Wakeboarding, Waterskiing

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. more...

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The skiier usually wears one or more skis and the surface area of the ski keeps the person skimming on the surface of the water allowing the skiier to stand upright while holding the tow rope.

History

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. For the past six years M. Simotas has received the title of 'World Champion.'

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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org