About Waterskiing
Water skiing was invented in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used a pair of boards as skis and a clothesline as a towrope on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. Samuelson experimented with different positions on the skis for several days until 2 July 1922.
Water skiing has developed over time. Water skiing tournaments and water skiing competitions have been organized. As an exhibition sport, water skiing was included in the 1972 Olympics. The first National Show Ski Tournament was held in 1974, and the first ever National Intercollegiate Water Ski Championships were held in 1979. The Home CARE US National Water Ski Challenge, the first competition for people with disabilities, was organized ten years later.
Waterskiing is spited into thee main disciplines which forms the Overall competition:
- Slalom
- Tricks (Hands, Toes)
- Jump
PERSONAL BESTS
3 @ 10.75/ 39
9250 points
55,7 meters
The events
SLALOM
Slalom is all about speed and agility. Starting with skiing right through the entrance gate, completing 6 turns around the buoyes set in the course and finish with the exit gate. The boat is going at a speed of 58km/h, as the rope gets shorter and shorter, which makes it harder to complete the course.
TRICKS
Tricks is about timing, speed and accuracy. You will have two runs, one called Hands and the other one Toes. As the name already give hints, the one is with the hands on the handle while the other one is completed on one foot and the other foot in the handle. You'll have 20 seconds for each run, to complete as hard tricks as possible. The harder the trick, the more points you get.
JUMP
Jump is power, technique and will. With the boat going 57 km/h, you will try to cut into the ramp as hard as possible to gain as much speed as possible to get length. Jump requires immense balance skill, since you will be cutting with around 90 km/h into the rap, while you still have to lift/kick yourself from the ramp, not even mentioning the landing.