water skiing - Brief history, Competitive

Recreational and competitive sport in which persons, either barefoot or mounted on special skis made from wood, plastic, or reinforced fibreglass, are towed across the surface of the water by fast-moving motorboats. The sport was invented in 1922 in the USA, and the first national skiing tournament was held at Long Island, New York in 1939. International competitions, including the prestigious World Cup, are governed by the International Water Ski Federation.

Water skiing is a surface water sport and recreational activity is often said to have been invented in Lake City, Minnesota in 1922 by Ralph Samuelson, though some claim that it was pioneered at least as early as 1920 in France . Rivers, lakes, and sheltered bays are all popular for water skiing. Skiers are pulled along by a rope with a handle fitted at one end and attached to a powerboat at the other.

Recreational skiers usually learn to ski with a ski on each foot, but as they improve usually progress to using a single ski, placing the other foot into another binding behind the main one. Beginners on two skis are usually pulled along at around 25-35 kilometers per hour, whereas more advanced social skiers travel at between 40 and 55 kilometers per hour - once confidence is gained it is actually easier to travel faster than at slower speeds because of the greater lift and stability.

Within the confines of being pulled along by the boat, skiers can control their direction by balancing their weight on different sides of their ski.

A variation of the sport, barefoot skiing, as the name suggests involves water skiing without the aid of skis. Since the feet of the skier serve as the platform to lift the skier out of the water, the boat is required to pull the skier at a dramatically faster speed. Barefoot skiing is done at speeds between 60 and 100 kilometers per hour. Some other water sports are wakeskating, hydrofoiling, trick skiing, and ski jumping.

Brief history

Water skiing was developed in Lake City, Minnesota on the Mississippi River in 1922 by an 18 year old Ralph Samuelson. Samuelson was finally successful after leaning backwards in the water, with ski tips slanted upward. Afterwards, he showed sports enthusiasts in some exhibitions around the state of Minnesota his feat of skiing on water.

Competitive

Slalom

Slalom most resembles recreational water skiing.

Tournament tow lines have loops spliced into the line at given distances from the handle to facilitate quick and correct change of length. If the rope is color coded, the following sequence must be used for the respective length:

18.25m (60 ft) red 16.0 m orange 14.25m yellow 13.0 m green 12.0 m blue 11.25m violet or blue/white 10.75m white 10.25m pink 9.75m black 9.50m red

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 collegieate waterskiing) in which they attempt to perform as many tricks as they can. Trick skiing is judged by a number (usually 3 or 5) judges that watch the skier from on shore.

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, manoever to achieve the maximum speed when hitting a ramp floating in the water, launching themselves into the air with the goal of travelling as far as possible before touching the water. Professional ski jumpers can travel up to 70 metres. The skier must successfully land and retain control of the ski rope to be awarded the distance. Daniel J Finn is currently the world record holder, jumping 240 feet

Ski races

Ski races simply involve a powerboat race with a skier attached. Skiers and boats typically average 160 km/h over the 80 kilometre course. 2006 race was won by Hellbent after breaking blitz record by 9 seconds

Show Ski

Competitive show skiing by amateur ski clubs has been around for many decades, with its highest popularity in the Midwest, especially Wisconsin. Show skiing usually involves an entertaining theme, announcer(s)/characters, music, multiple boats, and a variety of acts including jumping, swiveling, ballet line, barefooting, doubles, wakeboarding, and the popular pyramids. The Rock Aqua Jays Water Ski Team of Janesville, Wisconsin are one of the most successful amateur water ski clubs, with 15 national titles to their credit; they originated the National Show Ski championships, which are frequently held in Janesville.