Skimboarding, also known as skimming, is generally described as a beach recreation activity and also a discipline of surfing. Those who ride skimboards are referred to as skimboarders or skimmers.

While popular in various beach locations around the world today, skimboarding is said to have originated in the 1920s when lifeguards “skimmed” across the beach on pieces of wood. During the 70s, skimboarding moved from sandy beaches to the sparkling waves. Even though skimboarding grew in popularity during the 80s, it was never as mainstream as surfing or skating.

The technicality of skimboarding subscribes mostly to the principle of hydroplaning. Skimboards are built smaller and thinner than surfboards because they don't need as much buoyancy. Skimboards come in various sizes including oval, circular, and teardrop. Composition of the skimboard incorporates laminated wood or polystyrene foam and an outer casing of varying plastic. Once again, because the skimboard is not required to be extremely buoyant, it is rather stiff and fairly solid. Skimboards are rarely thicker than 2.5 centimeters. Well-crafted skimboards typically have some degree of nose lift, possibly a rocker, and a rubberized surface for ultimate traction.

Skimboards can be ridden in two basic ways. The first is by moving over a thin layer of water on wet sand at the edge of the ocean. This ride is sometimes referred to as sand skimming or flatland skimming. The second way a skimboard can be ridden is skimming from the beach right into an incoming wave. This allows skimmers to throw water off of the incoming shorebreak, ride the wave, and sometimes catch air. This ride can sometimes be called wave skimming or wave riding.