We’ve all heard of surfing, and we can probably all instantly picture a surfer riding the waves.
But as with most sports, surfing has spawned a whole host of offshoot sports and hobbies, and many of them are largely unknown to the general public.
One such sport is skimboarding—so what is skimboarding?
Skimboarding involves the use of a smaller surfboard, without fins, to glide over the surface of the water and meet the break of an incoming wave, then ride that back to shore. There are a lot of tricks and fancy maneuvers, and it begins, unlike surfing, by dropping the board onto waves close to the beach.
Skimboarding is quite different from surfing, then, although one clearly comes from the other.
The equipment is very different and thus the kinds of things you can do on a skim board end up being very different, too.
But it’s great fun and definitely worth consider if you’ve never tried it.
Let’s find out more.
Is skimboarding harder than surfing?
There are a couple of ways of looking at this question.
In one way, skimboarding is not harder than surfing because it’s easier to pick up.
The initial steps can be easier to learn, and thus you might find it easier to just jump onto a skimboard than you did to jump onto a surfboard.
It’s somewhat more intuitive, you might say.
However, actually catching and successfully riding the waves in skimboarding can be a lot harder than surfing.
You are maneuvering a much smaller board, and the adjustments you need to make are a lot subtler.
While you’ll doubtless have no trouble getting on the board and getting going, you’ll probably find that skimboarding is a good deal harder to master than surfing was.
So, I suppose it all depends on what you want out of it.
If you want to get as good at it as you possibly can, then skimboarding may end up being harder.
However, if you’re more of a casual surfer, then you’ll be able to just pick up a skimboard and have a great time with it, however hard you find catching the waves!
So, what should you wear?
What do you wear skimboarding?
So, again, it does depend a bit.
If it’s just a casual session on the beach with friends, you won’t really have much issue just wearing your typical bathing suit.
Swimming shorts or a bikini will be fine, you don’t need to go much more official than that.
However, hobbyist skimboarders, who are skimboarding a lot, tend to wear a bit of added protection in one form or another.
Wetsuits are a good start to make sure you stay warm after a long time in the water—although, again, this may not be necessary if you’re boarding somewhere very warm.
It may even be detrimental, in fact.
But something to give yourself protection against rashes is a good idea in this case.
Wear a rash guard, whether under your wet suit or just as the only thing you’re wearing.
This will just keep you from getting any painful skin irritation, whether from the board itself or just to protect you if you fall on anything.
Why do skimboarders kick sand?
If you’ve ever seen skimboarders, you may have noticed them kicking up sand before they get their board on the water.
The reason they do this is to get a bit of added weight onto the underside of the board, which allows the board to be dropped faster and flusher with the ground.
This is a common trick which is definitely worth keeping in mind to help you get the best chance of standing on a straight and flat board.
Do skimboards need wax?
Yes, they certainly do.
Skimboarders wax their boards just as religiously as ordinary surfers do!
Waxing your skimboard is really important for giving yourself grip to stand on, otherwise you’ll just fall off, unless you have superhuman balance!
Waxing makes the surface of the board coarse, so that your feet have some grip and traction and aren’t sliding around on the wet surface.
You need that for skimboarding just as much as surfing.
Can you skimboard on grass?
You can certainly practice some aspects of your skimboarding on dry land, yes.
Perhaps the trickiest part of skimboarding is landing on the board as it begins to glide.
Gliding it across grass in this way can help you perfect that landing.
But you obviously can’t catch waves on the grass!
Is skimboarding a sport?
Yes, skimboarding is a sport.
There is a lively professional scene for skimboarders just as there is for surfers.
It is typically run by having judges, and participants have to do tricks to impress the judges for a score.
Whoever scores the highest wins!
If you think skimboarding could be for you, you never know, it might be a future career!
Don’t underestimate the competition, though.
Skimboarding is a highly competitive professional sport and, as I said, it can be a very difficult thing to master.
Skimboarding is a bit of a newer scene than surfing, then, but it’s just as rich and competitive.
If surfing is your hobby now, or if surfing didn’t quite do it for you, then skimboarding could well be the next best thing for you to try.
It’s a bit more finnicky at times and some find it harder to get the hang of, but if you enjoy it enough, you’ll pick it up eventually!
