Skimboarding, or skimming, is one of the most underrated boardsports in the world. Skimboarders are usually not fussy. Get them a sandy beach and they will put out a finless water sports show. Skimboarding was born in Laguna Beach, in the 1920s, but the Southern California skateboarding scene has greatly influenced the sport, a few decades later. Initially, it was the beach equivalent to skateboarding the city streets. Lifeguards would also use thin wooden boards to travel faster through the sands of Laguna. Later, SoCal street riders – who were also surfing waves – started to get the most out of the nearby Laguna Beach shore breaks to make U-turns, starting from the wet sand over to the water and then again back to the beach. The tide is high? No problem, it’s skimming time. Flat ocean? No worries, we’ll skim inland. Although it is not a strong official category in the boardsports industry, skimboarding kept its niche alive and healthy, with a dozen of worldwide product brands that are sponsoring pro and amateur riders.

View the original here:
Skimboarding takes boardsports to the gnarliest shore breaks

surfing, surfing today