Dewey Beach to host skimboarding champs

• Zap Amateur World Championships of Skimboarding runs Saturday, Aug. 13-Sunday, Aug. 14
• Event is held at Bellevue Street and the beach, Dewey Beach
• Starts at 9 a.m. both days

Carter Hill has a simple mantra when it comes to skimboarding: Why wait to jump in the water?

"It's hard for me to be patient," the 16-year-old said Monday moments before running toward the surf along Delaware Seashore State Park.

He slid onto his skimboard and propelled himself above the waves in a barrel roll. That trick, a full-on back flip while holding onto the skimboard, took a while to get down, Hill said.

A year? Nope. A month? Nah.

"Two weeks," he said.

Hill's flips and rolls will be on display with hundreds of other skimboarders this weekend at the 35th annual Zap Amateur World Championship of Skimboarding in Dewey Beach.

Part of the Summer Vibes Festival, which began Thursday, the skimboarding championships take place on Saturday and Sunday. Held on Bellevue Street, Dewey Beach, competitions begin at 9 a.m. each day. Festival-goers will also be able to see art installations, painting, music and paddleboarding throughout the weekend as well.

"It’s the second-longest running skimboarding competition in the world," said local skimboarder Jason Wilson, owner of Alley-Oop Skim Inc. and coordinator of the competitions.

Riders hail from France and Costa Rica, he said, as well as Alabama, Florida and right here in Delaware.

"We have some of the best shore break here in southern Delaware."

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So, why Delaware? It has to do with geography, Wilson explained.

Delaware's waters go from shallow to deep abruptly, he said, which makes the waves surge. But the state's steep shoreline breaks the fall smoothly, so waves crash close to the shore, but in a gentle slope.

"Here in southern Delaware that deep water on the shore makes for a great break on the beach," Wilson said. "While Delaware doesn’t get as big of waves as California or Hawaii, what people like about it is the shape and angle."

Thirteen-year-old Sydney Pizza intently scours the shoreline, searching for a wave every day. She spends summers in Delaware, but lives in Kensington, Maryland. Though Pizza is only 13, she's a skimboarding veteran, skimming since she was only 5 years old. She started competing at age 8.

"I like it because it's fun. I'm on the board all day," she said one morning at Gordon's Pond in Rehoboth Beach, a favorite skimming spot.

Skimboarding is like surfing, but the board is shorter, thinner and people are without fins or a leash to keep the board from washing away. Skimmers use the board as a skateboard, focusing on foot placement and weight distribution for balance.

"It's pretty much your board shorts your bikini and you and your board," Wilson said.

The goal is glide on the waves in shallow water and execute tricks or do more tricks on "flatland", which involves performing moves on the sand outside of breaking waves.

Pizza starts her mornings by reading the tide report, so she knows what she is getting into. Skimboarders have to be familiar with how the water breaks and how to move their bodies since there is a risk of lower-extremity fractures, like leg of ankle injuries, in shallow water.

"Everybody who does high-level skimboarding has to be flexible and resilient," Wilson said.

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Stretching is key for Pizza. Before going to the water, she flexes her feet and extends her legs to feel a deep stretch in her calf muscles and quads.

The eighth grader participates in skimboarding camps over the summer with Wilson at Alley-Oop and even gets a chance to train with pros. Her mom Wendy Caputo said that she has skimmed in Florida, the Carolinas and the Bahamas. She has fellow skimboarding friends around the country, she added.

Caputo said Pizza's board, which has a Wizard of Oz quote painted on it ("Some people without brains do a awful lot of talking") travels everywhere with them.

"She's an old soul," Caputo said.

After stretching, Pizza has a ritual before getting into the water. She gets her board wet, then slowly gets used to the water temperature herself. Then she scouts out waves.

Hill, on the other hand, just jumps in the water. He started skimboarding young, too, at around age 8 after his uncle gifted him a board. He said he doesn't remember his first wave, but fell in love with the sport.

"You are really free," Hill said.

Jen Rini can be reached at (302) 324-2386 or jrini@delawareonline.com. Follow @JenRini on Twitter.

Parking for skimboarding championship

Parking is limited on Bellevue Street. The streets to the north and south (New Orleans and Dagsworthy) offer spots and metered parking options.

Competition organizers urge festival-goers to consider the Jolly Trolley or DART Bus transportation during Summer Vibes Fest.

Photos from the Zap Amateur World Championship of Skimboarding in 2014: