INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The water was a little choppy, but didn’t stop about 75 skim boarders from giving it their all at the fourth annual Mulligan’s Skim Jam 2011 to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The beach in front of Mulligan’s Beach House filled with fans cheering on their favorites, who were executing maneuvers on boards seemingly glued to their feet.
“We wanted to bring a contest to Vero Beach, and raise money for St. Jude. I think it’s one of the best charities around,” said skimming enthusiast and event founder Russ King.
Among others, his committee included fellow Jackie Williams, Chris Ellison, who is also a Vero Beach Lifeguard, Todd Rhoten, and Greg Krolczyk, aka Skim City Greg.
“I just run the contest; the others put it all together with their blood sweat and tears,” said Krolczyk of the organizers and volunteer judges, many who were also competitors. “These are kids you want your daughter to bring home. These are awesome, awesome kids. They’re kids you’re proud to do things with. To my knowledge, this is the only contest that’s 100 percent a charity benefit.”
Unlike age and/or sex based competitions, contestants in this event self-identify based on skill level into one of four divisions – I Suck (beginner), I’m Good (intermediate), I’m Better (advanced), and I’m Going Pro Tomorrow (expert).
Organizing it in this fashion guaranties an equal footing; competitors are moved up if judges feel they’re competing in the wrong division. The competition drew skim boarders from all over the state of Florida, with more than half coming from the Gulf Coast where skim boarding is more prevalent.
“You can realistically skim and have a good time 365 days of the year, as opposed to surfers who have 40 or 50 good days if they’re lucky,” explained Krolczyk of the sports growing popularity. “Once you’ve mastered skim boarding, major injuries are very rare; other than scrapes and bumps for beginners it’s fairly safe. I’ve done every major east coast contest since 1995, and in all that time I’ve only seen two broken limbs.”
As competitors ride out, hit a wave, turn around and do various maneuvers, they’re judged on criteria such as how hard the ride was, how well they did it, and how many times they did it.
“We’d like to see clean waves closer to shore,” said Krolczyk commenting on the somewhat choppy conditions. “The waves are a little too far out for the smaller kids.
“There are definitely some waves, and a little swell, but the onshore wind is making it a little sloppy,” agreed 17-year-old Troy Rhoten. Rhoten has been competing for five years, and placed fourth in the I’m Going Pro division last year.
His division would compete last and he waited his turn, he was hoping that more favorable conditions would accompany the incoming tide. Rhoten’s wishes came true and talents showed through, so impressing the judges that he won the division.
Vero Beach overall had a good showing in the competiton, placing in eight of the 16 top spots.
Winners by Divison:
I Suck
- Michael Bishop, 11, Vero Beach
- Mark Bishop, 10, Vero Beach
- David Balloqui, 26, Fort Myers
- Devon Quigly, 13, Vero Beach
I’m Good
- Daniel Roberts, 16, Melbourne Beach
- Eddie Dixon, 11, Vero Beach
- Scott Adams, 16, Melbourne Beach
- Reed Hendrix, 15, Vero Beach
I’m Better
- Aubrey Ballard, 19, Tequesta
- Chase Mazzoni, 16, Melbourne
- Maxwell Muller, 17, Vero Beach
- Brandon Hrosat, 19, Jacksonville Beach
I’m Turning Pro Tomorrow
- Troy Rhoten, 17, Vero Beach
- Jake Luke, 17, Fort Myers
- Timmy Gilday, 18, Vero Beach
- Garret Wolf, 16, Fort Lauderdale
