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How to Skip Rocks

skiprocks

An expert rock skipper can achieve dozens of skips in a single throw. To begin your quest for stone skipping success, follow these steps:

1. Select a skipping stone

The stone should be mostly flat, about the size of the palm of your hand and about the weight of a tennis ball. Triangular stones tend to skip best. Avoid circular stones. They’re less stable.

2. Grip the stone properly

Hold it with your thumb and middle finger, then firmly hook your index finger along the edge. Your thumb goes on the top of the stone, not around the edge.

3. Throw the stone

Stand up straight, facing at a slight angle to the water. Try to maintain this position during your entire windup and release. The lower your hand is at the release, the better.

Throw out and down at the same time. A skipping stone is bouncing off the water, so give it plenty of downward force. Try throwing faster instead of harder — strength is not the key, quickness is.

4. Release the stone

The faster the stone is spinning, the better it will skip. Spin it as hard as you can with a quick snap of your wrist. The stone should hit the water parallel to the surface.

Tips by Jerdone McGhee, founder of the North American Stone Skipping Association.

56 Comments on How to Skip Rocks

  1. i once skipped a ten by eleven inch rock 5 times

  2. The best kind of skipping stone that I can find is slate. It’s thin, easy to shape and and they are great skippers.

  3. tarheelcrazyfan // May 23, 2010 at 4:01 pm // Reply

    28

  4. my record is 14 skips. a bigger rock works a little better.

  5. thanks for the tip I never skipped a sttone before

  6. I skipped a rock 53 times today behind my house with a triangle rock. The thing is hold it like a plat and skip it hard

  7. mine is only 5 im not able to throw it quick . im loosing more strength

  8. potato eater // January 25, 2010 at 2:59 pm // Reply

    I only skipped it 9 times!

  9. this helped me in a rock-skipping compitition and i won

  10. My record is about 15.

  11. i did 21 skips with a triangle rock

  12. I think the wrold record is 45

  13. My record is 18 skips of the rock. Triangle is best, square is good, too.

  14. Thanks for the Information. It actually helped with a Science project of mine. 🙂
    Triangle stones ARE actually better.

  15. my record is 17

  16. at lake mead i skipped rocks with my friend… my dad said to use round rocks 🙂 i used triangular ones, and they DID work a lot better!

  17. i already know

  18. i skipped about 10

  19. explorerdude // November 10, 2009 at 9:25 pm // Reply

    the most skips i have ever done is like seven or eight. anybody else?

  20. go at 22.5 angle

  21. I never skipped stones before because I can not find any good stones. Boo-hoo-hoo. ):

  22. alex1z2x3c4v // November 1, 2009 at 9:53 pm // Reply

    once i skipped it 30 times and all you have to do is get it to 25 degrees and something as big as half your hand and throw it as fast and spin fast

  23. I’ve skipped a stone 12 times!

  24. thanks for the tip now i can go beat my friends

  25. bob pearson // August 23, 2009 at 9:04 am // Reply

    If skipping rocks was a professional sport i would be on the alstar team. This lesson of skipping rocks i feal has a few flaws. while i do agree triangular rocks get good amount of skips they are also much harder to throw because of the of the points.see if uthrow a triangle rock at imperfect angle or to hard the three points of the rock are likley to pierce the water which would end up in a bad skip.

  26. hey i was with some friends and i got 16 skips and then i got 17 skips.

  27. adverge 10-15 best 27

  28. pro skkippper // August 8, 2009 at 10:43 pm // Reply

    I once skiped it one hundred and eleventeen times!!!! 😛

  29. skipping stones for girls

  30. If your a beginer, skip coins. that’s
    what I did

  31. the most ive ever scipped is five, on a camping trip at lake mead.

  32. the most i skiped was 4
    i need more practice

  33. the right size stones r hard to find

  34. Once I skipped a brick.

  35. Stone Skipping Hobby Person 258 // August 1, 2009 at 2:38 pm // Reply

    The more horizontal the throw of the rock—the better the skip. If the throw of the rock is at less than a ten (10) degree angle to the surface of the water and the faster the spinning of the rock, the greater the more times that the rock will bounce across the surface of the water.

  36. troop102 patrol leader // July 30, 2009 at 10:39 am // Reply

    i feel in the water l.o.l!!!

  37. I’ve only skiped 3 times I hope this helps me!!!

  38. The first time I skipped a stone was when I was 5. I’m 11 1/2 right now.

  39. The world recoerd for skipping stones is 57 in a row and it took 2 min. for it to stop.

  40. The most I skipped is 14.

  41. I always thought a stone skips better when its round.

  42. I love skipping

  43. its fun

  44. ive skipped 11 once

  45. I once skipped one 20 times in a row!

  46. i didn’t read this,I’m just kominting for the fun of it

  47. onces i skiped a stone 30 somethin times

  48. cool… now i can skip stones?!?

  49. the most i ever skipped a stone is 7 skips

  50. Random Person // July 21, 2009 at 3:52 pm // Reply

    the first time i skipped anything on water was 2 days ago with a penny

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