, Ontario, and along the Great Lakes.