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Skimboarding goes back to the 1920s, when lifeguards would use pieces of wood to skim across the beach. It was only during the 70s though that the sport started to move from the sand onto the waves and become what it is now today, largely through the efforts of skimboarders in Laguna Beach. Its popularity grew during the 80s, but it never enjoyed (or suffered) from the exposure associated with surfing and skating.
Today it is most popular in California, Florida, Portugal and France, but skimboarders can be seen sliding on the sand in beaches all around the world.
Skimboarding is based primarily on the principle of hydroplaning, hence skimboards are smaller and thinner than surfboards, since they do not require as much buoyancy.
The skimboard is a craft of varying size, usually of some oval or teardrop shape, though some people use circular boards. They are typically made with a core of varying compositions of laminated wood or polystyrene foam, covered by a shell of GRP and/or various types of plasticThe term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are ma, fairly rigid and relatively dense: compared to a surfboard or bodyboard of similar area it is not very buoyant. It is rare to see a skimboard thicker than 2.5 cm. A well made skimboard will have some nose lift and perhaps even some rocker , and may come with a rubberized traction surface.
There are two primary ways in which a skimboard can be ridden: either gliding over the thin layer of water atop the wettest sand and at the very edge of the ocean as wave remnants wash up onto the beach (sometimes called sand skimming or flatland skimming); or skimming from the beach directly into an incoming wave to throw a "fan" of water off the advancing shorebreak, catch air , or even ride across the wave face (refered to as wave skimming/riding).
The latter style is generally more advanced: all skimboarders start by learning how to throw the board and jump onto it on a thin layer of water, and only after they have mastered this properly will they attempt more complicated tricks on waves, so flatland skimming is considered a begginner's sport. Nevertheless, some flatland skimmers are able to perform tricks of great technical skill, many adapted from skating.