Water skiing is a sport where an individual (or more than one individual) is pulled behind a motor boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water wearing one or more skis. The surface area of the ski (or skis) keeps the person skimming on the surface of the water allowing the skier to stand upright while holding the tow rope.

 History

A patent for a water ski was given to a constructor in Sweden already in 1841, but if it ever came to use is unclear. The word water ski (Swedish: vattenskida) is the dictionary Nordisk Familjebok in 1921. The American Water Ski Association states that water skiing began in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used two boards as skis and a clothesline as a tow rope on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. The sport remained a little-known activity for several years. Samuelson began taking his "stunts" on the road, performing shows from Michigan to Florida. Numerous claims began to surface as to who was the first water skier, but in 1966 the American Water Ski Association formally acknowledged Samuelson as the first on record. Samuelson has also been credited as the first ski racer, first to go over a jump ramp, first to slalom ski and the first put on a water ski show. The first woman to water ski has been credited to Katherine Lomerson of Union Lake, Michigan, in 1924.

Technique

Water skiing usually begins with a "deep water start." The skier crouches down in the water (knees bent/arms straight), with the ski tips pointing up and the ski rope between the skis. When the skier is ready, the driver gives the boat the required amount of force to pull the skier out of the water.

In addition to the driver and the skier, a third person known as the spotter/observer must be present. The spotter's job is to watch the skier, and inform the driver if the skier falls. Communication between the skier and the occupants of the boat is done with hand signals. It is also the spotter's job to watch the skier's hand signals and pass on the messages to the driver.

For example: Thumbs up means go faster, Thumbs down means slow down.

Trick skiing

Trick skiing is performed using one or two very short finless skis rather than the conventional gear. In it, skiers try to perform tricks somewhat similar to those of gymnasts while being pulled along by the boat. In competitions skiers have two twenty second passes (only one in collegiate waterskiing) in which they attempt to perform as many tricks as they can. Trick skiing is judged by a number (usually 3 or 5) of judges who watch the skier from shore. Points are awarded for each successful trick according to a predetermined point value, based on the difficulty of the trick. The winner of the competition is the person who accumulates the largest number of points.

Slalom Skiing

In the context of water skiing, slalom means to use only one ski instead of two. A special slalom ski is used which has an optional extra binding behind the main binding. Usually one ski in a pair is equipped to be used as a slalom ski. Learning it can be a time consuming process; you must be an experienced and balanced water skier. The bindings are oriented so that both feet point forward, with one behind the other.

Slalom skiing is considerably more difficult, and so one usually learns on two skis before switching to one. Once one is comfortable on two skis, learning to slalom ski is accomplished by setting the binding loose on one ski so that it may be dropped. Once the skier is out of the water, he or she will step out of the loose ski and slip the foot into the extra binding in the slalom ski. It is possible to do a deep water slalom start, just like a deep water start on two skis, but it requires a considerable amount of strength and a powerful boat. Nevertheless, an experienced skier with the right technique can successfully start in deep water using a boat with as little as 40hp. It is also possible to jump off of a jetty by having the back binding foot placed out of the binding and using it to push off the jetty when the rope is taut.

 Tournament Slalom Skiing

In tournament slalom skiing, a course is set up with buoys which consists of a set of entrance gates, six target buoys (balls) which the skier must ski around, and a set of exit gates. The six target buoys are split up so that there are three on each side of the wake and are located at a distance of 37.5 feet from the center of the wake. The boat is usually equipped with precision speed control in order to minimize speed variations while running the course. This is important not only keep the speed constant, but to ensure that the speed is the same for all competitors. When skiing the course, the skier must make his/her way through the entrance gates, zig-zag around the six target buoys, and finally ski out the exit gates. After successfully clearing the gates and all target buoys, the boat driver will increase the speed by 2 mph. With each successful pass, the speed is increased up to a maximum of 36 mph. At this point, the rope length is shortened with each successful pass. The full length of the rope is 75 ft. In competition skiing, the rope length is referred to the amount taken "off" the full length. For example, if the rope has been shortened to 37 feet, the skier is said to be skiing at "38 off" (75-37=38). When skiing at 38 off, the rope length is now shorter than the distance from the center of the boat to the target buoys. The skier must then use his/her body to stretch out around the target buoys. The skier continues to run the course until he/she either misses the entrance gates, exit gates, or any of the target buoys. A skier's score is referred to as the number of successful balls (target buoys) cleared and the length of the rope. For example if a skier is using a 34 foot rope and successfully makes it around ball 3 but misses ball 4, their score is 3 at 41 off.

Ski jump

The ski jump is performed on two long skis similar to those a beginner uses, with a specialized tailfin that is somewhat shorter and much wider (so it will support the weight of the skier when he is on the jump ramp.) Skiers towed behind a boat at fixed speed, then the skier can make either a single, 3/4, or double cut in order to maximize his/her speed into the ramp thus giving them a longer jump. Professional ski jumpers can travel up to 250 feet and hit the ramp at speeds up to 70mph. The skier must successfully land and retain control of the ski rope to be awarded the distance. In show skiing most people don't go for distance but for tricks such as a gainer (backflip). Water ski jump teams can involve multiple people on the jump ramp and if they are good enough they can perform difficult tricks, such as a twisted pinwheel (one skier performs a gainer, another performs a frontflip, and a third performs a heli).

 Ski racing

Water ski racing consists of a number of water skiers who race around a set course, as done in Formula One Grand Prix motor racing. This is the fastest type of water skiing.

A Water Ski Racing team consists of a boat driver, an observer and one or two skiers. The driver will tow the skier behind a powerboat, varying the speed as different water conditions are encountered, according to the driver's knowledge of the skier, the observer's ability to read the skier and the signals which the skier gives to the driver. Novices who have not progressed onto a mono ski, can race on a pair, although it is far easier to compete on a single ski, once learned. A "race ski" is normally between 7'0 and 8'0 in length with 2 full boot bindings.

The length of the ski line will depend on the length & power of boat you are skiing behind, the water conditions and the kind of speed you anticipate racing at on that particular day. The aim is for the skier to be skiing on the "best water" there is behind the boat, whilst avoiding the line dipping into the water or becoming slack. Ski racers nowadays use the "wrapped" position, which involves the skier using two handles which go around each side of the body, to be held together with one hand at the top of the backside. The skier sits into this harness and reaches forward with the other hand, to hold a third handle or rope knot, positioned at arms length away. This technique transfers the strain from the arms and lower back, to the upper legs. It was first used in competition by an Australian named Terry Bennett and it enabled him to endure higher speeds for greater periods of time.

Water ski races can take place over a set distance or a period of time and can range from a few minutes to over one hour in duration. Skiers start at the same time, in waves, or at intervals ranging from 15 to 60 seconds.

The skier has to be physically fit enough to compete successfully in his or her category. Observers need excellent concentration and will relay signals from the skier to the driver, "read" the skier in order to optimise his/her performance and keep the driver informed of other boats and skiers which may be approaching or close by. The driver will take the team around the course, listening to the observer and using his own judgment on speed a line of direction.

These events take place on rivers, lakes, canals and open sea water. One such event held at Echuca on the Murray River, Australia is the Southern 80. The 2007 race was won by a boat called Stinga which completed the course in 19:27.43 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 154.241 km/h and beating last year's winner, Hellbent, by 25 seconds. Another Famous ski race in Australia is the Bridge to Bridge on the Hawkesbury River, Skiers and boats typically average 160 km/h over the 112 kilometer course.

The IWSF World Water Ski Racing Championships began in 1979 when the inaugural event was held in Great Britain. Held every two years, the event grew to accommodate Junior Boys and Junior Girls categories in 1995 and then the Formula 2 category for both Men and Women in 2003.

Barefoot skiing

Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds than conventional water skiing.

History of barefooting

Barefoot water skiing originated in Cypress Gardens, Florida. Dick Pope Jr., on March 6, 1947, was the first recorded person to ever barefoot, though some believe the first person to do it was A. G. Hancock [1]. By 1950, the first barefoot competition was held in Cypress Gardens. Throughout the 1950s, many other start techniques were invented including the two-ski jump out, the beach start and the deep water start. By 1961, a whole new aspect of the sport, backwards barefooting, was added by Randy Rabe by stepping off a trick ski backwards [2].

Meanwhile, the Australians were developing the sport further. In April 1963, the first national competition was held in Australia, complete with 38 competitors[3]. The Australians were the first to develop barefoot jumping, one of the three events in modern barefoot competition, as well as pioneer many new tricks. In November 1978, the first world championships were held in Canberra, Australia, where 54 skiers competed for a total of 10 different countries [4]. The Australians blew away the competition with maneuvers almost unheard of. Brett Wing and Colleen Wilkinson captured the World titles for men and women, respectively.

Cable skiing

Cable skiing is a way to water ski (or wakeboard), where the skier's rope and handle are pulled by an electrically driven cable, where as traditionally a waterskier is being pulled by a motorboat. This cable is actually two cables running parallel to one another with carriers between them. The carriers are metal plates with hooks on them which allow the tow rope to be attached and detached easily without shutting the system down. The cable is generally suspended 15-20 feet (5-7m) off of the water. This makes for a different feel then when riding behind the boat, whether it is wakeboarding or water skiing. The higher angle of pull makes bigger air and sharper turns possible. Generally, on wakeboard only cables, there are ramps and sliders for the riders to use. Another way for wakeboarders to get air on the cable is to "load the line." Loading the line is putting tension on the rope and using the water as a spring to fling ones self into the air. Though it is possible to do this behind a boat, the higher angle of pull and the slight jerk on the corners allow good riders to get much higher.

Cable skiing has been extremely popular in Europe for some time now, and is slowly gaining momentum in the United States. In Germany alone there are over 50 active cables. In the U.S. there are less than 15. However, the world capital of wakeboarding is in Orlando, Florida where the world renowned cable park Orlando Watersports Complex is located.

Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed through a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.

The rider is towed behind a boat; typically at speeds of 18-24 miles per hour depending on water conditions, rider's weight, board size, and most importantly, the riders personal preference. But wakeboarding can also be performed on a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs, and ATVs.

Kneeboarding

Kneeboarding is an aquatic sport where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board at a planing speed behind a motorboat. In the usual configuration of a tow-sport kneeboard, riders sit on their heels on the board, and secure themselves to the deck with an adjustable strap over their thighs. As in wakeboarding or water skiing, the rider hangs onto a tow-rope. The forte of kneeboarding vis-a-vis other tow-sports seems to be an easier learning curve and a sense of being closer to the water when falls occur.