The aforementioned ego's go a long way to splitting up the skimboarding community. People start to worry about who is a good skimboarder and who is not. Some will only be friendly to riders who they deem to be worthy. The Sport Skimboarding is about sharing some waves with friends. It is about cheering on your buddy when he gets a sweet ride, and getting cheered on by your friend when you do the same.
Competition is intense.
Friends often play mind games with each other by being rude, condescending and otherwise obnoxious. Competitors are rarely civil to each other during a heat, never mind cheering. This is often what it takes to win, but that doesn't make it right. If you have to throw out the best part of the skimboarding experience in order to win a skimboarding competition, something has been lost. I argue that it is a piece of the sport's soul.