THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410130069
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOEY POTTS, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
IT'S EARLY MORNING and it's quiet at the Oceanfront. A lone group of teenagers stands under the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier discussing everything from ocean conditions to the latest Green Day CD.
Then, one by one, the guys burst from under the pier and drop what appear to be miniature surfboards on the wet sand at the edge of the water. They jump on, zip eastward at breakneck speeds and collide head-on with waves that send them flipping through the air and into the water. Amazingly, they are able to get up. Then they do it over and over and over again.
Insanity, some say.
But these people aren't crazy. They're skimboarders.
Skimmers glide on 3- to 4- foot wooden or fiberglass platforms that resemble small surfboards without fins. The rider waits for a wave to wash up, throws the board onto the wet sand, runs alongside it and jumps on. Some meet a wave, turn on it, and ride it back toward the shore. Others hit a wave and fly into the air, sometimes doing flips or other stunts. Still others fall painfully on the sand and then get up and try to figure out what went wrong.
Long in the shadow of surfing and bodyboarding, skimboarding is now one of the fastest growing beach sports in the area. According to Jason Mailand, skimboard sales have risen dramatically during the 3 1/2 years he has worked at Wave Riding Vehicles in Virginia Beach.
Skimboard prices range from $49.95 to $325, and nobody skimboards without the board. Wetsuits are a must in the winter, but other than that, nothing else is necessary.
``The most important thing is board selection,'' Mailand said. ``Each board has a specific weight range, and if you're too heavy or too light, then you're not going to have fun.''
Another person who has noticed skimboarding's increased popularity is local skimmer Trey Gardner. A sophomore at Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Trey has been skimming for the past few summers.
The speed of it all and his love of the water first attracted him to the sport. He started skimboarding on a day when the waves were not good enough for surfing. ``I was hooked,'' Trey said. ``It's a great rush of adrenaline.''
While some have expressed concern about danger to other beachgoers, Kirk Liebold of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service said that there are no ordinances against skimboarding in Virginia Beach.
``For the most part, the locals (skimborders) are really cooperative,'' Liebold said. ``They basically know where to go and what to do. They don't bother us and we don't bother them.''
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier at 15th Street is where most skimmers gather, because swimming is not allowed within 300 feet of the structure. Liebold said that skimmers can be held responsible for any injuries they might cause to beachgoers or swimmers.
Despite the risks, the sport keeps growing, and some credit skimboarding's new popularity to the fact that it can be easily learned.
``It's definitely easier than learning to ride a bike,'' said Joe Buley, an eighth-grader at John Yeates Middle School in Suffolk, who starting skimming this summer. ``You fall a lot and it hurts. You just have to keep getting back up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Joey Potts is a senior at Nansemond River High
Photo by MORT FRYMAN, Staff
A skimboarder wipes out after hitting a wave at the Oceanfront in
Virginia Beach. Bumps and bruises are part of learning how to zip
across the wet sands.
by CNB