Skimboarding began as far as we can tell back in the early 1920s, in southern California around Laguna Beach. Lifeguards used boards to skim on the sand and receding waves. Starting with homemade boards usually made out of old plywood.
Skimboarding started as a way to ride off the wet sand into the ocean, starting back about 15 to 25 feet on the beach a rider would get a running start and drop the board onto the wet sand and then jump on riding it into deeper water. The sport advanced just like any other sport in board design and tricks based on the design and materials the board was made of.
The sport was little known until the sixties when more guys started skimming at Victoria Beach and it started to gain some ground and become more popular. The style and tricks began to get more advanced as the boards became shorter and wider. The shallow water riding turned into trying to get farther out and catch waves as the broke on the beach. Eventually starting to carve on the waves turn 360′s and fly aways and other tricks.
By the 70′s its popularity grew even more and started to get popular in places other than SoCal. One of the major skimboarding companies started back in this era called Victoria Skimboards. Started by a couple of guys that grew up in SoCal skimboarding at Victoria beach, Tex Haines and Peter Prietto. They are considered pioneers in the industry working hard to increase credibility for the sport and their products
The popularity increased in the 80′s but never to the point of major watersports. The increase in media coverage in the sports arena has helped to gain some ground but towards to end of the 80′s and early 90′s the interest was down.
The mid 90s saw a increase in attention as people started to gain interest in sports that weren’t normally labeled “major sport.” Helped along by magazines that were published focusing on the sport of skimboarding like “Skim Magazine” and the presence of more pros and amateurs used to promote the different companies, skimboarding has become more popular heading into the new century.
With the world wide access to media and sports through the internet, combined with the amazing technology of today, skimboarding might be on its way to that “major sport” title. The people that have been in the industry a while disagree on whether or not that’s a good thing.
Thanks
Skimboard Pros
http://www.skimboardpros.com
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