Rockaway watersports enthusiasts make stand-up paddleboarding hip on Jamaica Bay

by Bob Warburton

Andrew Dima and his wife Amy did the seemingly impossible last summer—they opened a business completely new to the five boroughs. Their brainchild was introducing stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) to our urban masses, so on a small slice of Jamaica Bay beachfront in Rockaway Park, A-Team Paddleboarding began offering lessons, tours, and equipment. At first, Dima said, their closest direct competitor was 90 miles away in Long Island.

Now, a year later, the Dimas intend to build the brand, including adding instructors and opening a second Rockaway retail outlet—a surf shop called Station RBNY (there is a handful of SUP rental locations in the city, but the Dimas maintain its only paddleboard shop).

“I just saw a market for it up here,” Dima said of SUP, which he described as a total-body workout for all ages and fitness levels, and also tailor-made for the calm bay waters and postcard scenery.

Lessons for all skill levels, including private or group instruction (90-minute sessions are $100 per person, 60-minute sessions are $80) are on hand, boards can be rented by the hour or day, and SUP race training is also available. In July, the kids camp will start for children ages 6 and up. One- or three-day sessions are available over a four-week span, with a focus on instruction and water safety.

Staff will also work with special-needs kids this summer, Dima said, as part of a new program, and yoga classes on standup paddleboards (which proved popular last summer) are available again. Pilates was also added this year, giving boarders another way to tone up and center themselves on the water.

Dima said customers come to Rockaway from all five boroughs, some who plan their SUP outings in advance and others who try it on a whim. “It’s for everybody,” Dima said. “We do get a nice handful of people who are like, ‘Hey, we’ve never done this before!’”

A-Team Paddleboarding opens in April and closes around the end of October, but the shop does business year-round by appointment. Station RBNY, a surf, skate, and lifestyle shop, had its grand opening in April on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and will stay open year-round.

Dima grew up on the East Coast and was a hooked on watersports from childhood. He met Amy at his gym, and found they were kindred spirits. After marrying in 2013, the couple relocated to Rockaway. It was Amy, her husband said, who had the idea of opening a seasonal SUP shop there, not least because of Jamaica Bay’s views of the city skyline, and the novel nature of the business itself.

“It’s simply great to be doing something you’ve always wanted to,” Dima said.

A-Team Paddleboarding
114-04 Beach Channel Drive #5, Rockaway Park /
718.945.0300 / ateampaddleboarding.com