Unlike paddle boarding or boogie boarding whose earliest roots trace back to the ancient Polynesian times, skim boarding’s earliest roots actually trace back to the 1920s. Although there’s no doubt some form of skim boarding existed beforehand, it never became documented and formalized until then. Since then, skim boarding has evolved and continues to grow into the popular activity it is today.
1920s – The beginning of the Skim Board
Skim boarding originated in the 1920s off Laguna beach in California. Two lifeguards, George Griffeths and his friend Jimmy, were the first creators of the skim board. However, at the time, it wasn’t yet called that. Instead, it was referred to as “skid boarding.” They were using boards to skid across the water. The boards were about 5 feet long at the time and completely flat and devoid of any curves. They consisted of two planks made of redwood connected by a few screws in the board.
However, between 1930 – 1950, the shape of the boards eventually changed to where it began to resemble a round disc. This is when skid boarding began to pick up in popularity. The round shape of it allowed the boarder to carve off the waves that broke on the ocean. It also made it easier to maneuver while gliding across the water on a beach. This provided a smoother ride where you could turn the board easier and even do spins when on it.
1976 – From Skid Boarding to Skim Boarding
It wasn’t until 1976, when Tex Haines and Peter Prietto launched the company Victoria Skimboards, that skimboarding got its official name. According to Tex Haines, they made the change as they felt it was a more positive description for the name. In the same year Victoria Skimboards was created, they helped organize the very first World Skimboarding Championship in 1976 at Aliso Beach in California.
Tex and Peter worked together beforehand in 1975 when they eventually asked their boss to go part-time. Afterwards, they used that new free-time to work on creating some boards. They went out and bought some materials and set to working on the boards. After working on the boards some in Peter’s apartment, they were forced to work elsewhere because of the resin smell. So, they found a garage to do the work, only to find out that the smell was too strong for the neighbors there too. However, they eventually moved to their own shop where they were able to get to business and start producing their own boards. And as a result, in 1980 they ended up introducing the first foam core skim board.
The creation of the foam board was significant as it allowed the board to be significantly larger without being too heavy. This made it easier for a skim boarder to plane further across water to tube ride the waves along the shore break.
Wave Skim boarding vs. Flatland Skim boarding
Two different areas of skim boarding began to grow. The picture above resembles wave 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 using the board the glide through there. Flatland skim boarding only needs a thin layer of water. As a result, it has become popular in areas outside of beaches. Places like rivers, lakes, or streams are all examples.
1990s – Skim Boarding Popularity Slows Down
In the early 1990s, skim boarding experienced a decline in its popularity. This can be attributed to other sports becoming prominent during the time. Surfing was beginning to air on televisions. Even kite boarding began to rapidly rise and gain a wider audience. This led to a fall in skim board sales. Although, this lull was short-lived. In the latter half of the 1990s, skim boarding began to return to the limelight and has never looked back.
2000s – Skim Boarding Gains Wider Adoption
In the early 2000s, skim boarding benefited from the popularity of other sports like skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding. Some skim boarders would borrow the more advanced tricks from those sports and test them out on a skim board. On top of that, skim boarding requires very little maintenance and equipment to get started. All you need is a board to get started. With skim boarding, weather isn’t as dependent as it may be for other water sports like boogie boarding, paddle boarding, or surfing. All of these reasons helped contribute to the wider adoption and growth of the skim boarding community.
Skim Boarding Today
While skim boarding started in California in the 1920s, it is becoming more widespread and global today. It is most popular in North America and Europe; however according to Fact.MR, the influence of the U.S. satellite TV gaining attention of eyeballs in Africa and Asia has translated into increasing popularity in these regions. On top of that skim boarding has benefited from the fact that there are multiple international competitions each year now. Some examples are The VIC (named after Victoria Skimboards, one of the leading companies for skim boards) Zap Pro-Am World Championships of Skimboarding, and The United Skim Tour. Skim boarding is governed by the International Surfing Association (ISA).
