http://thestillwaterproject.com/blog/

Utah flatland contest organizer, Mike Gardner, recently petitioned to have the St. George skim competition to be part of the SKIM USA Tour. We had the opportunity to ask Mike some questions about the concept.

Question: How long has the Utah contest been running for?
Answer: I’m not sure the exact year, but I think it was 1995 when the City of St. George approached me to help organize the first annual Virgin River Classic. The Parks and Rec Director was from Hawaii and familiar with surf competitions and thought it would be cool to hold something similar with skimboarding here in St. George.

Q. How has the turnout been for the past Utah competitions?
A. I think the most competitors we have ever had was around 75. The past couple years we have only had around 40. Every year there are a few hundred spectators that come out to the event.

Q. Do you think the world is ready for a flatland tour?
A. Sacramento, BC and St. George already have great contests established. I think that is a great base for putting together a tour, we just need to get everyone on the same page as far a judging is concerned. Judging has been the biggest pain for the contests here in St. George.

Q. Have you contacted SkimUSA yet?
A. I have spoken with Harry Wilson who started SkimUSA and also Greg at SkimCity who is one of the directors. They are both very positive about a flatland division of SkimUSA.

Q. If so, have you gotten a response from SkimUSA yet?
A. I just submitted our petition and goals to SkimUSA this week. I have not had a response yet.

I don’t expect things to happen all at once. My brothers and I started the skim scene in St. George in 1988 when we moved here from Sacramento. That’s 22 years. And finally it is starting to hold its own in this little corner of Utah. Flatland skimboarding doesn’t have the sex appeal of other board sports like surfing, skating, wakeboarding, snowboarding or even ocean skimming because flatlanders are only propelled by their own energy and creativity. We don’t have gravity, waves, wheels or an outboard motor to get us from here to there, but something’s cool about it. I’m impressed with where the kids are taking it these days with all the ramps and rails and I think it will only continue to progress.

I talked to a skimkid out in Oklahoma a couple weeks ago about what is happening out there and it’s like St. George was 20 years ago. I’m sure there are other infant flatland spots around that could use some help getting the sport off the ground. And like they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. More skimboards and skim stuff will be sold, more kids will enter the contests and more opportunities will be given to those who ride flatland. As the sport becomes more legitimate and more continuity is brought to the contests, the sport will grow and everyone will profit.

Q. Since Skim USA is mainly East Coast Based and a majority of the Flatland contests are based on the West Coast (BC, Washington state, Sacramento and Utah kinda) why did you choose to Skim USA instead of the United Skim Tour?
A. Basically I called Greg at SkimCity first. Chan Nay, Kevin Watt and I were
going to try and create our own flatland association and so I called Greg to get his advice. I have dealt with Greg in the past and like his “no bull” attitude. He spent about an hour with me on the phone which was way cool. Toward the end of our conversation he suggested that we think about the possibility of becoming a flatland division of Skim USA.

Why re-invent the wheel? So we decided to move forward and see if we can make the union work.

SkimUSA, the United Skim Tour and us flatlanders have the same goals: uniformity in judging, increased exposure and awareness for the sport, unity between contest organizers, corporate sponsorships, incentive for the riders in cash prizes, etc. One thing that is attractive to me about SkimUSA is that they are a non-profit with an emphasis on providing a positive and empowering environment for the youth.

If Skim USA does take on flatland contests what do you think this will do for the flatland skim industry and scene?
My hope is that it will add a little fuel to the fire. I interviewed Tex from Victoria a few years back for the skim video *Drip* and he was “stoked that there was skimboarding in Utah”.

Why wouldn’t he be? It’s a brand new market. Anyone involved in skimboarding should be all for opening up this untapped flatland territory.

Updates on this story will be posted at: twitter.com/flatlandskim

Bryce Casselman and Kyle Lynch have been creating amazing images of northwest skimmers for quite some time. In the recent issue of Forever Skim Magazine Lynch had a shot of Isaac Thomas and Casselman had a photo spread.

Check out the full issue of FSM for more photos:
foreverskimthemag.com

Washington State has the wide open Pacific Ocean with plenty of wave and flatland options. Inland there is the Puget Sound that provides flatland skim for days. As the tide fluctuates new perfect tide pools appear.

Washington thousands of places to skim. These are some of the more popular locations to skim.

LOCATIONS

View Skim spotsCONTENT PROVIDED BY SKIMBOARDCULTURE.com

Links:
www.skimboardculture.com
www.dbskimboards.com
www.lsskim.com/
www.jackdskimboards.com/
www.skimnorthwest.com

Photos:

BC Rider Lynch made the trip down to the DB Pro/AM in Dash Point, Washington.

Isaac Thomas at the DB Pro/AM at Dash Point.

Matt McDonald in Bellingham Bay

Isaac Thomas and Bryce Hermanson filming at Bellingham Bay

The summer atmosphere in Bellingham.

MORE PHOTO GALLERIES:
Locust Beach
DB Pro/AM
LakeSide Skim
DB Photos
Howarth Park

We had the opportunity to interview Sactown skimmer and Kayotics rider Matt Matteucci.

Read on…

What’s your name?
Matt Matteucci, (Ma-2-Chi) sorry I had to put that, no one can pronounce it right.

Where are you from?
Sacto, Ca

How old are you?
22 yrs of age

How long have you been skimming?
4 years

Where do you skim normally?
The Dice is the stompin grounds.

Who do you skim with?
The Sac crew (too many names to mention, but you know who you are)

Who are some of the best skimboarders in your local area?
Umm, Brent Lippincott, Tim Pepper, Matt Head, Peter Hodgins, Mike Louie (aka Skim Lou aka Ninja lou), Ryan Newbie, Kyle Guenza, Noah Lane, Matt Lozano, Lon Porteous, Mark Robinson.

Where have you traveled to skimboard?
Washington, and Utah

Where do you want to travel to skim?
Canada for sure, and Europe, Japan, Australia, where ever i’m down.

What board(s) do you ride?
Kayotics

Do you compete?
I try to

If so, what competitions have you competed in?
Skimfest, Jib Jam, Virgin River Classic, Dashpoint comp.

And what are some of your contest highlights?
nothing really, got 3rd in jib jam behind Brent and Matt Head, made it to the finals at the Dashpoint comp 2008.

Do you have any sponsors? What companies?
Yeah, Kayotics, Cloud 9, Rockstar, Ground Zero Boardshop.

What other board sports do you partake in?
Just Skateboarding

What skimboarding goals do you have?
try to be consistant in comps, learn new tricks, and just have fun and travel.

Where do you see the skimboarding going in the future?
thats a good question, i’ve only been in the game for a few years, and already it has grown a lot every year so i dont know, hopefully in the right direction.

What riders influenced your skimboarding?
Got to say Matt Head, Minns …but, mostly Brent Lippincott and Peter Hodgins cause they were the first people i started riding with, and their styles are so sick, and they are great to ride with, always a good time between the mom jokes, and the raptor slides.

What riders are pushing the sport right now?
Minns, Matt Head, Isaac, Newbie, Lynch, i dont know everyone seems to be pushing shit.

If you were stranded on a desert island that already has a plentiful resource of skimboards what three things would you bring?
Beer, Flatbox, and a abundant supply of Beach Hut Deli sandwhichs.

What is the best advice you can to a skim grom trying to get recognized?
Just skim for fun and shit will happen.

What is the skim scene like in Sacramento?
Gnar, Gnar, we have probably the worst skim compared to everyone else, but we have a lot of good riders here and a lot of skim history in Sac. I think the Sac scene is way different from any other skim scene.

Last words? Shoot outs?
Everyone I skim with, the Sac crew…Lon thanks for everything, Minns and the Kayotics crew always a good time, and all my sponsors.