Skimboarding Glossery: A list of skimboarding terms

The other day I was talking to some "non-skim" friends about skimboarding. A few minutes into the conversation I realized by the blank stares on their faces that they had no idea what I was talking about. I realized that we skimboarders do kind of have our own lingo. Sometimes, the language of skimboarders can be pretty confusing to those who don't skim. Here's a little something to refer to when you would like to understand what your son, nephew, friend, boyfriend, etc. is talking about when he says “I’m so stoked! I just had an epic session with the crew stomping steezy 3 shuvs and sex changes. I killed it today!”

This glossary of skimboarding terms is for all of the parents, friends, girlfriends, and relatives who just don't happen to speak the skimboarding language.


• 180 / 360 etc. - The spin of a skimboarders board during a maneuver in degrees. eg 360 degree shuvit.
• 360 Shuvit - Jumping in the air and making the board spin 360 degrees underneath you.
• 3-shuv - 360 shuvit
• 540 Shuvit - Jumping in the air and making the board spin 540 degrees underneath you.
• 5-shuv - 540 shuvit
• 50/50 - When the board is parallel to the rail it is sliding on.
• Air - To "get air" is to do a jump or otherwise get the skimboard into the air.
• Backside - A trick done backside means that after the first 90 degrees of the rotation the skimboarder is facing backwards.
• Bail - To crash, also known as wipe-out, biff, bite it, eat it. Also to give up on a trick halfway through and jump off the board.
• Big Spin - Mixing a 360 shuvit with a 180 varial.
• Board - Short for skimboard
• Boardslide - When the board is perpendicular to the rail it is sliding on.
• Body Varial - If you jump into the air and spin without spinning the board you can perform a Body Varial. You will know you have performed this right if you land with your back forward.
• Butter - Something done smooth. Also a rail spin trick.
• Deck - The top of the skimboard
• Dialed – A trick that is easy to land. Eg “I’ve got those 360 shuvits dialed in.”
• Ding - As a verb, to damage a board as a result of impacting some object. As a noun, the damage caused to the board from impacting an object.
• Dude - Can mean pretty much anything depending on the tone and inflection.
• Edit – A short skimboarding video of footage edited together often set to music.
• Epic - Often used to describe extremely good skim conditions. Also used as a description of an awesome skimboarding session.
• Fakie Stance - Foot position where the rider’s feet are oriented normally as if the board were traveling forwards, but the board is traveling backwards.
• Flatland Skimboarding - Skimboarding not involving waves.
• Foamie - A skimboard that has a foam core.
• Footy – Video footage.
• Frontside – A trick done frontside means that after the first 90 degrees of the rotation, the skimboarder is facing forward.
• Goofy Stance - Foot position where the right foot is in front of the left
• Grab - To grab the board with one or both hands.
• Grind - To slide the board on a non-water surface.
• Grom - A young skimboarder
• Hippy Jump - The rider rides up to an object that is above the water and jumps over it while the board goes under it.
• Inland skimboarding - Flatland skimboarding not done on the coast.
• Jib - As a verb: to make contact with the board on a non-water surface (rail, wood, tire, box etc...). As a noun, the non-water surface that the board makes contact with.
• Kick Out - To kick the board out at the end of ones run get a little speed and jump back on the board for another ride without ever having to pick up the board.
• Kill – To perform great. eg. “He really killed it today at the competition!”
• No Compleezy - Back foot no-comply
• No comply – Planting your front foot on the ground and performing some trick with the board (ollie, shuvit, etc) before putting it back on the board and riding out.
• Nollie Stance - Foot position where a rider slides up on the board from their normal riding position to where the foot that was in the middle of the board is now on the front and the foot that was on the back of the board is now in the middle.
• Nose - The front of the skimboard
• Ollie - A basic jump into the air with the board.
• One footer – To throw or land a trick with one foot.
• Pooched - A screw up, missed trick, etc.
• Pop - The act of getting the board out of the water.
• Pop Shuvit - By mixing an ollie and a shuvit you can spin the board in the air.
• Potato Chip - Cheap wooden skimboard. They usually have a tendency to warp funny and do not last long.
• Rail - Edge of a skimboard. Also the general term for something other than the water that the skimboarder slides his board on.
• Regular Stance - Foot position where the left foot is in front of the right foot.
• Rocker - The curve across the long way or length of the skimboard.
• Sesh - Short for session. A period of time that a skimboarder goes out and skims.
• Seshing - Verb form of the term sesh. e.g. "We had a crew of about a dozen seshing down at the river today." Skimboarding could be substituted for the word seshing
• Session - A period of time that a skimboarder goes out and skims.
• Sex Change - By combining a shuvit and a body varial you can perform a Sex Change. You will know you have done this right if you land with your back foot forward and the back of your board facing forward.
• Shuv - short for shuvit
• Shuvit – Also shuv-it. By jumping in the air and sweeping the back foot you can make the board spin 180 degrees underneath you.
• Sick - A term used to describe when someone does something impressive. e.g. "that was a sick pop shuvit"
• Sketchy - Something that looks possibly dangerous or a sloppy landing
• Skim – Another word for skimboarding.
• Skimming - Another word for skimboarding.
• Snake - To cut in front of someone else while skimming.
• Steez - To do something with style or make it look easy.
• Stock - A trick that is easy or someone has locked down.
• Stoked - Excited.
• Stomp – To land a trick.
• Swivel (180) - not a fluid butter trick (spinning a 180 butter in the middle of a rail quick)
• Taco Rocker - The curve across the short way or width of the skimboard.
• Tail - The back of the skimboard.
• Traction Pad - Cushioned pad put on the top of a skimboard to add traction. Also called a stomp pad or deck grip.
• Wax - Applied to the top of the board to provide grip or traction so that the skimboarder’s feet do not slip.
• Woodie - A skimboard that has a wood core.
• Worked - To "get worked" is to wipe out usually in a spectacular manner. eg. "Wo, dude, he totally got worked by that rail!"

...If I missed any, let me know.