Water Skiing

Water skiing was invented in 1922 by Ralph Samuelson on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. He first tried being pulled behind a boat on barrel staves, then built proper skis from pine boards and established the basic technique that defines the sport today.

Tournament water skiing comprises three core disciplines: slalom (negotiating a zigzag course of six buoys), trick skiing (performing a timed routine of spins and flips), and jump (launching off a ramp for maximum distance). Barefoot skiing and show skiing are also popular but are separate competitive categories.

In elite slalom competition the boat speed is standardized at 36 mph (about 58 km/h) for men and 34 mph (about 55 km/h) for women. As the skier successfully rounds all buoys, the tow rope is progressively shortened from its standard 18.25-metre length, making each pass harder.

The first Water Ski World Championships took place in 1949 at Juan-les-Pins, France, organized under the International Water Ski Federation founded three years earlier. Water skiing has never been a full Olympic medal sport, though it has appeared in regional Games such as the Pan American Games.