Tour skimming to a halt

It’s like a surfing competition, only faster and you’re closer to the action.

This weekend, some of the world’s best skimboarders will slide into Newport for the last stop on the United Skim Tour, a five-month competition created by skimboard companies to promote the sport.

Skimboarding is like surfing, except closer to the shore and faster, tour organizer Steve Taylor said.

“Skimmers” use smaller, thinner boards and charge into the shallow shore breaks, throwing down their boards and skimming across the water like a stone skips on a lake. The surfing aspect comes in because they skim right at the smaller waves and turn 180 degrees and ride back into the sand, turning, twisting and catching air the entire way.

“It’s right in your face, quick-paced and really exciting,” Taylor said. “It always looks like someone’s going to kill themselves running straight into the waves.”

Unlike a surfing competition, in which the competitors may line up hundreds of feet off the shore waiting for just the right wave, these guys start at your feet and end there too, in between doing acrobatics on the waves they’re riding.

“It’s like watching the Lakers play at court-side seats,” said three-time world tour champion Paulo Prietto, 25. “The contests are the centerpiece to getting the spectators to come out.”

This weekend’s stop marks the end of the 2008 tour, which took skimmers to competitions in Mexico, Florida and North Carolina. It may not be a bad spot for a swan song. Lifeguards said a southern swell may bring in large surf to the area.

The United Skim Tour is the only international skimboard tour, officials said. Prietto said they’ve heard from organizations in France and Chile that would like to get involved.

“The contest has really helped spread the word and keep the sport alive,” Prietto said.

About 40 professional skimboarders will compete with up to 80 amateurs also taking their turns, Taylor said.

“I’m just trying to stay relaxed and focused, not distracted, and skim the way I know how to skim,” Prietto said.

The United Skim Tour is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Balboa Pier. The competition is expected to conclude by 2:30 p.m. both days, with a brief award ceremony and $10,000 purse being awarded to the top finishers Sunday afternoon.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.