Get Started in Skimboarding With These 10 Tips

1. Choose the right gear.

Correct size of skim board

The rule of thumb is getting a skim board that stands near the height of your chest when resting on the ground. Larger boards tend to be easier to ride as they provide a larger area for standing on.

Some skim board companies, like Zap Skim boards, will give you suggested skim boards depending on your weight and height.

Correct board style

Flatland skim boarding: smaller wood boards are best.

Wave skim boarding: newer foam and carbon fiber boards are best. They will typically have a curved design which makes it easier to ride along the breaking waves.

Wax

Waxing your board is important as it helps you maximize grip to the board. Without doing this, you are much more likely to slip off the board.

Wax is made for different levels of water temperature. In colder settings, you want colder wax, and vise versa.

Wax Type	Temperature:(1)	Locations:
Cold Wax	< 58 ℉ < 14.4 ℃	Pacific North coast: Oregon, Washington, Alaska
Cool Wax	58 – 68 ℉ 14.4 – 20 ℃	Most of California
Warm Wax	68 – 78 ℉ 20 – 25.6 ℃	Most of central/northeast coast during warmer months: New York, New Jersey, Virginia Beach
Tropical Wax	> 75 ℉ > 23.9 ℃	Florida, Pacific Islands, Hawaii

Waterproof clothing

Be prepared to fall and get wet.

2. Prepare.

Be physically prepared

Skim boarding entails a lot of movement. Each time you’ll be running, jumping, and having to maintain balance. Not to mention, you’ll have your fair share of falls on top of that. Prepare for this by being physically in shape.

Stretch

Stretch your back muscles, hamstrings, and calves prior to skim boarding.

Prepare your ankles and knees for higher impact.

3. Learn the correct technique.

Hold the skim board parallel to the ground

Hold the skim board slightly above the ground and parallel to the ground when preparing to start.

If you instead have the front titled upwards when launching, this will cause the board to lose momentum quicker.

Begin with stationary throws

When starting out, do the throws from your starting position. When you’re more comfortable, you can try it with a running start.

Center your weight and bend your knees

When on the board, keep your weight centered and your knees bent.

Focus pressure on either front or back foot

For flatland skim board, put slightly more pressure on your front foot to keep momentum. For wave skim boarding, add more weight to the back foot for balance.

4. Find a good spot.

On flatland by the water’s edge

The flatter it is, the easier it is to maintain balance on the board and keep a straight path during your skim.

When you’re more advanced and are looking to wave skim board, a steeper terrain is preferred because it provides more speed in the launch out towards the waves.

Ideally away from crowds of people

Skim boarding can be tough in groups of people, especially when trying to learn. The more room you have to learn, the easier it’ll be to get started.

5. Figure out how you naturally ride.

Regular vs. goofy riding

Regular riding means that you ride with your right foot as your front foot.

Goofy is the opposite, where you ride with your left foot as your front foot.

Typically, your dominant foot is your back foot

This is the case because your back foot is what provides the power in steering the board. The front foot provides the balance and direction and is usually your less dominant foot.

6. Practice throwing the board and running onto it.

Avoid throwing the board on surfaces with small rocks or bumps

Hitting a small rock or a bump can vary the path of the skim board and ruin the skim. This can also lead to abrupt changes or stops which may lead to injury. It is important to thoroughly check your intended path before throwing the board.

Time your throw correctly

For flatland skim boarding on the beach, throw the board when the waves are receding.

For wave skim boarding, throw the board when the waves are about to break.

7. Practice on flatland first before trying wave skim boarding.

Focus on mastering flatland skim boarding before trying to catch your first wave.

8. Learn and practice falling.

Fall on your butt whenever possible

Falling on your butt helps prevent damaging other parts of your body that are more prone to damage. For instance, falling on your wrists would typically cause a more significant injury than falling on your butt would.

If you fall, roll with your fall instead of trying to stop yourself

It can be hard to get used to but rolling with your falls will help prevent you from injuring yourself by trying to stop the fall. For instance, if you try to stop your fall, you’re much more likely to hurt your wrist in doing so. Whereas rolling with the fall, you’ll likely get bruises, but you’ll protect yourself from twisting and/or putting all the pressure on one specific area.

Avoiding softer sand can help avoid groin injuries

When running in softer sand, you are more likely to have an uneven step that may result in a groin injury. Avoiding areas of soft sand and instead running on level terrain will help minimize issues.

9. Practice.

Like with all things in life, practice makes perfect. With enough practice, you’ll get the hang of skim boarding in no time!

10. Have fun.

Skim boarding is an exciting activity to learn and get the hang of. Enjoy the exciting atmosphere that comes with skim boarding. Once you feel comfortable skim boarding, you can then encourage your friends to join in the fun alongside you.

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Wave skim boarding vs. Flatland skim boarding

Wave skim boarding is where you ride towards the waves to catch them or do tricks off of them.  Whereas flatland skim boarding is where the rider focuses on the area of where the waves crash and uses the board to glide through.  Flatland skim boarding only needs a thin layer of water for skimming.