Water skiing - The Beginning
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Water skiing was invented in the United States in 1922 when Minnesotan Ralph Samuelson built the first pair of skis and was towed on them behind an outboard-powered boat. What Samuelson originated became an exhibition sport on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1920s and early 1930s. It developed officially into a competitive sport in 1939 when the American Water Ski Association (AWSA) was organized and held the first annual National Water Ski Championships at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York.
As a Recreational Sport
Throughout its history water skiing has closely paralleled the development of recreational boating in its appeal to the general public. Over the years it has shown almost continuous, sustained growth. Surveys of sports participation show that there are roughly 11 million water skiers in the United States.
Water skiing is a family-oriented activity and the participants tend to be well educated and affluent. Three-fourths of adult USA Water Ski members are college graduates and many are career professionals and administrators - physicians, attorneys, psychologists, business owners and top-level administrators, among others. Seventy percent of the Association's members have yearly household incomes of more than $50,000 a year, and 53 percent have incomes of more than $65,000.
The Competitive Sport
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Interest in competitive water skiing has grown considerably over the years and continues to attract many more enthusiasts. USA Water Ski now sanctions more than 800 tournaments each season. These range from small, local events for novices to national and world-level tournaments for more experienced competitors. Male and female skiers of all ages can compete in traditional three-event (slalom, tricks, jumping) tournaments, as well as in tournaments for barefoot, kneeboard, show ski, collegiate, ski race, wakeboard and physically challenged skiers.
International Competition
As a member of the International Water Ski Federation, USA Water Ski and its sport divisions select teams that compete in several world-level tournaments, notably the Water Ski World Championships, Junior World Water Ski Championships, World Cup, Barefoot World Championships, Water Ski Racing World Championships, Disabled World Championships and Pan American Games. The traditional U.S. Water Ski Team has an unparalleled record, having won 22 of the 27 Team Championships since the first Water Ski World Championships in 1949. The U.S. Junior World Team has won six overall titles. The U.S. Elite Team has won 15 Pan American Championships. The U.S. Disabled Water Ski Teams has won three World Championships since its inception in 1993. The U.S. Water Ski Racing Team won World Championships in 1993, 1999 and 2001. The U.S. Barefoot Team has won eight World Championships.
The Competitive Events
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The three events of traditional water skiing are slalom, tricks and jumping. In slalom, the contestant negotiates a zigzag course of six buoys. The boat speed is increased two mph until a maximum speed for the division of competition is reached. Thereafter the rope is shortened in pre-measured lengths. The winner is the one who rounds the most buoys without a miss or fall. The best skiers do not miss until the rope is shorter than the distance from the boat to the buoy and the skier must try to round the buoy by leaning over it with his or her body!
In tricks, the contestant performs two, 20-second routines of tricks that each have an assigned point value. Some of the most difficult tricks include wake flips, and multiple turns performed with the towrope attached to the contestant's foot.
In jumping, the object is distance. Although there is a maximum boat speed for each age division, the skier can increase his or her speed by 'cracking the whip' behind the boat; men jumpers approach speeds of more than 60 mph at the base of the jump ramp. Some men skiers in Open Division competition, the highest achievement level, jump 220 feet or more off a six-foot-high ramp. Women competitors are jumping more than 160 feet using a five-foot-high ramp.
Variations of these same events are performed by barefoot, kneeboard and disabled skiers, except that Kneeboard skiers do not jump from a ramp.
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