STATS
Name: Skylar Wilson
Nickname: Sky
Age: 19
Weight: 110 lbs.
Stance: Regular
Hometown: Rehoboth Beach
Home Break: Gordon’s Pond
Board: Grape
Sponsors: Dewey Beach Surf Shop and Skim City |
Skimboarding has been around for decades. With growth and change, this year the sport gave full recognition to women with their first female pro division.
Women riders are part of the progression of the sport and are taking full charge at the waves.
Ultimately, power, skill and style define women’s skimboarding and Skylar Wilson. She is one of the girls leading the next generation of women’s skimboarding in Delaware.
Wilson is taking it into her hands to pass along the stoke and passion that bonds every skimboarder to the unique experience.
When did you start skimboarding, and how did you get into it? About 6 or 7 years ago, some kids had some skimboards on my beach. I tried it once and loved it instantly.
How did things go for you at the EC Skimboarding Championships? Not too badly. Our division is getting more and more competitive every year, which is incredible. It’s really tough to get an easy heat at this point, so to make it to the finals was awesome. I got fourth in the contest and first overall in points for the East Coast Skim Tour 2010.
This year makes the first women’s pro division. Are you going to go pro next year? I would love to, but funding a trip to California or Florida would be tough, so I’m not sure if it’ll happen any time soon.
Who are your biggest influences? There are so many. Locally, definitely Elliot MacGuire, Jill Frederick, Matt Adams, Dan McDonald, Blair Cherico, Dave Bracht, Pete Green, Donny Hallowell and John Peacock. My parents and brother always cheer me on which keeps me going, too. All the girls at Sea Legs are so energetic and stoked on skimming, and I think they really remind me of why I enjoy the sport as much as I do. Outside of Delaware, though, I’d have to say watching Paulo Prietto, Grady Archbold, Morgan Just and Brad Domke skim really pushes me to want to get better.
Where would you like to see woman skimboarding in the next few years?
I’d like to see us skimming as well as the boys. It can be done, and the girls that I compete with today definitely have the potential to get there. We can get out to the big waves the guys are riding. We just have to run faster.
Are girls catching up to the guys in terms of technical tricks? To a degree. At this last contest there weren’t great waves so a lot of the girls were forced to do tech. I know Brittany Osburn was throwing three shuvs and Siobhan was doing backside bigspins, so we’re definitely getting there. At the same time, it’s hard to keep up because guys like Dan McDonald and Domke are constantly just making up tricks while riding the wave. I guess seeing that is what pushes us to get better though.
What makes a good skim wave? It’s tough to describe. My ideal wave is a really clean frontside liner that is a little further out but still completely reachable. Right after it rains, the waves get so glassy. Some of my favorite sessions have been before or after a storm.
Do you have any other creative outlets you enjoy doing? I do a lot of big, layered stencils in my garage, which keeps me busy when there aren’t any waves. I also love photography and am going to school for filmmaking.
Seen some pictures of you downhill skateboarding. Is that something you do a lot? Because of traffic, we don’t go too often, but I do love to longboard at the [Cape] state park. I’m more into regular skateboarding, though. I stopped for a few years but got back into it this summer.
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| Sea Legs is a free weekly skim clinic for girls hosted by Jill Frederick and Sklylar Wilson. |
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Who are Sea Legs Skim Girls? Where did the name originate? Sea Legs is a free weekly skim clinic for girls hosted by my good friend Jill Frederick and myself. We’re finished for this summer, but we plan to run it again next summer. Jill and I were both instructors at Reliance Skim School, which was started by Pete Green, but it got too big so he had to end it. Jill and I still wanted a place where girls could go and skim and hang out with their friends, so we met up with Pete and he helped us out a ton with setting it up. The name kind of came from the song, “Sea Legs,” by The Shins. I always thought that was so cool, and Jill liked it, so we went with it.
Where are you located? We hold Sea Legs at Deauville Beach in Rehoboth. It’s right on the way to Gordons Pond, on the bend in the road. We usually go to the far end of the parking lot so we’re out of the way.
Is there an age restriction? Yes, the girls have to be at least six, but you can’t be too old. Everyone from 10 year olds to college grads is welcome. As long as you’re not a boy!
What’s the average size of the clinics? We usually have at least seven or eight girls, but some days, 13 or 14 would come, so it was pretty amazing. Jill and I never expected it to take off the way it did. There were a few regulars, like the Murphy girls, who came almost every single time.
Do you get a lot of feedback from the people that do the clinics?The girls seem to have a really good time. We try to keep it light and less like an instructional and more like a free skim with some pointers thrown in here and there. We haven’t heard anything negative about it so far, so that’s definitely a good thing. When we asked the girls if they were interested in T-shirts and stickers, they all got super excited, and I thought that really spoke to how much they were enjoying it.
What are some of the goals for Sea Legs Skim Girls? Will you be around next summer? We’re continuing Sea Legs next summer for sure. It’s just as much fun for us as it is for the girls. We’re trying to get enough donations to be able to make T-shirts and stickers, which will be tough, but it would be great if we made it happen.
What would be a perfect day for you? Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, then a beautiful day at Gordons Pond, skimming super-glassy long liners with Elliot MacGuire, who is the best skim buddy by far, followed by a filet mignon for dinner.
What has been one of your best skim sessions this summer? One day was very similar to the perfect day I just described, where Elliot and I had Gordons all to ourselves with flawless liners. Unfortunately, it was cut short by a huge storm.
Your worst wipeout? There have been too many to count. Ninety percent of the time when you fall at Gordons, you fall into a rock pit, so it most likely happened there.
Your favorite place to skim? Gordons or Naval Jetty. Tower Road was also really fun this year for camp. We lucked out.
What are your plans for the winter? Going up to Boston for my sophomore year at Emerson College to make some movies. I plan on going out to Park City [Utah] for two weeks to snowboard as well.
Do you Facebook, and do you have a page for Sea Legs Skim Girls? Yes, we do have a Facebook group. Just search
Sea Legs Skim Girls. Add us!
Thanks Skylar for the interview. You can contact Skylar through her Facebook page, or find her at Dewey Beach Surf Shop, where she is one of their skim camp counselors. Please make donations to Sea Legs Skim Girls so they can get some T-shirts and stickers made for the free clinics.
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