Dozens of athletes from around the state, the nation and the world gathered at Vilano Beach on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 12-22, to demonstrate their skimboarding proficiency.
The Florida Skimboarding Pro/Am is the third longest running professional and amateur skimboarding tournament in the world. The annual competition is important not just for participants but also for the community and local tourism industry.
“The Visitors and Convention Bureau has been supportive of this terrific event for years,” said Richard Goldman, CEO and president, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau. “Not only does it bring participants and their families who might not have known about us, it also raises awareness of our sports-friendly destination. We have ample beaches and waterways that can support so many outdoor sporting events which don’t require the construction of expensive facilities that many other sports demand.”
The local tournament welcomes competitors representing more than 75 different beaches. The age range starts at 15 and goes all the way up, with the most senior category being 40 and over.
The enthusiasm of this year’s participants was evident even before the competition began. Contestants began gathering at the beach early Saturday morning, charging into the surf and catching waves as high tide approached.
Experienced skimboarders knew that this was an optimal opportunity to practice their pastime. The incoming tide was expected to reach 5.4 feet, peaking at 8:30 a.m.
To the uninitiated, skimboarding may resemble surfing, but there are important differences.
Skimboards tend to be thinner, narrower and shorter than traditional surfboards and do not have fins. That means they are not as easily controlled on the water.
In addition, skimboarding is practiced in shallow water, which is why it is done closer to shore than surfing. And, unlike surfing, skimboarding can be done even on flat water, which means such elements as wind and the direction of currents and swell are not as critical.
According to the Run Drop Slide website, rundropslide.com, the local tournament was launched by Steve Pullara in October 1990, a year after he moved to Vilano Beach. Its roots go back to Pullara’s youth in Tampa when he discovered the fun of skimming the waves on round disks.
Pullara’s business, Run Drop Slide, has been an apparel brand for the skimboarding sport since 1998 and the main sponsor of the local event.
The United Skim Tour is the sanctioning body for skimboarding events on both coasts of the United States and abroad. Its 2021 schedule lists five men’s professional tournaments and three women’s professional tournaments, with the Florida Pro-Am in both categories.
