By Ryan Gallagher
SEA BRIGHT – It’s no wonder kids who grow up near the beach don’t give up on the pastimes they’ve loved since childhood (or “grom-hood,” as the formative years are dubbed by the surf community) – playing in the surf and sand is fun at any age.
One particular beach pastime, skimboarding – essentially surfing in very shallow water – combines a love for the beach, the ocean, the shore community and sports. For 20 years now, this relentless love has given Sea Bright a skimboarding contest that’s become more than just a gathering of groms: SkimBash is part of the professional circuit for New Jersey locals, East Coast skimboarders, and professionals worldwide.
Two decades in, this year’s skim competition will be held Sept. 7 and 8 on the municipal beach to the north of Donovan’s Reef.
“Logistically, it’s much easier after Labor Day. People can park,” explained Sea Bright local Felecia Stratton, owner of Jersey Shore Skim Camp, the event coordinator and liaison with Skim USA, the governing body behind the skim tour which sends judges, trophies, a podium and other infrastructure necessary to hold a skimboard competition.
“And, of course, it’s a good wave month. The conditions are usually good, and we’re hoping one of these hurricanes will help us out with swell,” Stratton said.
There is no charge to watch the action, but riders do pay an entrance fee. The SkimBash contest in Sea Bright will attract grandmasters, professionals, amateurs… and groms.
“It’s amazing to watch a division of 6-year-olds, and 50-plus-year-olds in the same contest. It attracts everyone,” she said.
Stratton’s skim camp helps prepare riders for the event and fund the contest. Premium sponsors like Zap Skimboards and Exile send prizes and donate toward the pro purse, which could reach $5,000, she said. Local sponsors include Lucky Dog Surf Shop, 2nd Jetty Restaurant, Billabong, Carlton T Blair Plumbing, Tommy’s Sea Bright and Hearthly Burger.
Shrewsbury local Melissa Stevenson is the contest director. “This is the last stop on the skim tour for the season,” she said. “We are honored because tour titles are decided at SkimBash which makes for some very exciting competition. The award winners are honored at a Skim USA sports banquet in November.”
Riders from all over the world will soon come to Sea Bright to prove their worth in the skimboarding realm. At this contest, groms will turn professional, legends will compete again, and current professionals will duke it out to secure placement on the Skim USA tour.
Not surprisingly, two of the best local contestants are Sean Stratton, 34, and Aidan Stevenson, 21, the sons of the two women who organize SkimBash each year.
“I will definitely be there as a competitor,” said Sean Stratton. “But also for setup and operations. I’ll call the police to get on a beach, drop off a trailer for the two-day event, and will be dealing with lifeguards and DPW, running out to get lunch, still working to square away sponsors.”
Sean has been crowned at past events, citing his old neighbor and friend as his biggest influence.
“My biggest rival was Drew Mesek who lives in California now and will have a new baby any day now,” he said. “He was the main competitor that would drive me to do everything in life that I did.”
Aidan Stevenson is part of the younger crop of professional skimboarders who are expected to perform at a high level during this year’s SkimBash.
“They tease (Aidan) and call him a local legend,” said Felecia Stratton. “He’s a tremendous skimboarder.”
Sisters Evelyn and Abigail Sarin are two to watch in the women’s division. Both attend Stratton’s camp. They placed third and fourth in a recent competition in Dewey, Delaware.
Past rider and grandmaster Brett Mahone is the contest’s emcee. “He won the first-ever SkimBash,” recalled Felecia Stratton.
“We’re proud of the contest,” she said. “It’s a great thing for Sea Bright. Residents come out and enjoy it and it put Sea Bright on the map for the skimboarding community.”
Forever friendships and community bonds are formed through the contest, as is a love of the sport that got its beginnings from lifeguards who had to stay on the beach to watch swimmers, according to Sean Stratton.
“My family benefitted from lifelong friends and close relationships” developed over skimboarding, said Melissa Stevenson. She said organizing the contest is her way of “giving back to the sport.” She said she hopes the sport will continue to grow and become recognized by the International Surfing Association, the same governing body that oversees surfing in the Olympics.”
Skimboarding contests, just like surfing or going to the beach on any summer day, are subject to the local weather conditions and swell production in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite that fact, skimboarders will work with the cards they’re dealt in order to show skills, advance along the Skim USA tour and achieve “professional” status.
“Even without waves, kids will throw their boards, spin, do tricks and do what they can to make the best of it,” said Felecia Stratton. “You never hear, ‘This sucks,’ or ‘The waves are bad.’ The vibes are good no matter what. And the contest is always fun and amazing.”
Skimboarding, like any sport, is a way for groms to learn respect, culture and etiquette and to make lasting relationships. In Felecia’s skim camp, she emphasizes these aspects along with learning and progressing in the sport.
“At skim camp, I hire campers when they turn 14,” she said. “When they get hired as an instructor, they already know the vibe, the culture, and they become the new role model for up-and-comers. Aidan was 5 or 6 when he started skim camp. Now he’s professional.”
Months before the first SkimBash was held in 2004, neighbors and members of the recently formed Sea Bright Recreation Committee knocked on Felecia Stratton’s door asking for her help. The only idea Stratton could muster was the activity that consumed her child’s life: skimboarding.
“I said, my son spends his entire non-sleeping, non-school day on the beach with a skimboard,” recalled Felecia.
“He jumps off the school bus and runs right across to the beach. And that’s how it started – just a couple kids together for a fun competition. We expected 10 or 12 kids, but more than 30 showed up,” she said of that first SkimBash. The contest and the sport have evolved over the years. However, the two women at the helm are working to grow its reach and impact while keeping the same core values and fun intact.
“The sport has evolved in every direction from the skill level of athletes, to a growth in athletes who will travel for contests, as well as the growth of this contest itself,” said Melissa Stevenson. “It has led to the sport becoming more formalized. With involvement from Skim USA, this tour, as far as I know, is the largest, most organized in the world. And SkimBash is the only contest I know that is run by two women.”
The resounding impact of this contest for the local community is twofold: Locals rise to lend a hand of support and those traveling to Sea Bright fall in love with the shore community.
“It’s all about the community, the friendships, and the family. Wherever you go out on the beach with a skimboard, you can waltz right in and be part of a group,” Melissa Stevenson said.
“We’re right on the cusp to be able to attract bigger name sponsors and riders,” but she still notices the same, friendly attitude that she’s always seen inside the skim community. “The riders are all skimming on the side after their heat. It seems like what surfing was in the ’70s. I don’t want to lose that.”
The article originally appeared in the August 29 – September 4, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
