Running and launching themselves head-first onto wet sand is not something most people do everyday.
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But 62-year-old Ron Aggs gets a buzz out of sliding along a slick of water on his head.
The Ulladulla Times journalist has taken his love of skimboarding to new heights and will attempt to create an Australian record for the longest distance headstand on a skimboard early next year.
Beachgoers may have seen Ron practicing at local beaches when the tide is just right.
An experienced instructor, Ron says skimming upright is pretty easy, but enjoys the added thrill of the headstand maneuver.
He has advised people not to try headstands without instruction.
“With just a couple of steps and good timing you can glide five metres or so, then build up to sprint speed gradually as you get more confident,” he said.
“The thrill is the acrobatics and the accelerated speed after sprinting.
“Seeing the sand a few inches away and the spray from the wake spreading out from the board upside down and back to front is exhilarating.”
Ron skims on beaches around the district and said anywhere with a stretch of flat sand at low tide was good.
“Or a high tide shore-dump if you want to get really acrobatic, or slide out to the wave then ride it back onto the sand.”
He will submit his record attempt to the Australian Book of Records run by John and Helen Taylor.
“Ron’s is a great story, very inspiring for anyone to think about, staying fit and and healthy and taking care of yourself no matter what your age,” Mr Taylor said.
The Australian Book of Records has agreed to the assessment methods to create the record, stipulating two independent witnesses to measure the distance.
Ron learnt to ride skimboards as a teenager and returned to the sport in his late 20s to stay fit.
“I taught myself to headstand one afternoon more than 30 years ago, bored with going flat out for as far as possible in a straight line,” he said.
“I must have done a thousand headstands over more than 20 years and never received more than a few sand burns or a bump on the knee or shoulder.”
Ron said the activity was great for cardiovascular and muscle fitness.
”I was a rugby winger and love the feeling of sprinting as fast as I still can over short distances,” he added.
Ron wants to stay active and as mentally capable as possible for as long as possible to communicate and raise his 13-year-old twins Angela and Elliott.
