Article - Extreme Sports - ActivPursuits.com

Water Skiing

These days most of the youngsters grow up getting attracted to extreme sports and water skiing is one of them. This is one of the few surface water sports and recreational activities that has drawn immense popularity in the last decade or so. The invention of water skiing dates back to 1922 in Lake City, Minnesota while Ralph Samuelson is hailed as the pioneer. Although another faction claims, that France is the country responsible for the pioneering effort towards water skiing.

Today, water skiing is a popular extreme sport that poses challenges for the athletes and is enjoyed globally. Water Skiing can be enjoyed wherever the conditions are perfect, which means that there has to be a large expanse of water like lakes and rivers but the water needs to be unaffected by the motion of the wave. The standard water skis were actually made of wood but now they are increasingly being made of fiberglass-based materials. The length of the water ski is somewhat similar to that of a snow ski except that they are wider. The water ski also has a rubber molded binding and is pulled by a rope, which is handle fitted on one end while the other end is attached to a powerboat.

If you are a beginner then you will have to start with two skis, which will be pulled along at a speed of 25-35kph, as compared to the advanced social skiers, who can travel up to a speed of 40-55kph. It is all about confidence. Once you have gained confidence and the skill, then you will be able to start skiing on one ski like the Pros. When you are being pulled by the powerboat, you can control the direction by balancing your weight on different sides of the ski. This way you will be able to zip back and forth and left and right behind the boat.

One of the variations is barefoot water skiing. It is dangerous and needs a relative amount of skill and practice. You shouldn’t try it if you are not confident enough or if you don’t have the experience. In this version, you will have to use your feet as the ski and the boat will be pulling you at higher speeds to lift you off the water. You can achieve speeds of 60-100kph for barefoot skiing.

Water skiing has in fact led to the invention of various other sports like wakeboarding and knee-boarding. Some other similar water sports are wake-skating, trick skiing, ski jumping and hydro-foiling.

The competitive version of water skiing is called Slalom. There are six buoys set up - three on each side of a centre line and the boat travels along each side of the centerline. Slalom has two exit gates and two entrance gate buoys. The boat has to drive through the center of the buoys, and you will have to pass to the outside of each buoy. You will have to first move to the right of the center line. You will also have to pass through both the exit and the entrance gates.

The contest has a number of passes. Firstly the speed is increased to 43 and then it goes on to 46, 49, 52, 55 and finally 58kmph. Thought the maximum speed in a women’s slalom can’t be more than 55kmph. In the next phase the tow lines have to be shortened by an ‘x’ number of feet. The original tow line is generally 75’ long. The participant who is able to finish taking rounds of the most number of buoys with the shortest tow line will be declared as the winner.