Sydney Pizza still remembers the first time she rode a wave longer than a few seconds. She turned around, and there was Lucas McCoy, fists pumping in the air.
“Most of my memorable firsts are with Lucas,” she says. “First longer wave ride, first tricks – he was always there.”
In Dewey Beach’s tight-knit skimboarding community, moments like these aren’t rare. They’re the currency that bonds generations of riders, and as Sydney and Lucas show, they’re what keep this sun-soaked, saltwater family going strong.
At sunrise in Dewey Beach, the sand hums with quiet energy. Skimboards slash across thin sheets of tidewater as locals gather to watch the morning’s first rides. Somewhere among the kids practicing their drop-ins and 360 shuv-its, you’ll find Pizza and McCoy – two of the sport’s brightest ambassadors in a town considered its epicenter, bonded by years of friendship, mentorship, and a shared love for the place that shaped them.
This weekend (Aug. 8 to 10, starting at 9 a.m.) the skimboarding world will converge at Dewey’s McKinley Street for the Zap Pro/Am World Championships of Skimboarding, one of the country’s premier competitions, featuring a wide mix of top pros, rising stars, talented amateurs, and just-learning 8-year-olds. The event is helmed by skimming HQ Alley Oop, and McCoy and Pizza will figure prominently.
For Pizza, skimming isn’t just a sport – it’s home.
“My mom grew up coming here to Dewey Beach every summer,” she says. “She never tried it herself, but she was always around it.”
Sydney was 6 when she first stepped on a skimboard and was later coached by many of the sport’s local legends through an Alley Oop youth camp.
“From the second I saw it, I fell in love,” she says.
One of her earliest teachers was McCoy.
“He was a counselor when I was a camper,” she says. “I’m 10 years younger than him, so he and his younger brother Sam were like big brothers. Most of my memorable firsts are with Lucas – my first longer wave ride, my first tricks. You don’t forget moments like that.”
Even today, as Pizza trains and competes professionally, Lucas remains a mentor and a friend.
“He’s always been one of my biggest cheerleaders,” she says.
McCoy knew talent and passion when he saw it.
“Sydney was a little 5-year-old girl with a bow in her hair and bangs covering her eyebrows,” he says, laughing. “Since day one, she had this sense of maturity. She just kept showing up week after week, and soon she was better friends with the counselors than any other kid at camp.”
Now 31, Lucas sees Sydney as a pillar of the next generation.
“She’s probably done more for the girls’ skimming community than anyone else I can think of,” he says. “You see her come out of a heat and there’s 15 little girls hugging her. She’s an absolute rock star.”
Their bond exemplifies what skimboarding in Dewey Beach is all about – a tight-knit community where skills and knowledge are passed down like heirlooms.
“It’s like no other sport,” Pizza says. “My best friends – my lifers – are the ones I skimmed with growing up, and now we teach together. It’s more than just a camp counselor relationship; it’s family.”
McCoy agrees.
“You see generations of skimmers out there: fortysomethings, thirtysomethings, teenagers, little groms. Everyone knows each other. It’s a hard thing to replicate in other beach towns.”
Today, they’re both professional skimboarders and fixtures in Dewey’s skim scene, but their dynamic remains rooted in those early years of mentorship and quiet support. Even now, as Sydney preps for major competitions, Lucas’ encouragement continues to mean the world.
“I saw him just the other day,” she says. “He told me, ‘Hey, you’ve been killing it. Just do your thing.’ That continued love and support has always been there.”
Every summer, Dewey transforms into the global capital of skimboarding for one electric weekend. The Pro/Am, a partnership with Skim USA, draws elite riders from Brazil, Mexico, California, Florida – even farther – to a tiny sliver of Delaware’s coastline.
“You’ll have the top 20 men and top 10 women in the world coming here to compete,” Pizza says. “It’s amazing to see the little kids in our skim camps falling in love with the sport, watching the pros right here on their home beach.”
Now in its 43rd year, the Zap Pro/Am is the longest-running professional skimboarding contest in the world. Its longevity speaks to Dewey’s unique place in skim culture – a community rooted in local legends and generational bonds, but with a global reach.
Alley Oop founder Jason Wilson told The Cape Current, “This contest isn’t just for the pros. It’s for the kids, the amateurs, the families – everyone who comes to the beach that weekend.”
The event includes divisions for beginners and amateurs alongside the world tour heats, creating an atmosphere that’s both world-class competition and local beach carnival.
For McCoy – who helps run the contest, judges the semi-pro division, and still competes – the event is about more than rankings or prize money (although the 10-year pro is currently ranked 12th in the world; Pizza is ranked third on the women’s circuit).
“These events are what got me hooked as a kid,” he says. “To see that level of skimming right in front of your face is incredible. And now, getting to coach younger kids and see them progress each year – that’s what keeps me coming back.”
Beyond the heats, the weekend is a beachside festival: live DJ sets, gear giveaways, and product demos from brands like Zap Skimboards, Alley Oop, and Skim USA.
For first-time spectators, the spectacle is eye-opening.
“People see skimboarding all the time with wooden boards in the shore break,” McCoy says. “But they’ve never seen a pro ride a wave all the way out, spin, land a trick, and come back in. It’s right there in front of you – not a hundred yards out like surfing.”
This year’s contest promises the same blend of athleticism, community, and local flavor that has defined it for four decades. And for Pizza and McCoy, it’s another chance to do what they’ve always done: ride, teach, and cheer each other on.
Their bond is part of what makes Dewey Beach’s skimboarding scene so special – a place where friendships form in the shore break and carry riders through every wave, wipeout, and win.
“There’s rivalries when you’re in a heat,” Pizza says. “But at the end of the day, you’re skimming with your best friends. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
LOCAL FAVES WITH SYDNEY & LUCAS
What’s your go-to skim spot when you’re home?
Lucas: West St. in Dewey Beach; it’s where my parents live, and where I grew up skimming.
Sydney: Conquest Road Beach in the Delaware Seashore State Park is really fun.
Where do you grab breakfast before a session?
Lucas: Sunrise Restaurant all day.
Sydney: Playa Bowls for an acai bowl.
What’s your favorite local spot to eat?
Lucas: Rehoboth Ale House on The Forgotten Mile.
Sydney: Sunrise Restaurant for lunch for a huge omelet, pancakes, scrapple, or maybe French toast or a burger.
When you’re not skimming, where do you hang out around town?
Lucas: My house. I’m a homebody, so I like to hang out with my family and eat a good homecooked meal. Maybe go to Funland on an off-day.
Sydney: The Starboard, not necessarily for a drink, but because my girlfriend is a bartender. Otherwise, Gary’s for lunch, Dewey Beach Grill, or hanging out at home.
Favorite beach activity (besides skimming)?
Lucas: Either eating a nice homemade sandwich or taking a beach nap.
Sydney: Probably just hanging out with my friends, with a bonfire at night.
Best place to take visiting friends from out of town?
Lucas: Out on Rehoboth Bay on a boat. Go crabbing.
Sydney: A sunset over West St. Around 7 p.m. with about 20 kids skimboarding. It’s a unique feeling and sense of home. Then maybe cruising around on bikes, and Fifer’s for lunch.
What song gets you hyped to ride?
Lucas: I’m Peruvian, and I like this Peruvian rapper Gonzalo Genek. Or old school hip-hop like the Beastie Boys.
Sydney: A lot of hip-hop and rap, someone recently is Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia.
Who inspires you … locally or in the wider skim world?
Lucas: My mom (Wendy Caputo). A total powerhouse, badass, does it all and keeps her cool kinda woman.
Sydney: Mom and dad, because of how hard they worked to support me and never give up.
DON’T MISS THIS
Zap Pro/Am World Championships of Skimboarding
August 8–10, starting daily at 9 a.m.
McKinley Street, Dewey Beach
