Local community members and out-of-towners alike gathered at Lake Paran on Saturday, September 19, for the 12th annual Stone Skipping Festival. A sunny day with a light breeze served as the perfect conditions to celebrate professional and casual stone skipping as Marigold Kitchen’s pop-up served pizza and pulled pork. Through the Ice Cream Portal, Powers Market sold skipping-pun flavored ice cream (including Lake Paran Rocky Road and Banana Skip) as attendees of all ages painted rocks in the pavilion. Bailey Fox, graduate of the class of 2021, Assistant Director of Residential Education and Restorative Justice visiting faculty served as the event’s emcee, announcing the three competition categories: kids under 13, amateur, and professional.
The event served as a fundraiser for Paran Recreations as they aspire to meet their funding goals after facing challenges of changing insurance policies in the wake of a tragic drowning in 2024. The community-funded nonprofit has transitioned the focus of their 6 acres of land away from the water, highlighting community events, nature exploration, and wellness while swimming and boating remain at one’s own risk. Merchandise, concessions, and rock sales (by the carton, pail, or bucket) all contributed to the fundraiser (for those who want to support the initiative, the link to donate is here).
Hannah Margolis– a stone skipper and cyanotype artist– was selling her prints to contribute to the cause. A returning competitor hailing from Takoma Park, Maryland, she expressed her love for the sport while expressing the irritation stemming from what she describes as a lack of competitive opportunity for women. Stone skipping is a co-ed sport, but generally leans heavily male at high levels. At last year’s stone skipping festival, Margolis ran her own “women’s division” on the side, tallying scores and awarding her own prizes. This year, she participated in the amateur division.
Still, Margolis loves the sport, having grown up skipping in creeks with her brother. She views it as a way to commune with nature and build community while doing something she believes to be miraculous. “You have to believe in magic to do this,” she says, as we watch casual and competitive skippers warm up, skimming smooth, flat rocks nearly halfway across the lake. These stones are something many of which these professionals take great pride in, sourcing them from as far as the Finger Lakes region or Lake Erie.
The winner of the under-13 division with a 27-skip throw was a boy named August, who– with family– made the three hour commute from Jericho, VT to participate. “It’s cool,” he said modestly, as his impressive throw qualified him to compete for a second time in the professional division (any recorded throw higher than 25 skips qualified entry).
The under-13s and amateur division followed the same rules: two rounds, consisting of three throws each, with each player judged on their best individual skip. The winner of the amateur division, who tallied an impressive 30-skip throw, lives up to the name he competes under: “Skip.” Skip (whose real name is Adam) lives in Cambridge, VT, and has been skipping stones his entire life. He described the event as “just a good time,” returning to compete for the second year in a row. He and four others qualified to compete in the professional division with throws reaching 25 skips or higher.
As the sun crept lower and the day grew cooler, the professional division commenced. Some celebrity names in stone skipping were participating, including reigning world champion Jon Jennings, the “Green Giant,” and Guinness World Record holder Kurt “Mountain Man” Steiner (his record, set in 2013, stands at an unimaginable 88 skips in a single throw).
The professional division had two rounds. The first round was similar to the prior divisions: each contestant had the chance to throw six stones in total, three per turn. Turns moved through the order of competitors twice, and judges evaluated based on best individual skip, eliminating those in the bottom half of scoring. In round two, each skipper had two turns of one stone each.
The throws were impressive, with a few skipping all the way across the lake to hit the wall of the dam or even fall into the dam’s spillway. Spectators on the dam indicated if a stone made it all the way across, much to the delight of skipper and audience alike. During warm-ups before the professional contest, a boater crossed the path of the skippers, prompting some of the pros to aim for the hull. A few hits landed and the crowd broke into cheers each time. The boater vacated the area by the time the professional division got underway.
The best overall skip of the professional division belonged to “Spiderman,” a.k.a. Dave, coming all the way from Erie, PA. He landed an impressive 42-skip throw, a testament to his 16 years of skipping experience. He tries to make it up to Lake Paran each year, and has been raising his sons on the meditative sport of stone skipping. As we spoke after the event, he continued throwing, showing me some of the heavier stones that skippers refer to as “dinner plates” and describing his love for the sport. Skippers will often spend more time hunting for stones than they will throwing them, and Dave says that the feeling of finding the “perfect” stone is impossible to describe. Sometimes, a skipper will save a stone for months or even years before deciding to use it on a perfect throw.
If the throw is a dud? Well, that stone belongs to the lake now, and this immaterial aspect—the fundamental peace with letting go and accepting the moment—is one of the greatest parts of stone skipping.
“Green Giant” Jon Jennings took home the award for most cumulative skips with 226 across his eight throws (averaging over 28 skips per throw). A fan favorite (and winner of the slightly-arbitrary “best mustache” award) was “Noodles,” the runner-up in cumulative skips with an impressive 209 (an average of just over 26 skips per throw). From Warren, RI, Noodles– or Colin– considers the Lake Paran Stone Skipping Festival to be one of the best days of the year. Find him @noodleseatsrocks on Instagram.
The culture and camaraderie of stone skipping was evident throughout the entire event. Competitors hailed from across the country and world, and many of the pros are friends, camping with each other as they cross paths several times a year at various skipping events. Many have known each other for a decade or more, and this community is what contributes to the fact that Margolis believes stone skipping to be the “least toxic male-dominated sport.”
It really is the love of the game that draws these competitors to the shores of Lake Paran, donning monikers such as “The Vermonster,” “Chickenfoot,” “The Legend,” “Monkeyboy,” and “The Professor” as they skim rocks across the lake, congratulating each other on the impressive throws and sharing encouragement to power through the single-digit skips.
As someone with a personal record of a meager 8 skips, Margolis’ words ring true. There is a feeling of magic, even watching from the crowd, as a stone seems to take flight, dancing away from us across the water, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake.
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