Sand skiing

Sand skiing (occasionally sand-skiing) is a sport and form of skiing in which the skier rides down a sand dune or strides across a beach on skis. It is practised in many sandy areas, including Sossusvlei, Namibia and Peru,[1] along with other boardsports such as sandboarding. Sand skiing equipment includes a pair of skis with a laminate base and wax that needs to be applied to reduce friction from the sand.[2] An International Sandboarding and Sandski Association (InterSands) was founded in 2014 at St. Gallen, Switzerland.[3]

Skiing in the Sahara

Henrik May, a German living in Namibia for some 10 years, set a Guinness World Record in speed sand-skiing on 6 June 2010. He reached a speed of 92.12 km/h.[4][5]

Competitions over the years have included:

• International Sand Ski Tournament in Florida held from 1949 to 1951[6]
• Sandblast held in Prince George, British Columbia annually from 1971 to 2003[7]
• World Sand Skiing Championships held at Redondo Beach, CA[8]
• Nevada Sand Mountain GS Championship[9]
• international European championships in sand skiing held regularly on Monte Kaolino since 2007
• Freestyle SandSnow was first held in 2018

In 2018, Fayoum University held a sand skiing event in Fayoum with students from around Egypt joining in on the fun.[10]