Surf Cat

LAGUNA BEACH — Local skimboarders have long felt their sport was overshadowed by surfing.

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Laguna Beach City Council did what it could to remedy the situation, voting unanimously to declare Laguna Beach the Skimboard Capital of the World.

Beyond providing a lift for the sport, the proclamation could boost the city’s tourism and economy, supporters said.

“We are a fringe sport, practiced down out of sight on the slopes of the beach, and unless you happen to be at the beach, you might not even know about it,” said Charles “Tex” Haines, president and co-founder of Victoria Skimboards, who accepted the proclamation.

Victoria Skimboards hosted its first skimboarding contest in Laguna Beach in 1977, at Victoria Beach, and has hosted one annually ever since.

“We have only just barely survived the recession,” Haines said. “So this publicity will go a long way to revive our sport, and reaffirm the importance of skimboarding to Laguna Beach’s history.”

Mayor Toni Iseman included the accomplishments of Victoria Skimboards in the proclamation and congratulated the Victoria Skimboards’ World Skimboarding Championships, also known as “the Vic,” for attracting local, national and international skimboarders to Laguna Beach every year.

The idea for the proclamation was brought by Councilman Rob Zur Schmiede as a way to recognize the sport that was born decades ago on some of the town’s steep, sandy beaches and shorebreak.

“This proclamation recognizes and celebrates that the sport started here,” he said. “Lots of things have come out of Laguna and have grown larger. This is an affirmation of the culture.”

For Haines, who in 1976 started making boards in his parents’ garage and now operates Victoria Skimboards in Laguna Canyon, the recognition was long overdue.

While Laguna Beach has been recognized as the mecca of skimboarding for years by the sport’s national and international communities, the city’s official acknowledgement adds another title to a resort destination already recognized for its art community and unique beaches and coves and surrounding canyons and wilderness.

Officials of the sport say the recognition could mean more competitive events for Laguna, drawing even more skimboarders to the area.

Meanwhile, local business leaders say recognition of Laguna as the Skimboard Capital of the World could mean more tourism and thus increased business for local merchants and restaurants.

‘The Vic’: 41 years old and still going strong

In 1977, Haines held the first skimboard contest for locals at Victoria Beach. In 1982, he moved it to Aliso Beach where it has been held since.

On Aug. 19-20, Haines held the 41st annual World Championship of Skimboarding. The event drew 140 skimboarders from around the world, but it was Laguna Beach skimmers who dominated professional and amateur categories.

Victoria Skimboards partnered with Elev8 Industries, a clothing manufacturer, to raise funds at the event for three organizations that work with local at-risk youth: Court Appointed Special Advocates of OC, The Child Abuse Prevention Center, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Orange County.

“A lot of good connections were made,” Haines said. “Elev8 did exactly as they intended — they lifted all our hearts, and the feelings at this year’s contest were the warmest ever.”

A boon for business

Ken Fischbeck, president of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce board, said his group will discuss what the city’s proclamation could mean at its upcoming meeting.

“Personally, I think it’s a great thing for the city,” Fischbeck said, adding he grew up skimming on the local beaches. “When I go to the beach, I watch those guys doing it. We didn’t do what they do now when I was a kid. Those guys are unbelievable.”

Fischbeck said the city’s new title adds another dimension to the many things Laguna is already known for and might make it an even bigger tourist destination.

“It could be really good for our merchants,” he said.

Don’t call it surfing

Skimboarding started in Laguna as early as the 1930s. But the sport has been confused with surfing all along, Haines said.

In 1987, the cover of Sports Illustrated showed skimmer Tom Trager, now a Laguna Beach Lifeguard captain, riding a wave in his first professional contest. The magazine headline said “Surf’s Up,” drawing outrage and criticism from the skimboard community for misidentifying Trager as a surfer. The magazine later published a correction.

Unlike surfing, skimboarders catch their waves from shore as they race into the shorebreak. There, they drop their board and slide to ride and navigate the shorebreak.

Skimboarding, unlike surfing, needs steep sandy slopes and a shorebreak. Side waves and a wedge help create ideal conditions for skimming.

When Haines began shaping boards in 1977, they were made from wood. In 1980, board makers started using foam, creating larger, but lighter, boards and enabling skimmers to glide farther into the ocean and catch larger waves.

“Now, we see unbelievable long rides, ” Haines said.

“We are what surfing is trying to be,” he said. “We are roots, finless surfers, riding a niche that has not yet been saturated with enthusiasts.”