Source: Radio New Zealand
Event organiser Richie Laming steps up to the platform and tries his hand at skimming. RNZ/Katie Todd
An Australian with a calling and an Auckland radio host running on pure determination are the newly crowned national champions of stone skimming.
In pristine conditions, hundreds flocked to a remote corner of Lake Hāwea on Saturday to watch or toss a rock at the inaugural national competition.
Abbey McDonald, an Australian living in Queenstown, described her decision to enter the event as a feeling of destiny.
She quickly stole the show with a skim of 72 metres – the furthest of the day – then clinched the women’s final and a ticket to the World Stone Skimming Championships in Scotland in September. Her throw in the final was 42 metres.
Newly crowned women’s stone skimming champion Abbey McDonald. RNZ/Katie Todd
“I’ve been waiting to find my career. I’ve been saying ‘should I go to uni? Should I not?’ And travelling around. And then this popped up and I just knew it was for me,” she said.
Stepping up to the platform, McDonald said she felt a sense of belonging.
“I had my support crew there, they had their hats on… and I just felt right at home.”
Auckland-based The Rock host Jay Reeve said his 51 metre winning throw in the men’s final using “a real dog” of a stone with a chunk of quartz in it was as much of a shock to him as anyone.
“Not even in my wildest dreams. Look at me, I’m not an athlete. I’m held together by duct tape, and pure determination and will, pretty much,” he said.
Celebrations as Abbey McDonald was crowned the women’s champion. RNZ/Katie Todd
Reeve, originally from Tauranga, said he had not skimmed a stone in quite some time.
“That showed early, and then I managed to get one across the line in the final.”
They were among more than 130 competitors chasing glory – some competing under their real names while others opted for aliases such as Hans Skimmer, Splash Bandicoot and Skim Shadbolt.
Each had three attempts to send a stone dancing across the lake as far as possible down a designated lane.
Throws had to bounce at least twice and competitors had to keep both feet planted, while any that strayed too far to the side were instantly disqualified.
Throws had to bounce at least twice and remain within a designated lane. RNZ/Katie Todd
Competitor Sam Lockwood, from Arrowtown, said the perfect skim began with finding the perfect stone, which could not be wider than three inches (7.61cm).
“It’s got to be quite thick. I think the main problem for today is everyone’s been picking really thin stones. So it’s been catching at the end and it curls….I’ve got big hands luckily and I can handle a big wide stone,” he said.
Event organiser Richie Laming said Lake Hāwea offered smooth waters and near-perfect skimming conditions throughout the day.
“We’ve got an incredible high pressure system exactly over Lake Hāwea at the moment – sublime, calm conditions. If there was a day that New Zealand records were to be set, it is today,” he said.
Event organiser Richie Laming from Lake Hāwea Station. RNZ/Katie Todd
Queenstown resident Ben Davies, better known as Skim Shady, said he made a last-minute call to enter after a few too many drinks one night.
He quickly found himself near the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve been living down in Otago for years so there’s lakes everywhere, and as I’ve been walking my dogs and hanging out down by lakes, I just throw rocks now and again, and been doing pretty well at it,” he said.
Queenstown’s Ben Davies, better known as Skim Shady. RNZ/Katie Todd
“Here we are – top of the table, living the dream. It feels pretty good.”
For Wānaka competitor Don Elder, the real prize was simply a good day out.
“I’ve been training for months. It’s been a lot of hard work, sacrifices, and it all comes down to the day – and it wasn’t going to be me. But that’s okay. I had a huge amount of fun. It’s been one of the best days I’ve had here for a long time,” he said.
The championship was organised as a fundraiser for Melanoma New Zealand and to help raise awareness that the country has one of the leading melanoma diagnosis rates in the world, Laming said.
It would be the first of many, he said.
“We’ll definitely be having it as an annual, but we’re just discussing the biannual option or even having regionals or inter-provincials… the lake’s the limit,” he said.
Wānaka competitor Don Elder. RNZ/Katie Todd
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/first-ever-stone-skimming-champions-crowned-in-lake-hawea/