The weather and water conditions were ideal for the recent Shore lb. Throwdown at Mulligan’s, the first competition in this year’s Skim USA Tour, which saw 107 participants heading to Vero from as far away as California and Mexico to show off their skimboarding skills.
Cheered on by dedicated fans, the competitors sprinted to the shoreline, threw down their boards and hit the waves – that was the ‘easy’ part. Next came a myriad of tricky maneuvers as they made their way back, each hoping to impress the judges on how hard the tricks were and how many times they were executed.
For the past three years, Stuart had been the first stop on the Skim USA Tour, but Chris Ellison, founder and CEO of Shore lb., said that this year he wanted to bring it to Vero Beach.
Local fans are familiar with skim jam tournaments, as Shore lb. has hosted a dozen of their own Mulligan’s Skim Jams each September.
“That’s the one that we cut our teeth on,” said Ellison, but, like everything else, last September’s tournament was canceled. The 14th annual Mulligan’s Skim Jam will take place Sept. 4, 2021.
“It’s sort of ironic because last year would have been the 13th year, so we feel like there was probably a good reason not to have number 13. We’re just a little superstitious I guess,” said Ellison.
Unlike the one-day September Skim Jams, where participants self-identify by skill level, the two-day tour classifications are categorized by age and sex groupings (from age 8 and under, to ages 40 to 99), as well as semi-pro and professional.
“Actually, the winner of the Senior Grand Master was a Vero Beach local, Robbie Rivas. The youngest in this competition was a 6-year-old from St. Petersburg,” said Ellison.
Mother Nature isn’t always cooperative, but she certainly was that weekend.
“Saturday the wind was on it a little bit, and the wave swell was a little too big and were breaking out too far, but everybody did the break very well and the ones that went to the finals on Sunday were rewarded very highly with the conditions,” said Ellison.
“The shape of the sand actually shifted between Saturday and Sunday, which created a little bit more of a slope for Sunday morning, which was perfect for skimboarding. It’s amazing how the beach can change every day. Sunday morning, for the pro finals, we had some of the most epic skim conditions for a contest that I’ve witnessed in many years. The wind turned offshore, and the swell was about perfect. Sunday afternoon the tide dropped out, so the waves got a little bit further out. They were harder to reach, but the wind stayed light, and the conditions were absolutely perfect basically all day long.”
Proceeds were earmarked for the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association. As a former lifeguard, Ellison knows how vital their role is, especially in a beach community such as ours.
“We just want to make sure that our lifeguards have all the lifesaving equipment they need in case they have to pull anyone out of the water,” said Ellison. Even with all the capable swimmers at their own events, they always have a lifeguard and paramedic on hand.
“We’re just thankful to have the support of our hometown Vero Beach. Our goal was to bring our skim tour family to our hometown, but we also wanted our hometown to meet our skim family,” said Ellison, adding that the reactions were all incredibly positive.
Shore lb. will also host the tour as it heads to Panama City April 17-18. The Skim USA Tour then goes to Virginia Beach in June, North Carolina’s Outer Banks in July and Dewey Beach, Del., in August.
For more information, visit shorelb.com or skim-usa.com.
Photos by Kaila Jones
