Waterskiing 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. The skier is either wearing one (slalom) or two (double) 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 onto a tow rope.
A patent for a water ski was given to a constructor in Sweden already in 1841, but whether it ever came into use is unclear. The word water ski (Swedish: vattenskida) occurs in the encyclopedia 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 Guinness Book of Records of 1974 also stated that a Mr Storrey won a 'plank-gliding' event at a Regatta in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1914. 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[who?] 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. Katherine Lomerson of Union Lake, Michigan has been credited as the first woman to water ski, in 1924.[citation needed]
Early water skis were first made of wood and skiers strapped them onto their feet with rubber ski bindings. In the 1970s fiberglass began being used in water ski construction. Modern waterskis are commonly made of composite materials, including carbon fiber.
Water skiing usually begins with a "deep water start" or a dock start. The skier crouches down in the water (knees bent, arms straight, leaning back, imagine sitting in a chair), with the ski tip(s) pointing up and the ski rope between the skis or, if using one ski, on either side of the ski. With one ski (slalom), the rope should be put on the left side if right foot leads, or the right side if the left foot leads. When the skier is ready, the driver accelerates the boat to pull the skier out of the water. The key to getting up is patiently staying in the crouched position, arms straight, and keeping balanced. The boat should do all the work, creating enough force between it and the ski, to pull the skier out of the water. Common mistakes are trying to stand up too early, breaking at the waist, and bending the arms.
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 the spotter's job to watch the skier's hand signals and pass on the messages to the driver. Such signals include: faster (thumb up), slower (thumb down), and stop (crossing the neck with your hand, in a cutting motion).
Speeds and length of the rope will vary with skill and competition events.
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. On one trick ski, skiers do a variety of tricks. There are surface tricks and wake tricks, and skiers hold onto the tow rope in two ways. While the most common way is to use hands, more advanced skiers can slide their back foot through the handle and begin attempting tricks from this position. 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. Advanced skiers usually perform one pass with their hands and the other with their foot attached to the handle. They must outline their expected routine on paper and give this to the judges before the competition begins. These judges (Usually 3 to 5) watch the skier from shore and award points for each completed trick. These points are based on predetermined difficulty levels. The winner of the competition is the person who accumulates the largest number of points.
In the context of water skiing, slalom means to use only one ski. A special slalom ski is used which has either a toe plate, open binding, or another binding (similar to the front binding) behind the main binding. 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 toe plate binding in the slalom ski.
For adept skiers, a single ski deep water start is preferred. Balance, strength, and a relatively powerful boat motor are required as there is significantly more drag. Slalom ski deep water starts allow more advanced slalom skiers to use double boot wraps bindings on their skis (if preferred, but not necessary).
Slalom skiing dramatically increases the speed and agility of the water skier. Once the proper technique for edging across a wake and into the turn is learned, slalom skiing becomes quite high speed and thrilling.
A patent for a water ski was given to a constructor in Sweden already in 1841, but whether it ever came into use is unclear. The word water ski (Swedish: vattenskida) occurs in the encyclopedia 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 Guinness Book of Records of 1974 also stated that a Mr Storrey won a 'plank-gliding' event at a Regatta in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1914. 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[who?] 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. Katherine Lomerson of Union Lake, Michigan has been credited as the first woman to water ski, in 1924.[citation needed]
Early water skis were first made of wood and skiers strapped them onto their feet with rubber ski bindings. In the 1970s fiberglass began being used in water ski construction. Modern waterskis are commonly made of composite materials, including carbon fiber.
Water skiing usually begins with a "deep water start" or a dock start. The skier crouches down in the water (knees bent, arms straight, leaning back, imagine sitting in a chair), with the ski tip(s) pointing up and the ski rope between the skis or, if using one ski, on either side of the ski. With one ski (slalom), the rope should be put on the left side if right foot leads, or the right side if the left foot leads. When the skier is ready, the driver accelerates the boat to pull the skier out of the water. The key to getting up is patiently staying in the crouched position, arms straight, and keeping balanced. The boat should do all the work, creating enough force between it and the ski, to pull the skier out of the water. Common mistakes are trying to stand up too early, breaking at the waist, and bending the arms.
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 the spotter's job to watch the skier's hand signals and pass on the messages to the driver. Such signals include: faster (thumb up), slower (thumb down), and stop (crossing the neck with your hand, in a cutting motion).
Speeds and length of the rope will vary with skill and competition events.
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. On one trick ski, skiers do a variety of tricks. There are surface tricks and wake tricks, and skiers hold onto the tow rope in two ways. While the most common way is to use hands, more advanced skiers can slide their back foot through the handle and begin attempting tricks from this position. 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. Advanced skiers usually perform one pass with their hands and the other with their foot attached to the handle. They must outline their expected routine on paper and give this to the judges before the competition begins. These judges (Usually 3 to 5) watch the skier from shore and award points for each completed trick. These points are based on predetermined difficulty levels. The winner of the competition is the person who accumulates the largest number of points.
In the context of water skiing, slalom means to use only one ski. A special slalom ski is used which has either a toe plate, open binding, or another binding (similar to the front binding) behind the main binding. 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 toe plate binding in the slalom ski.
For adept skiers, a single ski deep water start is preferred. Balance, strength, and a relatively powerful boat motor are required as there is significantly more drag. Slalom ski deep water starts allow more advanced slalom skiers to use double boot wraps bindings on their skis (if preferred, but not necessary).
Slalom skiing dramatically increases the speed and agility of the water skier. Once the proper technique for edging across a wake and into the turn is learned, slalom skiing becomes quite high speed and thrilling.