A new adventure sport called skimboarding is taking over the shores of Juhu. An experienced city-based athlete gives us a ride of the new wave
Participant Tulika Naag and (right) Sameer Ansari skimboard. PICS COURTESY/SAMEER ANSARI; Tulika naag
This month, a group of youngsters has been patiently studying periodic tidal movement on Juhu Beach. They’re not meteorology geeks with notepads in hand; far from it actually. In beach shorts and swimwear, perched on their specialised surf boards, these ‘skimboarders’ are waiting for the right opportunity to strike. If you catch these cool kids at the right time, you’ll see them run, drop, and slide on the shallow waters in style.
Skimboarding, touted as the easier, safer version of surfing, is said to have been born in the 1920s, when lifeguards in California built makeshift flat boards to glide over shallow waters in their free time. International Skateboard Certification Programme-certified Sameer Ansari first caught the wave closer to home. “I first skimboarded in Goa years ago. I was at a skateboarding event when I heard that a new sport was causing quite the buzz locally. It was a simple mix of surfing and skateboarding. I’ve been skimboarding in Mumbai, Goa and Kerala ever since,” he recalls.
A moment from last Sunday’s slacklining session
After an inaugural session last Sunday, Ansari plans to host weekly camps to slowly build a community of skimboarders in Mumbai. Assisted by a team of four experienced skimboarders, participants will learn to ace the balancing act on boards provided by the team. “People are wary of skateboarding because they fear they’ll fall and hurt themselves. On the beach, the soft sand gives them the freedom to fall, roll, and slide,” he points out. A skimboard, we learn, is considerably lighter than a surfboard, making it ideal for beginners.
It takes a village to raise a child, they say. Ansari’s brainchild is in the safe hands of other city-based adventure sport groups who are pulling all strings to make the dream come true. A community promoting slacklining (an act involving balancing on a thick webbing stretched across two points above the ground) will set up a slackline on the beach this Sunday. Govandi-based Ansari, who grew up learning the Brazilian martial art form, Capoeira at the Lok Seva Sangam NGO in his neighbourhood, will set up a crash course for absolute beginners.
Participants run, drop, and slide on Juhu Beach. PICs COURTESY/HRITIK SHAH
Learners at Ansari’s early morning beach sessions might find company in the many beach clean-up volunteers that descend upon the shores every weekend, we nudge him. “When I proposed the idea, the biggest concern was the trash problem. The last thing you want is to trip and land on garbage. We have marked out stretches that are relatively clear, to ensure smooth sessions. But you can never be too sure. A plastic bag on the skimboarding path feels like a speedbreaker on an express highway,” he admits.
Sameer Ansari
While the sport is quickly gaining speed among the city’s large skateboarding community, you don’t have to be a skater, a swimmer, or a surfer, to give skimboarding a chance, Ansari assures us. “Balance comes with practice, and anyone can learn it. Even if you falter, you can easily steady yourself. Unlike surfing, where you’re always in deep waters, here we wait for the wave to safely from the shore. A thin surface of water above ground is all that we dabble in,” he explains. We know more than a few roads in this city that might be cut out for skimboarding.
ON September 28; 8 am to 10 am (skimboarding lessons), 4 pm onwards (slacklining and capoeira)
AT Juhu Beach (exact location revealed on registration)
CALL 8689833051 (for queries and pricing)
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