Sea Bright Skim Bash Attracts Over 100 Riders

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By Ryan Fennell
Sea Bright – Back in 2003 Felecia Stratton, owner of Jersey Shore Skim Camp, organized the first Sea Bright Skim Bash, which attracted approximately 15 riders to the beach that day.
This past weekend, in its ninth year, the Sea Bright Skim Bash boasted 110 participants including approximately a dozen Pro’s competing for a cash purse as a yearly stop on the Skim USA Pro/AM skimboarding tour.
“You can see the growth of not only the contest but also the sport itself.” Stratton said.
“This is a nice sized contest,” said Skim USA Board of Directors member Greg Krolczyk.
Krolczyk also owns SkimCity, a skimboarding retailer and the premier sponsor of the Sea Bright Skim Bash.
Several years ago, after the Skim Bash had grown in popularity, Stratton approached Krolczyk about sponsoring and organizing the event.
“The contest started to grow to the point where I needed somebody to organize it and SkimCity became the sponsor,” Stratton said.  “And then, three years ago Skim USA got involved and loved what we were doing in Sea Bright, so we are now part of the Skim USA Pro/Am tour.”
As a stop on the Skim USA tour, contestants in the Skim Bash compete for points that accumulate throughout the season, and the Pro’s that make the trip vie for a $2000 cash prize.
“Usually a local contest will attract 40 or 50 people at the most,” Kolczyk said.  “This is pretty nice.  It’s a bigger contest than it was last year.  It’s grown every year that we’ve been up here.”
Sea Bright also hosts a second Skim Bash each September (8th and 9th) that is also Skim USA sanctioned but does not award tour points.
The September event is smaller and more of a community contest according to Stratton.  The September Skim Bash is also a great way for Jersey Shore Skim Camp participants to get their feet wet in a skimboarding contest after learning the sport over the summer said Stratton.
Jersey Shore Skim Camp has locations in Sea Bright and Belmar with weekly camps that run from June 25 through August 30.  Participants range in age from seven through 18 years old.
“We teach the next generation of skim boarders how to do this,” Stratton said.