Some of the best skimboarders showed up in Newport Beach last weekend to battle it out for the world title during the Oktoberfest Skimboarding contest.

I haven’t written much about this sport over the years, but I have to say that watching what these guys can do on these small boards was pretty amazing.

(Check out a slideshow from the event here. )

The sport has strong roots here in Orange County – it’s said that the first skimmers were a couple of lifeguards in Laguna Beach who threw planks of wood down to ride back in the 20s.

Laguna Beach today remains the hub of the sport, and the breeding ground for many of the top riders – proven at this past contest with the top three placers coming from Laguna.

Skimboarding often gets snubbed in the surfing world, but as the riders continue to push the limits and do insane, skate-influenced moves, it’s earning more respect.

“Skimboarding has endured the little-brother syndrome,” Paulo Prietto, three-time world champ on the United Skim Tour. “Anything different from surfing is not easily accepted.”

For anyone who scoffs at this sport, head down to the Wedge on a big day to see these riders run full speed into a wave, then pull off crazy moves, or check out Prietto getting towed into waves during the last big swell. 

Surf clothing company Atwater – which just won SIMA’s Breakout Brand of the Year award – is one of the few in the surf industry that sponsors skimboarders, including Prietto.

“These guys are just going at it, taking a lot of risks,” said Dean Bradley, president of Atwater, who came down to check out the event. “When he’s in the barrel, you can’t tell me that’s not surfing.”

Not to mention that landing on the wet sand can almost feel like eating it on concrete, he notes.

A few hundred people came down to watch the contest, which brought 105 amateur riders and 35 pros to compete. It was the last leg of eight stops on the United Skim Tour.

This contest was started five years ago by exile Skimboards and Main Street Surf Shop, and offered competitors a first-prize purse of $2,500.

Competitor and judge Lance Brooks was stoked to have the event in Newport Beach, where there’s a skimboard scene right south of the Balboa Pier, where the contest was held.

“My heart belongs to this beach,” he said. “To get a contest where I grew up is a long time coming.”

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