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,Dunes (2016) short video 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. An International Sandboarding and Sandski Association (InterSands) was founded in 2014 at St. Gallen, Switzerland.InterSands
Mahé Freydier, a french ski instructor, set a Guinness World Record in speed sand-skiing on 27 September 2025 on Nazca dunes, in Peru. He reached a speed of 122 km/h.
Competitions over the years have included: International Sand Ski Tournament in Florida held from 1949 to 1951Brown, Canter Jr. (2005) None Can Have Richer Memories: Polk County, Florida, 1940-2000 University of Tampa Press pg 78 Sandblast held in Prince George, British Columbia annually from 1971 to 2003Petersen, Hanna (2022) "Whatever happened to Prince George’s Sandblast?" Prince George Citizen World Sand Skiing Championships held at Redondo Beach, CA"California never calls it quits" Ski 1980 v44 #7:19 Nevada Sand Mountain GS ChampionshipDorworth, Dick (1983) "The Dune Goons" Ski v47 #7:22,24 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.
History
Skiing on sand has been reported before 1920 in Germany,Hearst News No 51 (1919) newsreel Ski Lesson photo in 1927 Sahara,Blumenfeld, Jeff (2021) "Skiers Will Ski on Anything -- Especially Sand" Skiing History v33 #2:20-22 on an Asian expeditionMed Sven Hedin i Österled (1928) at Swedish Film Institute and throughout the 1930s in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado"Sand Dunes Skiing is Colorado Sport" Washington Times 7 Jan 1931 pg 4Bradley, Edwin M. (2009) Ski Pilots (1931) The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926-1931 McFarland pg 295 French Algeria"French May Use Skis in Sahara Sand Hills" White Bluffs Spokesman pg 2 Cronulla sand dunes, AustraliaSand Skiing! Over and Under ‘Down Under’ (1934) newsreel Venice Beach, California"Just Can't Wait for Winter" D.C. Evening Star pg A-3 Shirahama Beach, JapanSundberg, Steve website, photo of Sand skiing, Shirahama Beach PeruAzallion, Nancy (1968) "Who Said It Couldn't Be Done ..." Skiing v20 #6:36 Cape Cod, MassachusettsConniff, Cal & Allen, E. John B. (2006) Skiing in Massachusetts Arcadia pg 34 Long Island, New YorkQuirky: Ski Jumping On Sand At Long Island (1938) newsreel segment Tadoussac, CanadaWoman Skiing Sand photo Death Valley, CaliforniaGrantland Rice Sportlight: Death Valley Thrills (1939) short film Camber Sands, EnglandCinetopicalities in Brief No. 65 (1939) newsreel segment
See also Dry ski slope Roller skiing Grass skiing Lençóis Maranhenses National Park References
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