Skimboard Rail Building - Rollercoaster rail

Building a roller coaster rail for your skimboarding trip.
The main idea is that you cut out the sides of the skimboard rail in the shape you want from plywood. You then use 2x4’s to connect the sides together and support the rail. Cut out a rectangle that is the width of your rail and the length of the top. Since the top of the skimboard rail is curved, use a piece of string to measure the curved length. Attach the rectangle to the top of the rail. Because the top of the rail is curved, soaking the top rectangle piece of plywood in water for several hours will help it bend easier. You can also use a thinner piece of plywood for the top (3/8” or 1/4" thick) for easier bending. Now attach the pvc. For help on attaching the pvc, see this post on skimboard rails.



Now get out there and get skimboarding!

Interview - Kayotics Skimboards

Kayotics is a flatland skimboard manufacturer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Kayotics has been very instrumental in progressing the flatland skim movement. Company founder John Minns tells us more in Inland Skimboarding’s interview with him.
Inland Skimboarding: Tell us a little about your company.
Kayotics Skimboards: Kayotics skimboards is my child. It was started in 2001 and has grown up to destroy the beaches all over North America. I began making skimboards as a side venture when i noticed the lack of good boards and also industry. Since then, everyone and their dog has been attempting to jump into the skimboard scene.
Inland Skimboarding: How did the name of your company originate? Is there any interesting story behind the name?
Kayotics Skimboards: I used to write Kayotics across desks in classes in high school .. I guess you could say it was a tag or graffiti and then i was trying to think of a name for my boards and I thought that it was perfect.
Inland Skimboarding: Where is Kayotics Skimboards located?
Kayotics Skimboards: Kayotics is home grown on the beaches of Boundary Bay in Vancouver Canada. I do Manufacturing out of Richmond/Vancouver but the address hasn't changed. Mail the same number same hood its all good.
Inland Skimboarding: How have you seen the skimboard market change over the years you have been in business?
Kayotics Skimboards: I think raising the bar for skimboarding is what has created the growth. People didn't think you could do anything on a skimboard before we started making power moves to show the world what is possible. We in Vancouver and the brothers in Sac have definitely started to turn heads. The only way you can make people pumped on your sport is when you can shock them with tricks or obstacles to really show them how far they can take it. If skimboarding only had 2 tricks to learn, people would treat it like skip rope or something lame that can't expand very far. I think it's really important for kids to see the potential because ultimately they are the ones trying to follow suit.
Inland Skimboarding: How long have you been making skimboards?
Kayotics Skimboards: I've been building for I guess, 7 or 8 years.
Inland Skimboarding: What is the difference between skimboards used for wave riding and skimboards for inland use?
Kayotics Skimboards: For the longest time it was just a difference between foam core and wood. Flatland skimming is still predominantly wood core, however some brands are starting to dabble with foam core boards. A foam/wave board is generally thicker and longer and is basically the look of a mini surf board. A more buoyant board is needed in order to get over the deeper water and make it out to the waves. A wood board needs more weight to it. Often times flatland riders throw their boards and chase it to get on, therefore it is imperative to have a board that carries well. I also believe that flatland skimboarding should resemble skateboarding more than surfing. In turn, I believe that the pricing should also mimic that market.
Inland Skimboarding: A lot of inland skimboarders start off on boards that they have made themselves. What are the advantages of moving to a professionally manufactured board?
Kayotics Skimboards: I highly encourage people to build there own weekend warrior boards. It gets people into the sport that may not ever get the addictive feeling of skimboarding because they don't want to spend 150-200 bucks on a pro board.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes a good inland skimboard?
Kayotics Skimboards: I personally look for and cater my boards to key in on the Rocker, shape, perfect amount of flex and slick bases for riding rails. Also weight is a big factor. Many people think that lighter is better and therefore foam is the answer. I disagree with that and feel that making a board that carries further with more weight to it is preferable.
Inland Skimboarding: Tell us about your inland skimboards.
Kayotics Skimboards: First off, inland skimboarding is the same as flatland. In my opinion flatland skimboarding covers all flatland riding, where as inland only defines the actual inland skim scenes. Therefore, to answer your question, we make flatland skimboards that taylor to all the needs of every scene; weather you're riding, inland or on the coast.
Kayotics skimboards manufactures high performance skimboards for the flatland/inland world. We make 4 shapes that take care of all weights and rider sizes.
Inland Skimboarding: Why should I buy a Kayotics skimboard?
Kayotics Skimboards: We are the most legit and core flatland brand in the game son..haha. We have been down since day one. Some companies run both wave and flatland boards, we only do flatland. This is what we know best and focus on. If you want to put the money in the hands of the creators and innovators, go with us. We also run with our slogan "skimboards and lifestyles" which started off meaning that we offered "skimboards and apparel" but it has grown way past that. It is now recognized that there is a lifestyle that goes with our skimboarding for every one of our team riders and our customers to follow. Skimboarding is fun because of all the trips, parties, girls, jokes, and all round adventure behind the whole sport. What Kayotics is basically saying is, while we can kill it on our boards, we also have attitude and style to go with it. Therefore, to answer your question, you're not buying into a lame brand, you're buying the best boards and the culture that Kayotics knows best. Spend a week with us up north and it will change your life, on and off the beach.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes your inland skimboards unique?
Kayotics Skimboards: Our boards are handcrafted by Canadian skimboarders. Our lemon shape is definitely a signature for us as having a distinct nose and tail makes for level popping but also for directional throwing.
Inland Skimboarding: What kind of testing/quality control do your boards go through?
Kayotics Skimboards: I have tested all my boards since day one and they are also passed around through the hands of most of our riders. Different bases and slicknesses can make a difference. On the actual production side, I'm usually there or have my guys inspect every board during the finishing part of our process, making sure there is no warping or blemishes.
Inland Skimboarding: Rails have become an integral part of inland skimboarding. As a result, boards take a fair amount of abuse. Talk a little bit about the challenge that presents when designing and building inland skimboards.
Kayotics Skimboards: I think that depending on your set up you shouldn't have too many problems with durability on rails. Boards get more warn down on the biggest piece of sand paper in the world... the beach. If you're building your rails right and mounting the board properly, you shouldn't be gauging the front of your board. Gauges do happen, but i feel like the longjevity of a skimboard should be equivalent to that of skateboards. Advanced skateboarders will go through dozens of skateboards where as, a beginner may only need one for 2 years. Skimboarding should follow suit with that, as the price ranges follow as well.
Inland Skimboarding: When you get feedback from inland riders, what positive things do you hear most often?
Kayotics Skimboards: How sick our boards are or how they can order one.
Inland Skimboarding: Where do you see the sport of skimboarding 10 years from now?
Kayotics Skimboards: I would like to be traveling to a lot more locations internationally. I think as we build and forefront the industry it's important to look at all the scenes developing globally so we don't cut ourselves short on the locations we travel to. I get a bit tired of the same spots so the things that really stoke me are new locations with new scenery to shoot photos and video at. Indoor parks are also something I would like to get happening as I've been dreaming of this since I was a kid. However this will require some major investors and at this time I really don't think anyone in the skimboarding industry has the bank roll to make something like that happen, not to the extent of what I'm looking to do anyways.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you see anything new on the horizon technology wise that will improve the next generation of inland skimboards?
Kayotics Skimboards: Again following a similar business model to skateboarding, I feel that keeping boards simple and cheap is a better alternative to putting more and more money into them. Plus, selling boards for over $300 starts to really narrow down your market. The reality is that even if you build a higher priced board, we will still be able to do the same tricks on a cheaper board. For a company to come along and drop a board like this, they would have to draw customers in by demonstrating never- before- seen tricks with their riders, thus proving the worth of the new technology.
Currently, I think the ultimate goal is implementing minor adjustments to the boards, without drastically changing the wholesale price.
Inland Skimboarding: Inland skimboarders often get called names, talked down to, and shown little respect from some wave skimboarders. Inland skimboarders are often told what they are doing is not “real” skimboarding. What is your view of the inland skimboarding scene?
Kayotics Skimboards: As far as I'm concerned Flatland skimboarding is its own industry. I could personally care less about how the wave riders feel about flatland but I also think that people are always going to hate different industries. We are starting to see a few more cross over riders these days which is starting to bridge the gap a bit more. I just think flatland as a whole is trailing behind because we really didn't get started til much after the wave industry.
Inland Skimboarding: As a board manufacturer, is there anything you can do, or are doing, to increase the respect for inland skimboarding?
Kayotics Skimboards: I ride for my own company and represent flatland skimboarding to the fullest. To keep the industry wheels in motion I'm always coming up with new tricks, obstacles and new events creating the spectacle that skimboarding needs.
Inland Skimboarding: What inland skimboarding events have you been involved with? Tell us about your experiences at those events.
Kayotics Skimboards: I've competed in every major event in north America and have placed 1st in all the biggest ones. In all honestly, that was a major goal of mine when I was younger, but now the bigger contests don't hold as much importance as they once did. I still enjoy hooking up with the road brothers that I've made over the years, but I am much more stoked on the more mellow scenes. I went to Louisiana to visit Sam Collette and skimmed in Mississippi with a start up scene. It is becoming more and more enjoyable to witness the progression of the scenes from the ground up.
I personally have been putting on Jamfests since 2001 and its the longest running flatland even in Canada. We missed jamfest 7 this year because of some permit issues, but we are definitely going to make it happen next year. Bank Statements was another huge achievement for me to show the public what was possible on a skimboard and what they can expect for the future.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you have any sponsored inland skimboarders? What does it take for an inland skimboarder to get sponsored by Kayotics?
Kayotics Skimboards: Yes we have lots of riders. Some are considered team riders and some are considered flow riders. Team riders travel a bit more and compete in contests etc. Flow riders are often times younger and i just make sure they have a board under their feet. In order to get sponsored, you obviously have to be able to shred incredibly well. We also love some attitude and style. If you can show that you can be pushing the Kayotics "skimboards and lifestyles" we're probably going to like you.

Thanks John, for a great interview. Find out more about Kayotics Skimboards by visiting their website at http://www.kayotics.com/

Interview - J-Gordon Skimboards

J-Gordon Skimboards have been making high performance ocean and inland wood skimboards since 1980. Find out a more about J-Gordon Skimboards in Inland Skimboarding’s interview with company founder Jim Gordon.

Inland Skimboarding: How did the name of your company originate? Is there any interesting story behind the name?
J-Gordon Skimboards: When I first made surfboards in the 60's, I didn't want to call my product Gordon surfboards because there was already Gordon & Smith surfboards. I knew that Gordon's first name on G&S was Larry, so I decided to use my initial J of my first name, Jim, along with my last name, Gordon. This is how I named my company.
I also manufactured skateboards back in the 70's, and under the J-Gordon label. Back then, I was the only
J-Gordon. In the 80's, the name expanded to include my wife, Janet, and our sons James and Jared.
Inland Skimboarding: Where is J-Gordon Skimboards located?
J-Gordon Skimboards: I was located in Santa Cruz, California but move up to Coos Bay, Oregon, 12 years ago. It's not as crowed here and the cost of living is much less than California. You can also find us at http://www.jgordonskimboards.com/.
Inland Skimboarding: How have you seen the skimboard market change over the years you have been in business?
J-Gordon Skimboards: More people knowing what skimboards are. There are many more manufacturers, especially from overseas. You now can buy skimboards at K-Mart ,Wal-Mart and Big-5 sport shops, which are mostly manufactured in China. Skimboarding has also changed with the usage of skimboards. The application just isn't for wave riders. Now skimmers are riding rails, kite riding and bunngie skimming.
Inland Skimboarding: How long have you been making skimboards?
J-Gordon Skimboards: I started manufacturing skimboards around 1980, but made them for myself years before that. I've been in the skimboard business for over 28 years.
Inland Skimboarding: What is the difference between skimboards used for wave riding and skimboards for inland use?
J-Gordon Skimboards: Skimboards for rails are usually twin tip (skateboard shape) and wave boards are more pointy (surfboard shape). Wave boards are larger than rail boards too.
Inland Skimboarding: What are the advantages of moving to a professionally manufactured board?
J-Gordon Skimboards: A professionally manufactured board should be from a company with years of experience. Experience in the industry, along with years of test riding, made with the best materials and utilization of skimboard designs and shapes makes for maximum performance.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes a good inland skimboard?
J-Gordon Skimboards: A board that is fast on the water, fast on rails with good flex and pop. Also, a board that's not too heavy, yet strong enough as not to snap on rails.
Inland Skimboarding: Tell us about your inland skimboards.
J-Gordon Skimboards: As far as I know, I have been making inland boards longer than anyone and was the first manufacturer to make a board with flex and pop. It seems everyone has tried to copy our boards but has failed. I guess this is because they lack experience. Like I said, I've been perfecting my boards for years, before most of you were born!
Inland Skimboarding: Why should I buy a J-Gordon Skimboard?
J-Gordon Skimboards: If you want a durable wood skimboard, you should consider buying a J-Gordon. Quality is number one with us. We don't mass produce our boards while other companies outsource their manufacturing overseas in order to make as much money as possible. All our boards are made by me and my two sons. We don't not use cheap, inferior materials in order to make a higher profit. We are happy making less boards so we can give you a board that we would want to own. Another reason to buy a J-Gordon is that people all the time tell us our boards are the best board they have ever ridden. Being in business for over 28 years, we must be doing something right.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes your inland skimboards unique?
J-Gordon Skimboards: Great flex and a lot of pop. (Much like a compound bow, it loads up and then the energy is released.)
Inland Skimboarding: What kind of testing/quality control do your boards go through?
J-Gordon Skimboards: We have a skim pit with rails to test new designs and shapes for better performance.We also test our boards at the beach. Input from team riders on new designs and materials is critical in testing our skimboards. As for quality control, we are a small family company. Each board is handmade buy a J-Gordon. As I said before, our name is on the line, and we stand behind our product. We don't stockpile our boards because when we come up with a new design, we manufacture it to the public right away. The board that you get is the same as our team riders use.
Inland Skimboarding: Talk a little bit about the challenge that presents when designing and building inland skimboards.
J-Gordon Skimboards: The challenges presented in making an inland skimboard is to withstand the abuse in riding rails. Rail skimmers are very hard on boards, this presents new challenges in design and construction. We do extensive test riding so we can anticipate what needs to be addressed.
Inland Skimboarding: When you get feedback from inland riders, what positive things do you hear most often?
J-Gordon Skimboards: People all the time tell us they like the flex, and durability of the board and how fast it is on rails or just flatland riding. Also, the high quality and workmanship of the boards.
Inland Skimboarding: Where do you see the sport of skimboarding 10 years from now?J-Gordon Skimboards: Growing bigger, and expanding, mainly in the middle states. More people making skim pits in their back yards.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you see anything new on the horizon technology wise that will improve the next generation of inland skimboards?
J-Gordon Skimboards: Not in basic construction of wood boards. Other companies have tried to make foam skims for rails, but they just don't work as good and just don't hold up. I think wood boards will stay around for a long time just like wood skateboards.
Inland Skimboarding: Inland skimboarders often get called names, talked down to, and shown little respect from some wave skimboarders. Inland skimboarders are often told what they are doing is not “real” skimboarding. What is your view of the inland skimboarding scene?
J-Gordon Skimboards: I think inland skimboarding is cool. I'm a wave rider myself, but my son likes rails. He is the test rider for rails, and I'm the test rider for waves. And yes, you can ride waves with a wood skim! At least our boards you can.
Inland Skimboarding: As a board manufacturer, is there anything you can do, or are doing, to increase the respect for inland skimboarding?
J-Gordon Skimboards: Show respect and just have fun skimming. Remember, you once were a beginner too. Also, I'm always on skimonline, a forum mainly for wave skimmers. They listen to me because I can talk waves or rails. I think they respect my opinion.
Inland Skimboarding: What inland skimboarding events have you been involved with? Tell us about your experiences at those events.
J-Gordon Skimboards: Throughout the years I have donated prizes (skimboards, T-shirts, hats, stickers and wax) for various skim contest. This year alone, J-Gordon has been a sponsored for over 6 contest.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you have any sponsored inland skimboarders? What does it take for an inland skimboarder to get sponsored by J-Gordon?
J-Gordon Skimboards: Yes, I have 2 in California, 1 in Canada, 2 in Michigan and 1 in Louisiana.
First, someone has to leave to make room for a new person to be sponsored. Unlike other companies, you don't need to win contests to be a team/test rider, just be good enough to give me feedback on new designs, your opinion on shapes, etc. Importantly, I don't like conceited jerks, and I must like you as a person.

Inland Skimboarding would like to thank J-Gordon Skimboards for taking the time to let us find out a little bit more about their company. Check them out at http://www.jgordonskimboards.com/

Skimboard Rail Building: Curved Kicker

Ready for you and your skimboard to fly. Build a kicker. The main idea is that you cut out the sides of the kicker in the shape you want from plywood. You then use 2x4’s to connect the sides together and support the kicker. Cut out a rectangle that is the width of your kicker and the length of the top. Since the top of the kicker is curved, use a piece of string to measure the curved length. Attach the rectangle to the top of the kicker. Because it is curved, soaking the top rectangle piece of plywood in water for several hours will help it bend easier. If the curve is dramatic, use a thinner piece of plywood for the top (3/8” or 1/4" thick) for easier bending. Now attach the pvc. For help on attaching the pvc, see this post on skimboard rails.







Now get out there with your skimboard and "kick" it!!!

Interview - DB Skimboards

DB Skimboards is an up and coming company out of Washington State putting out some sweet boards. Find out a little bit more about them, their boards, and everything they’re doing for the sport in Inland Skimboarding’s latest interview.

Inland Skimboarding: Tell us a little bit about DB Skimboards.
DB Skimboards: The company originated in 2003 when a group of friends decided to start making skimboards for themselves. The first boards were made in our basement. They were all hand painted and skimmed pretty well. We now have a manufacturing center where we make our boards. During this time we also started making some videos. Our first video "Low Tide" was made over the summer of 2004. Since then we have made 3 other video's that have been put out on DVD. Our newest video, "For the Moment", was our most ambitious project and turned our really well. It is definitely one of the best flatland skimboarding video's out there and by far has the best cinematography and is well edited. Check out the teaser for this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltIpwqrVwFY.

Inland Skimboarding: How did the name of your company originate? Is there any interesting story behind the name?
DB Skimboards: The name Dashboards Skimboards came from Dash Point which is the local skimboarding beach. DB is an abbreviation for Dashboards. We go by both Dashboards Skimboards as well as DB Skimboards.
Inland Skimboarding: Where is DB Skimboards located?
DB Skimboards: DB Skimboards is located in Tacoma Washington.
Inland Skimboarding: How have you seen the skimboard market change over the years you have been in business?
DB Skimboards: The flatland skimboard market is growing rapidly. Companies are taking it more seriously and better flatland specific boards are being produced. Flatland skimboarding has been progressing rapidly over the last couple of years. Some of the tricks that people are doing now a days are pretty amazing. Also, the build features (rails, boxes, etc) are getting larger and more gnarly.
Inland Skimboarding: How long have you been making skimboards?
DB Skimboards: DB Skimboards has been producing skimboards for 5 years now (quality since 2003).
Inland Skimboarding: What is the difference between skimboards used for wave riding and skimboards for inland use?
DB Skimboards: Inland (flatland) skimboards generally have a different shape and less rocker than wave boards. Also, flatland skimboards are generally bi-directional, meaning they are made to be ridden in either direction. Flatland skimboards are usually made of wood while wave skimboards are usually made with a composite structure. Wave boards are generally larger in size than flatland boards.
Inland Skimboarding: A lot of inland skimboarders start off on boards that they have made themselves. What are the advantages of moving to a professionally manufactured board?
DB Skimboarding: It is true that it is pretty easy to make a beginner inland skimboard yourself. Some of the advantages of buying a manufactured board is that they will ride better and go further than a homemade board. You can do much more advanced tricks on a manufactured board. DB Skimboards has gone through much testing to make the boards that we do today. They have the perfect rocker as well as some other features hard to achieve by making a board yourself. All our boards have a wear resistant base which will last longer and slide better than a wooden base with lacquer. Also, all DB Skimboards come with a full EVA traction foam top. DB Skimboards is constantly testing new ideas.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes a good inland skimboard?
DB Skimboarding: A good inland skimboard will have good pop, skim far, and have the perfect amount of flex.
Inland Skimboarding: Why should I buy a DB skimboard? (This is your chance to brag a bit)
DB Skimboarding: DB Skimboards are the best boards on the market. From our wear resistant base to our foam traction top we use the best quality materials to ensure the best quality board. Check out our videos and you'll see what's possible on these boards.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes your inland skimboards unique?
DB Skimboards: Our boards are unique in that we are one of the few flatland specific companies. They have been tested by our team of rider who help us ensure we are making the best boards. Also, we were the first company to have a traction foam top. The traction foam top gives you a nice cooshy ride with superior traction to wax. Also, you do not need to deal with the mess of wax.
Inland Skimboarding: What kind of testing/quality control do your boards go through?
DB Skimboarding: Our engineers and riders work together to test and make new boards. We are constantly testing new idea's. All our boards are quality tested before being shipped out.
Inland Skimboarding: Rails have become an integral part of inland skimboarding. Boards take quite a bit of abuse as a result. Talk a little bit about the challenge that presents when designing and building inland skimboards.
DB Skimboarding: Making a board that is durable to withstand the abuse of rails is difficult. Both the HPL and plastic base materials we use are tough to withstand use on rails. Both materials slide well on pvc. Our boards are made with hardwoods to help with ding resistance. No board is going to be completely bomb proof but we are working on some that are close. We had the balsa boards that came out in limited production this year. These boards featured a plastic sidewall to help with side impact dings. It also had a balsa wood core to reduce weight. Look out for a similar boards in 2009.
Inland Skimboarding: When you get feedback from inland riders, what positive things do you hear most often?
DB Skimboards: Everyone loves the foam top. It provides superior traction and a little coosh for your feet. Riders also like the rocker pattern of our boards. It helps them to pop high and travel far.
Inland Skimboarding: Where do you see the sport of skimboarding 10 years from now?
DB Skimboards: I see many more people getting into it. I don't think it's ever going to be huge but it will definitely grow.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you see anything new on the horizon technology wise that will improve the next generation of inland skimboards?
DB Skimboards: Check out our Balsa board from this year and similar boards in the future.
Inland Skimboarding: Inland skimboarders often get called names, talked down to, and shown little respect from some wave skimboarders. Inland skimboarders are often told what they are doing is not “real” skimboarding. What is your view of the inland skimboarding scene?
DB Skimboards: Everyone on the DB team as well as everyone working for the company is passionate about inland skimboarding. We all have fun with it and don't really care what the wave riders think.
Inland Skimboarding: As a board manufacturer, is there anything you can do, or are doing, to increase the respect for inland skimboarding?
DB Skimboards: We are making legit video's that showcase the talent of flatland skimboard riders. Check out the teaser for our last video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltIpwqrVwFY. I think that is the best think we are doing to get the sport more recognized. Also, we show respect for wave skimboards and others at the beach.
Inland Skimboardings: What inland skimboarding events have you been involved with? Tell us about your experiences at those events.
DB Skimboards: We have put on a contest at Dash Point State Park for 5 years now. Every year it gets bigger and better. This year we had about 60 competitors and hundreds of spectators. People came from all over the west coast. This is one of the biggest and best flatland contests of the year.
We also put on the Chambers Creek Throwdown. This year was our second year putting on that event. This event is smaller and showcases more local riders. We hope for it to grow bigger in the coming years. Chambers Creek definitely has a different scene than Dash Point so it is cool to put on two different events with different conditions.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you have any sponsored inland skimboarders? What does it take for an inland skimboarder to get sponsored by DB?
DB Skimboards: We do have a skimboard team. We currently have 7 sponsored riders. To get sponsored by us you need to be a dedicated rider who has talent. We like to see some good contest results as well as some video of the rider. Feel free to email us with your sponsorship videos.

Thanks DB for a great interview. Check out their website at http://www.dbskimboards.com/

Skimboard Rail Building: Up Rail

Ready to build a skimboard rail? Here we go. The main idea is to cut out the sides of the skimboard rail in the shape you want from plywood. Use 2x4’s to connect the sides together and support the rail. Cut out a rectangle that is the width of your rail and the length of the top. Attach the rectangle to the top of the rail. Now attach the pvc. For help on attaching the pvc, see this post on skimboard rails .

The following 6’ x 1’ x 1’ up rail can be built from
1 – 4’x 8’x 1/2” piece of plywood ($12.33 each at Home Depot)
2 – 2”x 4”x 8’ ($1.68 each at Home Depot)
3 – 10’x 1/2” pvc pipes ($1.43 each at Home Depot)

Total Cost = $19.98 (You will still need to purchase some screws to get it all put together)


Now get your skimboard and get out there!

Interview - Victoria Skimboards

Victoria Skimboards is one of the world’s premier skimboard companies. Inland skimboarding wanted to do an interview and find out a little more about the company and what is available to inland skimboarders. Trigg Garner, General Manager of Victoria Skimboards, was generous enough to help us out.

Inland Skimboarding: How did the name of the company originate?
Victoria Skimboards: Tex Haines’ family would vacation at a house on Victoria Beach which is where he began his skimboarding career. Through the years he went on to do many different things and eventually made it back to Laguna Beach and made skimboards for all of his friends. After a while, he and Peter Prietto started Victoria Skimboards in 1976 but the company got its name from the beach Tex basically grew up on.
Inland Skimboarding: Where is Victoria Skimboards located?

Victoria Skimboards: Victoria Skimboards has its offices/repair facility/retail outlet in Laguna Beach, California.
Inland Skimboarding: How have you seen the skimboard market change over the years you have been in business?
Victoria Skimboards: The board market has gone through many different changes over the years. A first there were wood core boards used for riding the shoreline and then as riders got more daring and moved into the water, the technology began to change. Wood core lead the way to foam core and vacuum bag technology which allowed people to get out farther in the water and do more technical maneuvers. The next advancement was the introduction of Carbon Fiberglass. Now boards were stiffer and lighter than ever. From there we have seen changes in resins, shape, foam, etc. all leading to the technical, highly advanced boards we have today.
Inland Skimboarding: How long have you been making skimboards?
Victoria Skimboards: Since before 1976
Inland Skimboarding: What is the difference between skimboards used for wave riding and skimboards for inland use?
Victoria Skimboards: It can be anything from the shape, to the core, to the materials, to all of the above. It depends on a rider and what they desire ultimately but as a standard, there is a certain “wave riding” shape/rocker that has proved itself over the years that is different from the shape/rocker used on inland boards.
Inland Skimboarding: A lot of inland skimboarders start off on boards that they have made themselves. What are the advantages of moving to a professionally manufactured board?
Victoria Skimboards: When you get a professionally manufactured board you are getting a board that has been through the R&D, made the mistakes that a “garage” shaper will make and fixed them, and refined the end result to be a better performing board all around. Of course there are exceptions but this tends to be the norm.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes a good inland skimboard?
Victoria Skimboards: It is a combination of board and rider. Then it really comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer light weight, others prefer a board that is heavier. Some like flex to their board, others like a stiff board. Either way, there really is no right or wrong, just what works best for the individual. But again, it is a combination of rider/board.
Inland Skimboarding: Tell us about your inland skimboards.

Victoria Skimboards: At this time we have two models; Grinder and Matrix. The Grinder is more of an entry level Flatland board. The wood core makes the board durable and the three stage rocker makes it perfect for the rails. The Matrix is a more advanced Flatland board geared for tricks.
Inland Skimboarding: Why should I buy a Victoria skimboard?
Victoria Skimboards: It boils down to experience and the work we put into our product. We have been building boards of all kinds for over 30 years. We have made the advances and the mistakes and learned from it all. We have experience built into each board. We also pride ourselves on the quality of our product and its ability to hold up over time. Tested by our team riders and under constant R&D, we work to make the boards the best performing boards around. From our product to our people we love skimboarding and it shows in our work.
Inland Skimboarding: What makes your inland skimboards unique?
Victoria Skimboards: There is so much cross over between manufactures product that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between boards unless you get down to price. With our boards, we take time to work on the rocker of the board more than other manufactures and I feel that this will help set our boards apart.
Inland Skimboarding: What kind of testing/quality control do your boards go through?
Victoria Skimboards: We have a few things that we do to test our boards. Anywhere from the R&D room to the outdoors, the boards are worked over again and again before hitting the market.
Inland Skimboarding: Rails have become an integral part of inland skimboarding. Boards take quite a bit of abuse as a result. Talk a little bit about the challenge that presents when designing and building inland skimboards.
Victoria Skimboards: Rails have created a whole new animal in this discipline of skimboarding. When someone buys a skateboard, they are not as concerned with hitting the rails and scratching their board and ultimately breaking their board because the deck only cost $30 - $40. With a skimboard, the materials and process to make that board able to handle the water, the rails, and time are much greater and more costly. So the questions for us then become; how do we make a board that can handle riding the rail, hitting the rail, grinding the rail, running over gravel like sand, cruising over rocks, etc.? If I told you the answers that would be giving away all of my secrets.
Inland Skimboarding: When you get feedback from inland riders, what positive things do you hear most often?
Victoria Skimboards: They are the coolest things ever! Here are some of the quotes we have had:
“ Hands down, the Matrix is the most advance, progression pushing board on the market. “
“The rocker of your boards is perfect and holds its shape over time whereas other manufactures rocker will change.”
“ The boards are wicked fast.”
“ The boards slide the rails for you.”
Inland Skimboarding: Where do you see the sport of skimboarding 10 years from now?
Victoria Skimboards: That is a really tough question to answer because after 30+ years in the business, Skimboarding is still not as big as skateboarding or surfing. Yes, Flatland has more potential for growth due to its accessibility but we must make sure to not limit ourselves. Take for instance, the Grinch or the Bungee systems. Many Flatland “purists” seem to downplay the part that this could play in the forward movement of the sport but look at Wakeskating and its development. I am not saying this “will be the future” but it will be part of the future and we all need to keep our minds open to angles that could help the sport grow and not stifle that growth.I would like to say X-Games, a professional global tour, big money and sponsors, and all of us “living la vida loca” but all of that will take a community coordinated effort. I just want us all to build the discipline and make sure that it is not an overnight fad. It will take work and Victoria Skimboards is ready to put in the effort to help move it forward.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you see anything new on the horizon technology wise that will improve the next generation of inland skimboards?
Victoria Skimboards: It seems that people are taking a heavy look at snowboard technology and plastics which could make some changes. There are things that we are working on but again, it cannot be shared at this time.
Inland Skimboarding: Inland skimboarders often get called names, talked down to, and shown little respect from some wave skimboarders. Inland skimboarders are often told what they are doing is not “real” skimboarding. What is your view of the inland skimboarding scene?
Victoria Skimboards: For me personally, I break Skimboarding the sport into three disciplines all with equal importance; Ocean, Flatland, and Wake. An Ocean rider has certain skills that make him/her good at what he/she does and the same stands for a Flatland rider. Flatland has really only recently made a strong push to be in the limelight and I have heard people say that “Flatland is not real.” My question to them is why do you say that? What are your reasons? Normally I do not get an answer so I must speculate that they are saying this because to them the discipline is “new” (actually not new) and they do not understand it. They do not understand the lifestyle, the skill, the dedication, etc. that goes into it. People are so brainwashed into a certain discipline that they are not willing to open themselves to the other disciplines; ignorance in full effect.
Inland Skimboarding: As a board manufacturer, is there anything you can do, or are doing, to increase the respect for inland skimboarding?

Victoria Skimboards: It really is not about us and what we can do as we are doing a part (advertising, building boards, sponsoring riders, pushing the knowledge base) but it is about getting the industry collectively together and working toward a common goal. It may sound “cheesy” but it is the truth. Without “unity” we will only take small steps forward instead of larger leaps.
Inland Skimboarding: What inland skimboarding events have you been involved with? Tell us about your experiences at those events.
Victoria Skimboards: Since beginning in the 1990’s we have been involved in the Sacramento contest. During that time we have seen quite a bit of change in the riding styles and the “playground” that has been the stage for the event. The rails have gotten more impressive and to be honest, the level of courage to ride some of the rails is what is most astounding. Amazing is a word that sums it up nicely.
Inland Skimboarding: Do you have any sponsored inland skimboarders? What does it take for an inland skimboarder to get sponsored by Victoria?
Victoria Skimboards: we have four sponsored riders at this time but are always keeping our eyes and ears open. Without having an established contest circuit with recorded results to build a resume, the best thing to do is to send us a “Sponsor Me” packet. In that packet would be (but not limited to):
1) All contact information so we can reach you
2) A professional presentation
a. If you can present yourself well that is a start
3) Information on your local spots and where you ride the most
4) Contest results (if you have them)
5) The number of years you have been riding and why you are interested in the sport
6) Video, video, video footage
a. The footage needs to not all be from one day and one session – spread the wealth
b. Progression
The idea to the above is – what sets you apart from the other riders? This should be told on paper, in photo, and in video.

Inland skimboarding would like to thank Victoria Skimboards for an awesome interview. To find out more about Victoria Skimboards, visit their website at http://www.victoriaskimboards.com/

Skimboard Rail Building: Box Rail

This particular method is the way to make the most sturdy skimboard rails. It will also allow you to make many different shapes of rails. The draw backs are that the rails are not as portable or adjustable as other methods.

The main idea is that you cut out the sides of the rail in the shape you want from plywood. You then use 2x4’s to connect the sides together and support the skimboard rail. Cut out a rectangle that is the width of your rail and the length of the top. If the top of the rail is curved, use a piece of string to measure the curved length. Attach the rectangle to the top of the rail. If the top of the skimboard rail is curved, soaking the top rectangle piece of plywood in water for several hours will help it bend easier. If the curves are dramatic, use a thinner piece of plywood for the top (3/8” or 1/4" thick) for easier bending. Now attach the pvc. For help on attaching the pvc, see this post skimboard rails.

The following 8’ x 1’ x 1’ ollie on box rail can be built from
1 – 4’x 8’x 1/2” piece of plywood ($12.33 each at Home Depot)
2 – 2”x 4”x 8’ studs ($1.68 each at Home Depot)
3 – 10’x 1/2” pvc pipes ($1.43 each at Home Depot)

Total Cost = $19.98 (You will still need to purchase some screws to get it all put together)



You can build your skimboard rail any size you want, this is just an example. The main idea is that you will see the construction method and be able to apply it to any size or shaped rail you want. Now grab your skimboard and get out there.

Skimboard Training - Flexibility

Part of your skimboarding training should focus on flexibility. Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Increased flexibility means that movement will be easier, require less energy, and ultimately more efficient. As your flexibility increases, the likelihood of pulled or strained muscles decreases. Fewer injuries means more time on the water. More time on the water means more practice. More practice means…well, you get the picture.

Most of us know many stretching exercises. The problem is we rarely use them. Here are some of the more common stretching exercise and the part of the body that they focus on.

Ankle
Lie down on the ground. Slightly lift one leg off the ground. Rotate your foot, first 10 times clockwise, then 10 times counter-clockwise. Repeat with the other foot.
Lie down on the ground. Slightly lift one leg off the ground. Trace out the letters of the alphabet in the air with the big toe on your foot. Repeat with the other foot.

Neck
Lower your head towards your chest. Extend your neck fully until you’re looking straight down at your toes. Rotate your head making wide circles. First rotate it 10 times in one direction, then the other.

Shoulders
Stand relaxed with your hands at your sides. Slowly roll your shoulders forward, then down, then back, then up, in one circular motion. Repeat 10 times in one direction then 10 times reversing the direction.

Waist
Stand relaxed with your hands on your waist. Twist your torso to the right. Make sure to follow with your head. Keep your lower body, from the hips down, facing forward. Now twist to the left. Repeat 10 times in both directions.

Hips
Stand relaxed with your hands on your waist. Rotate your hips in a circle. Make the circle as big as you can. Don’t bend your knees and keep your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Hamstring
Sit on the ground with your legs extended straight out in front of you. Slowly lean forward over you legs and reach for your feet. Do not curl or hunch your back. Keep it straight and fully extended.

Quadriceps
Stand relaxed with your hands at your sides. Bend your knee and bring your foot up behind you. Hold it your foot with your hand for 10 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

Calf
Lean against a wall. Step back with the right leg. Keep your knee straight and your heel on the ground. Now push your hips forward until you feel the stretching in your calf. Stretch for 10 seconds. Keep the same position, but now bend your knee. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

Groin
Sit on the ground. Bend your knees and put the soles of your feet together. Pull them in as close to your groin as you can. While holding your feet together with your hands, push out on your knees with your elbows. Hold for 10 seconds.

Back
Lie on your stomach and put your hands under you as if you are going to do a pushup. Now raise your head and shoulders and push up with your arms keeping your hips on the ground. Try to extend your head and shoulders as high as you can but keep your waist on the floor. Hold for 10 seconds.

Get on your hands and knees. Push your back up towards the ceiling, like a cat arching its back. Continue arching until you feel the stretch in your back. Hold for 10 seconds.

The yoga sun salutation exercise is one that works on flexibility in many different parts of the body.

STEP 1: Stand relaxed with your hands at your sides. Now bring your palms together in prayer position. Exhale.










STEP 2: As you inhale, raise your arms overhead, keeping your palms together.











STEP 3: Exhale and then bend forward until your hands touch your feet.










STEP 4: As you inhale, step the right leg back, arch your back and lift your chin.











STEP 5: Exhaling, step the left leg back. Keep your spine and legs in a straight line and support your weight on hands and feet.










STEP 6: Retaining the breath, lower your knees, your chest and then your forehead, keeping your hips up and toes curled under.










STEP 7: Inhaling, stretch forward and bend back. Keep your arms straight.










STEP 8: Exhaling, curl your toes under, press down into your heels, and lift your hips.











STEP 9: As you inhale, move your left leg back, with the top of the foot stretched out flat on the floor, and lift your chin.










STEP 10: Exhale and then bend forward until your hands touch your feet.










STEP 11: Inhaling, stretch your arms forward and over your head. Slowly bend backward from the waist.










STEP 12: Exhaling, gently come back to the standing relaxed position with your arms at your sides.








The following video clip is a modified sun salutation.

Skimboarding Training - Power

Part of your skimboarding training should focus on power. Power is not just strength. It is a combination of speed and strength. Power = (Force x Distance)/Time. Power training is not just strength training. Strength training focuses on just the force part of the equation. To maximize power, the force needs to be applied in a shorter amount of time. This is the focus of power training, to reduce the amount of time it takes to apply a set amount of force. Power is essential for the most important trick of the inland skimboarder. The ollie. The three most important components of the ollie are, speed, jump height, and how well you pop the back of the board. More power means you will be able to run faster, jump higher, and pop better.

Ollie Pops
This exercise is specifically designed for skimboarders and focuses on the specific muscle groups used when ollieing. With your feet about shoulder width to slightly wider, squat down. Turn your head towards which ever leg would be your front leg if you were on a skimboard. Explode upwards, with your front leg coming off the ground first and most of your force being generated by your back leg. Once your back foot is off the ground, pull both legs up towards your chest. Do three sets of ten with one-minute breaks between sets.

Knee Jump
This is a powerful bodyweight exercise that you can do to develop explosive hamstrings. Kneel on the floor and sit back on your calves. Now jump to your feet. Just explode and move fast. To generate some momentum sling your arms back and then forward rapidly as you jump to your feet. Get back to the kneeling position gently and repeat. Do three sets of five with one-minute breaks between sets.

One Foot Box Jumps
Start on one side of the box with one leg off the ground, then squat down and jump over the box landing on the same foot. Do three sets of ten with one-minute breaks between sets.

Double Stair Jumps
Start by standing in front of a set of stairs in a squat position. Jump with two feet bringing your knees to your chest while jumping to the stairs in front of you. Do three sets of ten with one-minute breaks between sets.

Sprint uphill
Find a fairly steep hill. Sprint to the top as fast as you can. Walk back to the bottom and repeat 10 times.

Stair run
Sprint to the top of the stairs as fast as you can skipping every other stair. Run back down the stairs hitting every stair. When coming down the stairs focus on foot speed. Repeat 10 times.

Lunges
To begin a lunge stand upright with or without weights in your hands. Now take a step forward. Bend your front knee until your thigh is parallel with the ground. Do not let your front knee go past the tip of your toe as this can be harmful to your knee joint. Once at the bottom of the lunge, step back to the standing position. Repeat with the other leg. Do three sets of ten with one-minute breaks between sets.

Skimboard Training - Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance is the ability to exercise continuously for extended periods of time without tiring. It is an important component of skimboarding. Cardiovascular Endurance deals with how well you are able to get oxygen to working muscles. Working muscles use oxygen to burn carbohydrates and other fuels to produce energy. A high cardiovascular fitness level will help your skim sessions last longer. Longer sessions means more runs, more tricks thrown, and ultimately more tricks landed. The more practice you get on your board, the better you’re going to get, but you can’t practice if you can’t breath.

Here are some exercises you can do to increase your cardiovascular endurance.

Jogging
Your goal is to work up to a ½ hour. If you are not there yet, jog for as long as you can. Every 5 minutes run as hard as you can for 30 seconds, then decelerate back to your jogging pace. If you are jogging for a ½ hour you should end up sprinting 6 times (at 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and so on).

Bicycling
Your goal is to work up to a ½ hour. If you are not there yet, ride for as long as you can. Every 5 minutes pedal as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then decelerate back to your normal pace. If you are bicycling for a ½ hour you should end up sprinting 6 times (at 5 minutes, 10 minutest, 15 minutes, and so on).

Swimming
Your goal is the following workout
Swim 600 yards, rest for 10 breaths.
Swim 300 yards, rest for 8 breaths.
Swim 100 yards, rest for 6 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x50)

The following program will help you work up to the goal workout if you are not there yet.

Week 1 (Three days a week)
Swim 100 yards, rest for 12 breaths,
then repeat 1 more time (for a total of 2x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 8 breaths,
then repeat 1 more time (for a total of 2x50)
Swim 25 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 1 more time (for a total of 2x25)


Week 2 (Three days a week)
Swim 100 yards, rest for 12 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 8 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x50)
Swim 25 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x25)

Week 3 (Three days a week)
Swim 200 yards, rest for 12 breaths.
Swim 100 yards, rest for 10 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 6 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x50)
Swim 25 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x25)

Week 4 (Three days a week)
Swim 400 yards, rest for 12 breaths.
Swim 100 yards, rest for 8 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 5 more times (for a total of 6x50)
Swim 25 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 5 more times (for a total of 6x25)

Week 5 - Goal Workout (three days a week)
Swim 600 yards, rest for 10 breaths.
Swim 300 yards, rest for 8 breaths.
Swim 100 yards, rest for 6 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x100)
Swim 50 yards, rest for 4 breaths,
then repeat 3 more times (for a total of 4x50)

Skimboard Training - Speed Endurance

Speed endurance will help you to maintain a higher intensity, for longer periods of time. Any athlete that is required to repeat high intensity sprints in quick succession, with minimal rest periods in between, can benefit from this type of training. This is exactly what happens in skimboarding. A high intensity sprint repeated over and over again. It is important that you can maintain your speed throughout your skim session. Without it your rides will not be as long, your ollies won’t be as high, and you will not get the kind of pop that is required for many tricks.

Here are several exercises designed to help increase your speed endurance.

High Intensity Shuttle Run
Mark out 30 yards on grass or a running track. Place a cone at the start and at 5 yard intervals (7 cones in total). Sprint from the starting cone to 5 yard cone and back. Without sopping, turn and sprint to 10 meter cone and back to start. Sprint to 15meter cone and back to start and so on until you sprint the full 30 meters and back.
Rest for 90 seconds and repeat. Complete a total of 6 sets keeping rest periods to 90 seconds.

Pyramids
Pace out 50 yards placing a cone at the start and then at 10 yards intervals (6 cones in total). Starting at the first cone sprint all out for 10 yards and walk the remaining 40 yards. Turn and sprint 20 yards and walk for 30 yards. Turn and sprint 30 yards and walk for 20 yards. Turn and sprint 40 yards and walk for 10 yards. Finally...turn and sprint 50 yards and then turn and sprint 50 yards again back to the start. This is classed as one set. Rest for 90 seconds and repeat for a total of 4 sets.
Rest for a full 3 minutes and do another 4 sets.

Accelrations
Mark out a distance of 100 yards. From the start gradually accelerate to reach full speed at about 60 yards. Sprint all out for the final 40 yards. Slow down gradually, turn and repeat. Continue for 2 minutes and then rest for 2 minutes.
This is one set. Repeat for a total of 6 sets.

Hollow sprint
Mark out approximately 30 yard intervals. Sprint 30 yards, jog 30 yards, sprint 30 yards and jog 30 yards. Continue alternating jogging and sprinting for 2 minutes, then rest for 2 minutes.
This is one set. Try to complete a total of 6 sets.

Skimboarding Training - Balance: Yoga

Many recreational, as well as professional surfers have begun to use yoga to help increase balance and flexibility. Skimboarders as well can benefit from integrating yoga into their fitness program. The following video discusses some of the connections between yoga and surfing. Many of the same connections can be extended to skimboarding as well.



Here are three Yoga exercises that will help increase your balance.

Warrior III Pose
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bring your hands together like in prayer at chest level.

Rotate your upper body to the right and at the same time take a step to your right. Keep your left leg straight and left foot facing forward. Your right foot should end up facing 90 degrees to the right of the direction you were facing when you started (Perpendicular to your left foot). Your right thigh should be parallel to the ground and your upper body will now be looking directly over your right knee. Your hips should also be rotated 90 degrees so they are now facing to your right.

Now bring your weight forward onto your right foot and rasie your left leg. At the same time, bring the torso forward until it is parallel to the floor. Keep your hips pointing toward the floor as you bring the your left leg in line with your body. Stretch your arms out along side your head and point them forward.

Hold this position from 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat in the opposite direction stepping, then balancing, with your left leg.

Half Moon Pose
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bring your hands together like in prayer at chest level. Rotate your upper body to the right and at the same time take a step to your right. Keep your left leg straight and left foot facing forward. Your right foot should end up facing 90 degrees to the right of the direction you were facing when you started (Perpendicular to your left foot). Your right thigh should be parallel to the ground and your upper body will now be looking directly over your right knee. Your hips should also be rotated 90 degrees so they are now facing to your right.

Bend forward and reach your right hand forward, at least 12 inches beyond your right foot. Press your right hand and right heel firmly into the floor, and straighten your right leg, simultaneously lifting the left leg parallel to the floor.

Now rotate your body and lift your left arm toward the sky. Rotate your head to look toward your left hand. Your arms, sholders, hips and legs should all be in the same plane.

Hold this position from 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat in the opposite direction balancing on your left leg.


Tree Pose
Stand with your feet shoulder together and bring your hands together like in prayer at chest level.

Raise your right foot and place the sole against the inner left thigh. The toes of your right foot should be pointing toward the floor.

Firmly press the right foot sole against the inner thigh and resist with the outer left leg.


To increase the difficulty of any of these exercises, try them with your eyes closed.

Skimboarding Training: Fitness Program

A solid strength and conditioning program will make you a better skimboarder. It will allow you to recover much faster between skims. You will also be less prone to injury. You will have more stamina to skim longer and actually have fun, rather than pretending you are having fun as you stand around on wobbly legs, trying to catch your breath watching other people skim.

If you want to take your skimboarding to the next level you’re your definitely going to need a fitness program. Why wouldn’t you? The top athletes in any other sport spend countless hours working on strength training, stamina, and injury prevention. Professional athletes are in peak physical condition. If you want to be one of the top skimboarders, it won’t take any less.

A good program should focus on 5 main areas: Balance, Speed Endurance, Cardiovascular Endurance, Power, and Flexibility.

Balance
Good balance is essential in skimboarding. The whole sport is performed on a relatively small board, while in motion on a slick, unstable surface. The benefits of good balance should be obvious. What is not so obvious is that balance training can also help reduce the incidence of injuries to the ankle, knee, hips, back and upper body.

Speed Endurance
Speed endurance will help you to maintain a higher intensity, for longer periods of time. Any athlete that is required to repeat high intensity sprints in quick succession, with minimal rest periods in between, can benefit from this type of training. This is exactly what happens in skimboarding. A high intensity sprint repeated over and over again. It is important that you can maintain your speed throughout your skim session. Without it your rides will not be as long, your ollies won’t be as high, and you will not get the kind of pop that is required for many tricks.

Cardiovascular Endurance
Cardiovascular endurance is the ability to exercise continuously for extended periods of time without tiring. It is an important component of skimboarding. Cardiovascular Endurance deals with how well you are able to get oxygen to working muscles. Working muscles use oxygen to burn carbohydrates and other fuels to produce energy. A high cardiovascular fitness level will help your skim sessions last longer. Longer sessions means more runs, more tricks thrown, and ultimately more tricks landed. The more practice you get on your board, the better you’re going to get, but you can’t practice if you can’t breath.

Power
Power is not just strength. It is a combination of speed and strength. Power = (Force x Distance)/Time. Power training is not just strength training. Strength training focuses on just the force part of the equation. To maximize power, the force needs to be applied in a shorter amount of time. This is the focus of power training, to reduce the amount of time it takes to apply a set amount of force. Power is essential for the most important trick of the inland skimboarder. The ollie. The three most important components of the ollie are, speed, jump height, and how well you pop the back of the board. More power means you will be able to run faster, jump higher, and pop better.

Flexibility
Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Increased flexibility means that movement will be easier, require less energy, and ultimately be more efficient. As your flexibility increases, the likelihood of pulled or strained muscles decreases. Fewer injuries means more time on the water. More time on the water means more practice. More practice means…well, you get the picture.

In the coming weeks drills and exercises for each of the areas will be posted. So start getting warmed up.

Skimboarding Tricks: Ollie

How to ollie a skimboard.

In order to ollie, you need to find some deeper water or dig an ollie pit. It should be at least 4 inches deep. As you approach the deeper water, your feet should be about shoulder width with your back foot as far back as you can put it. Your knees should be bent quite a bit, keeping your center of gravity low. Once you get to the deep water, slam down with your back foot and then explode upwards, with your front leg coming off the board first and most of your force being generated by your back leg. Once your back foot is off the board, pull both legs up towards your chest. Flatten out the board with your front foot while it is in the air. As you come down, make sure the board is as flat as possible. When you land absorb the impact with your legs.

Tips

Squat down and bend your knees!
It is very important to have your knees bent dramatically when approaching your ollie. The reason for this is because you can only ollie as high as you can jump, and if you don’t bend your knees, you can’t jump very high. Let’s try an experiment. Stand up. Lock your knees straight. Now jump as high as you can, keeping your knees locked…or at least try to jump. If you used some momentum from your arms and have strong calves, you may have gotten off the ground a few inches. Now bend your knees so your hips drop a few inches. Jump as high as you can without bending you knees any further. You probably got a bit higher. Now squat down and jump as high as you can. You can jump much higher when you bend your knees and are able to use your upper leg muscles. When you ollie, make sure you squat down and bend your knees! You can only ollie as high as you can jump.

Keep your center of gravity over the center of the board.

Do not lean back when you push down on the back of the board. This will pop the board out from under you making it impossible for you to land your ollie and ride it out. Keep your body straight up and down. If you were to draw a line straight down from your head, it should hit your board half way in between your front and back foot. If your head gets over, or past, your back foot, you’ve leaned back. Don’t! Press straight down with your back foot.

Speed is crucial.

The faster you are going, the higher you will be able to ollie. Most of your speed is generated in your running approach. Some extra momentum can be gained as you step onto your board. Practice going fast!

Ollie over something.
Having something to ollie over helps with a number of different aspects. First of all, it gives you a goal. It will help you get your timing down. It will also help you hit your ollie pit. Start out small and work your way up.

Use your front foot to level out the board.
Leveling out the board in the air will do two things for you. First, it will increase your overall height. Second, in order for you to ride out your ollie, you need to land with the board flat on the water.


Now it’s time for a quiz. What is wrong with the following ollie attempt?

Yup, you got it.
Knees are not bent enough and leaning too far back.

How to ollie higher.
There are three keys to ollieing higher. Go faster, push down quicker and harder with your back foot, and jump higher. Building strength in your legs will help with all three. You will be able to run faster and get more speed on your skimboard. When you're going faster, it becomes more difficult to push down on the back of the board. Remember, when you push down on the back of the board it needs to be a quick pop with lots of power. Increased leg strength will help with the pop. Finally, as your legs get stronger, you will be able to jump higher.

skimboarding video #7

Skimboarding a rollercoaster rail on the virgin river.

Flatland skimboarding or inland skimboarding?

Flatland skimboarding or inland skimboarding, is there a difference? As you read and talk to people about skimboarding you’ll hear the terms flatland skimboarding and inland skimboarding used. When people refer to flatland or inland skimboarding, they are referring to skimboarding that doesn’t involve waves. Technically this is the definition for flatland skimboarding. Inland skimboarding would then be defined as flatland skimboarding that takes place away from coastal beaches, (or inland) on rivers, lakes, streams, puddles, etc. Flatland skimboarding is a more general term, while inland skimboarding is a type of flatland skimboarding. All inland skimboarders are flatland skimboarders, but technically speaking not all flatland skimboarders are inland skimboarders. Those that skim on the coastal beaches,and don’t skim waves, would not be considered inland skimboarders in the true sence of the word. But, when it comes right down to it, does it matter which term you use? Not really. People in the sport use the terms interchangabley, so flatland…inland…pick your favorite and go with it. We’re all skimboarders.

Skimboarding Video #6

Skimboarding Video put together by the Gardner Brothers.

Skimboarding Video #5

Here is some footage of the 2008 Virgin River Classic put together by Extreme Outdoor Supply

Skimboarding Training - Balance: Build a Balance Board

One way to improve your balance that can also be pretty fun is to use a balance board. There are several brands out there, but they run about a $100. Ouch. Not to worry, you can make your own for way cheaper. First you’ll need something for the board to roll on. At Home Depot they have 2 foot long sections of 4 inch diameter PVC for about $6. Once you’ve got your PVC roller, you’ll need a board. A ½ inch to ¾ inch piece of plywood will do the trick. You can pick up a 2x4 foot piece at Home Depot for about $10. If you are just getting started, go with a large board, use dimensions of 40” x 17”. For more advanced riders, use dimensions of 38”x 12”. To make a pattern, fold the paper into fourths. Along the outside edge (not the folded edge) draw the curve of the board then cut along this curve. When you unfold the paper, your pattern should be symmetric along both the length and width. Trace the pattern onto your plywood and the cut it out using an electric jig saw. Use some sandpaper and sand it smooth so you don’t get splinters. You can use some paint if you would like to give it a little of your personal style. If you’ve got a few more bucks you can put some polyurethane or varnish on it if there is bare wood showing, but it’s not necessary as your balance board will not be in the water. (Unless you love it so much you want to use it everywhere, including the shower, which is not recommended.) Now you should be ready to ride. You might want to start out on a carpeted surface, as that will slow down the roller a bit. As you become more proficient you can move to a bare surface. Using a wall or a chair to steady you until you get the hang of it is a good idea. As you become more advanced you can begin to practice some tricks. Tricks that transfer well to skimboarding would be body varials (jump and spin your body 180 degrees), shuvits, and ollies. Balance and foot placement are crucial when landing these tricks, both on the balance board and on your skimboard.

Skimboarding Pictures: Set 1