Surfers Face New Wave of Competition : Skimboarders Make Their Bid to Challenge for the Beach Dollar

The surfer is one of those essential California icons. A figure of almost mythical stature, the surfer is to the West Coast what the cowboy was to the Old West.

But the cowboy’s domain wasn’t as crowded as the California surf. “Get off my wave” was never heard out on the range.

And for selling swim trunks and other accouterments of the beach life style, the surfer has no peer. Surfing and sportswear companies have signed up the top professional surfers to lucrative contracts believing that the association will pay off in added sales.

But skimboarders, more recent entrants in the crowded beach sports scene, are now hoping for a piece of the action.

Saturday, at the Victoria Pro/Am Aliso Skim Contest, the sport’s best professionals and amateurs competed at Aliso Pier in Laguna Beach. The competition will end today.

A sort of reverse surfing, skimboarding looks like a chiropractor’s nightmare. The action takes place in the shallow water. Running toward the water, the riders drop their foam and fiberglass boards and then jump aboard to meet the incoming waves.

Riders are judged on the maneuvers performed in the wave. They usually make a quick U-turn and surf back to shore. But there are many variations, including spinning headstands and multiple flips.

It’s crowd-pleasing action and not without danger. One indication of the peril was that the competition’s judges Saturday were skimboarders too injured to compete. But participants insist it is no more dangerous than surfing. They say most injuries are minor cuts.

However, Garth Wyckoff, a 19-year-old professional from Dana Point, admitted the sport looks punishing. “All the surfers say you are crazy,” Wyckoff said, “They say, ‘You’re psycho because it’s right on the sand.’ ”

That such action is on the sand and, therefore, near potential spectators is one reason boosters believe the sport has a bright future.

But there is a glut of these beach life style sports. Surfing is king and beach volleyball is powerful. Skimboarding, recently evolved from the days of the slower laminated plywood board, is barely professional.

Victoria Skimboards sponsored the first professional event two years ago at Aliso Beach, and no official tour has developed yet. The winner today will pocket $500. A contest in Malibu last month paid the winner $1,000, a record payoff for the sport.