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Step #1: Before You Soar
You bought your board yesterday, but you don't know how to use it. Here are a few tips before getting started in the
water:
A. If you have a wooden board with a glassy finish on top, try finding some wax at a local surf shop
near by. If you are not old enough to drive, ask a parent to drive you there, and it will probably cost you a couple of bucks,
about 99% less than what you probably paid for your skimboard.
B. If you purchased a larger board that is bumpy on top, the choice is yours. I have met many a skimboarder
who has put wax on top of his or her skimboard when there was "braille" on top, and they liked it better that way from experience.
There are other skimboarders, including the makers of these boards, that insist that wax is not necessary and you can survive
with the bumps already placed on top of the board.
C. For those of you who have spent 150 to 200 dollars or more on your skimboard, you probably are older
and may have some experience with skimboarding. If this is not the case, then again, the choice is yours. You can put wax
on or leave it off, its completely up to you. The wax is strictly there for grip when you jump on the board so you
don't slip.
Step #2: Throwing Your Board
Now that you have your board all waxed up, you are still wondering how to use it. It's quite simple in fact, you just
need to know when is the prime time to throw your board. Here are a few tips that will help you understand when its right
and when its wrong to throw your board in the water.
WRONG TIME:
A. Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day, 4th of July: ALL BAD TIMES TO SKIMBOARD UNLESS YOU OWN YOUR OWN BEACH. There are
too many people in the water, and there is too great of a risk of hurting someone with the lethal weapon under your feet that
could shoot out at any time.
B. When there are babies in the water. Don't throw your skimboard at a child when you know the child can't see you. THIS
IS A BAD IDEA. Wait until the child has moved before you throw the board so you don't cause any problems with the lifeguards.
You have checked left and right and realized that the coast is clear; unfortunately, you are waist deep in water and
are finding it hard to jump on your board. What should you do?
ANSWER: Grab your board and walk towards the edge of the water; This is probably where the rest of the skimboarders are
hanging out.
Now that you are ready to throw your board, you are wondering what type of water you need. Here are a few water level
tips for the beginner skimboarders:
A. The water level should be as thin as about 10 pages of paper. You might think that this is too thin to
hold a 150 lb person, but when you are moving at such speeds, the physics of the situation cancels out your gravity, but thats
a whole different section of this website that may take a college degree to figure out. Lets start out with the basics.
B. When you have found the optimal water level, grab the board with your right hand on the TAIL END of the
board and your left hand up towards the middle/front of the board on the left side (IF you would like to switch sides, be
my guest, just put your left hand in back and your right hand towards the middle/front). On the east coast, we throw our skimboards
differently than the kids on the west coast. Instead of running with the board, throwing it right down and jumping on it,
we like to throw our boards first. SO first off, you bend your knees, and throw the board at a reasonable speed along the
thin layer of water.
C. If the board glides along the thin layer of water with ease, then you have accomplished your first task.
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Step #3: Getting on Your Board
Now Comes the Trickier Part of Skimboarding...
If you are like me, then you already realize that the old dads that try to skimboard on the beach are not the right people
to skimboard because they have the wrong technique. In order to actually skimboard, you need to know how to get on the board
correctly. There are a few key basics that will eventually help you understand how to get on your board and ride for a good
amount of time.
Here is what I always tell the new kids on how to "optimize" their ride potential: It's like a physics class if you put
it in perspective...Newton said that an object at rest stays at rest unless acted on by an outside force; an object in motion
stays in motion unless acted on by an outside force. Newton's third law, as was just explained in the previous sentence, is
an easy way for skimboarders to understand how to get on their board. How? Simple:
You have to be running pretty fast if you want to ride for a while on your board! These kids that jog and expect to ride
by jumping straight onto their board are not going to go anywhere. You need to run and almost SLIDE onto your board so you
keep the momentum of the board going with the pace that you are running. Don't just run and jump on with two feet or you will
slip and fall off the board. Make sure that you jump on the board with your front foot first, and then your back foot. This
makes sure that the board will continue its motion, and that you will not lose your balance when making your attempt. If you
can get on and ride, then you have accomplished your second task.
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