How on earth do you Jump on Water Skis?? Is it about how high you go?? Or do you do tricks?? After years competing, I’ve taken enough 40-50m/140-160ft crashes to the face to thoroughly explain the in’s and out’s of Water Ski Jumping.
So what is Water Ski Jumping? In Water Ski Jumping, two very large, specialized skis are worn to go over a giant orange ramp on the water while being towed by a boat. 3 attempts are given to Jump as far as possible through the air, landing back on the water. World Record, Ryan Dodd, Canadian = 77.40m/254ft
Jump is one of the Most Extreme sports in the world in terms of injuries. Imagine heavy 90inch skis on your feet, flying through the air 15-20ft above the water, at 100km, landing 40, 50, 60, or 70 meters from where you took off. Skiers have 3 attempts in tournament to go as far as possible. Get it wrong, crash, and quickly snap a femur or pop a hip out, something it takes a car accident type force to do. Once you jump over 40m, which takes years of practice, a hospital visit is an inevitability if you continue.
People risk life and limb for this sport. It has taught me to think clearly and calmly in the most stressful and adrenaline-fueled situations in my life. Like many things, Jump sounds simple enough, below I will lay out a little of what is involved, and you’ll see it’s anything but.
How Far Do Water Skiers Jump?
An American football pitch is 300ft long, a Basketball court is 94ft. World Record Water Ski Jump is 254ft !!!
2.7 Basketball courts!!
There is also Ski Flying, Faster boat, bigger ramp, longer rope. World Record is 312ft/95m
When first going over the ramp, you will go maybe 10 meters. Even if your body hits the ramp, it’ll bruise, but that’s about it. The first significant milestone of achievement is 30m/100ft.
Skiers reaching 38m/125ft is the next massive milestone; if you choose to continue, there is a 99% chance you’ll have a hospital visit at some point. But it’s when you first begin start to feel like you are actually flying instead of falling quickly. Even knowing all that, it didn’t stop me or many others. This greater risk is in part because it is when you are allowed to raise the angle of the ramp to be steeper. Most skiers will lose progression when first making the switch, as it takes some time to get familiar.
48m/158ft is when you can raise the ramp another time, but hitting that 50m line is the real milestone. Progression from here really begins to slow, so those who push further are dedicating massive time and effort to push themselves in the sport.
World Records
Mens – Ryan Dodd (CAD) – 77.40m/254ft
Womens – Jacinta Carroll (AUS) – 60.30m/198ft
USA National records table
| Age Group | Mens | Women |
| 12/13 | 43.8m/ 144ft | 36.6m/ 120ft |
| 14-17 | 58.8m/ 193 ft | 46.9m/ 154 ft |
| 18-24 | 66.5m/ 218 ft | 50.4m/ 165 ft |
| OPEN | 76.3m/ 250 ft | 5734m/ 188 ft |
| 25-34 | 65.8m/ 216 ft | 47.6m/ 158 ft |
| 35+ | 65.5m/ 215 ft | 46.6m/ 155 ft |
Walk Me Through It. What Are The Elements of Water Ski Jumping
Due to the dangerous nature of Jump, Speed and Jump/Ramp size restrictions are in place.
Speeds for Jump Water Skiing
Boat speed is controlled by Zero-Off, A GPS cruise control system with a tolerance of less than 0.001 seconds. Skiers choose their boat speed and settings. When the skier slows the boat down by pulling, the boat needs to accelerate to maintain speed. A switch is on the rope that tells the boat to speed up(image in Gear below)
Professional Jumpers are capable of more than doubling the boats speed 120km/70mph – ish
- Under-17 speed max 51km/31.7mph
- Womens max 54km/33.5
- Mens max 57km/35.4
Water Ski Jump/Ramp Height
The Jump Ramp is 4.23m/13.8ft wide, and approx 6.60m/21.6ft long. The surface gets painted, paraffin wax applied to the entire surface. When the ramp is in use, a pump runs water down the ramp surface. The wax and water are to stop the skier from sticking to the surface. All ramps must have a side curtain, which is to protect skiers that miss the ramp on the late side.
The height of the ramps top edge is variable; As you reach certain distance milestones, skiers raise the lip height. It does not, however, raise the entire ramp, more like rotates it. They are making the ramp itself steeper over the same length.
- 1.50m/ 5ft is regular start height(from water to highest point).
- 1.65m/ (5 and a half ft),
- 1.80m/ 6ft.
Women and Junior Men, to be eligible to jump at 1.65m/5.5ft the skier must have achieved a score of 38m at the 1.50m/5ft height
Men, to be eligible to jump at 1.80m/6ft the skier must have achieved a score of 48m at the 1.65/5.5ftm height.
There Are 3 Ways to Approach A Jump Ramp
- Single cut
- Three Quater (3/4) cut
- Double cut
A single Cut is where you stand on the left side of the boat wakes as the boat drives through the course. As the skier approaches the ramp, they will pull to the left and ride over. Singles are the first level of Jump when beginning. It does not require that you cross any wakes as you approach the Jump.
A Three Quater(3/4) is where the skier starts with a longer run into the jump ramp and starts on the right-hand side of the boat wake. The skier pulls out the right as wide as possible. At the widest point, you are free-est from the boat, the skier turns their skis with as much angle as they can to the left, the direction of the Jump. They cross the wakes as they accelerate into the bottom of the ramp.
A Double cut adds one more to the above 3/4 cut. Even longer run into the Jump again, the skier starts on the left of the boat wakes. They pull to the left, passing three, coloured, timing buoys and turning to the right, crossing the wakes, pulling as far to the right of the boat as possible. From this point, the cut is the same as the double.
The point of extra “cuts” behind the boat is to increase speed and width for turning towards the Jump. With more speed and width, you have more time free of the boat to make the turn. You are allowing for more angle, which turns into more speed, which makes you jump further.
Jump skiers load 600kg/1300lbs of pull on the ski rope as they are subject to forces of up to 4 G!!! They accelerate from (25km/15mph), up to (120km/75mph)
Tournament Jump Skiing
Tournament for a Water Ski Jumper is pretty straight forward. Check the skier list to see when your division is up, and where you are in the ski order. Make sure you are at the dock ready to go. Your entire division will have the same driver to make things as equal as possible. Skiers head out for 3 attempts, often using the first jump as a warm-up before trying to push for their best in the 2nd an 3rd jumps.
The skiers’ furthest distance is their score for the round, which will be combined to your 2nd round score, giving your total. The highest total distance wins.
If the skier gets their timing wrong or is not feeling in a safe position to go over the ramp, they will let go of the handle, and pass around the jump ramp(“Passing Up”) to come to a stop in the water. “Passing up” will count as one of your 3 attempts, however, just like crashing will, though is much preferred to crashing. The boat will pick you up and take you back for your remaining attempts.
Measuring distance has been through 3 generations. Originally, three stationary protractors would use trigonometry the analog way. Then we had cameras that we could move frame by frame to select the Jumpers’ very first point of contact with the water. With a surveyed grid of buoys previously logged, the computer calculates the distance.
Splash Eye is the newest generation and is fully automated. When the skier hits the ramp, it compresses a switch, and the program is engaged, gauging air time, and automatically plotting the landing via a set of cameras. Displaying distance 4 seconds after landing, without human intervention.
Crashing, Jump Going Wrong
Major rule for crashing, if you are uninjured, it is imperative you go back over the ramp immediately. If you leave it even a day, you can lose weeks of progression.
‘Out the Front,’ is where the skiers ski tips drop down from in front of them, and the skiers body moves in front of their skis. There are many ways this can happen, simply get out of balance in the wrong way and uh oh. Once the tips drop, the wind will grab them and prevent you from pulling them back up. You can go in face first, or after learning the art of crashing, you can tuck’n’roll to hit the water with your shoulder.
An ‘Out the Back’ is where skiers lose their weight backwards and attempt a back flip. Their skis go over their heads until they are looking back at the Jump, upside down. Take this one on the butt or back, and give yourself a moment to get your breath back.
There is also the raggdoll. When things explode, and no-one is sure what happened.
The worst type of crash, easily, is lightly catching the tip of your ski in the water. These are easily the worst because the water will not let go of the ski. The ski is soo long that the leverage will twist the ski with little regard to the leg attached to it. In one season, I saw 3 dislocated hips and a spiral fractured femur.
As terrifying as I made it sound, the reward is incredibly worth it. It taught me a lot about myself and staying mentally calm when on a major adrenaline buzz of a great Jump set.
This video gives you sense for how Jumpers see the sport.
How A Jump Set Runs
Head to the dock with your gear and get in line. When you’re up, wet the ski rubber bindings/boots and put dish soap in them. Jump bindings are soo tight you’ll have cramp part way through your ski set, getting them on without soap is impossible. Getting soap out is easy, sit on the dock, skis on hanging in the water, and slosh your feet around to rinse them.
As the boat pulls up, pass over your rope and give your speeds and cruise control settings. The skier starts seated on the dock, the boat pulls them out onto the water and drives through the course, in the wrong direction. Driving through the course helps remove any wakes that may interfere with your set up, giving peaceful, calm water, once the wakes have cleared.
Once far enough out from the Jump, the boat will turn and line up with boat course, which runs along the right side of the Jump Ramp, 15m/50ft out. More space is needed depending on which of the three approaches you take(talked about below).
At the Pro level, the skier will pull out to the left side of the boat, passing the timing buoys placed for the skier. Then turn to the right and cross the wakes with lots of speed to get up parallel to the boat, 90 degrees to the drivers’ right side. As the skier begins to drop back, they will de-weight the left ski to turn, while there is a minimal pull from the boat. This freedom from boat lets the skier turn as if trying to go backwards, allowing as great an angle possible to cross the wakes.
The skier sets a strong position as the boat begins to accelerate them from out the side of the boat towards the ramp. Jump skiers load 600kg/1300lbs of pull on the ski rope as they are subject to forces of up to 4 G!!! This happens as they accelerate from less than half the boat speed(25km/15mph), up to over double boat speed(120km/75mph), as they cross the boat wakes and hit the bottom of the Jump.
Skiers accelerate and skip across the wakes, landing on one ski to build as much pressure as possible as they approach the ramp. As they hit, they release that pressure with an explosive kick to add height off the top of the ramp, which will give more air time and more distance. As skiers rise into the air, the flow of air pushes back on your skis, turning them into wings that help you glide or float your way back down to the water. Skiers will ‘push’ over the front of their skis to float more, rather than be a wall pushing through the air.
In the air, skiers will likely pass and land in front of, or next to, the boat. Once the skier passes the boat, the line goes slack, and they release their left hand from the handle. Landing forward of the boat allows time to land and roll onto your butt, then back, onto the tails of the skis. Once lying down, it is easy to roll back up to your feet. When the skier has retaken the pull from the boat and skied 30m/100ft, it is considered a successfully completed jump. The boat will then do a U-turn, to go back and do it all again, three times for tournament, usually six or so in practice.
There are Three Modes of Training for Jump
- Going over the ramp
- Cutting and passing(cut’n’pass)
- Open water cutting
Going over the ramp and cut’n’pass sets are both done in the boat course with the ramp. In one, you go over the ramp, easy. In cut’n’pass sets, you let go the handle just before the ramp and ski around it. It helps to set up timing and getting used to making the right moves with the ramp there.
Open water cutting is where the skier goes out into open water and works to perfect all the movements of the jump approach without the distraction of a big orange wedge in the way. Many Pros’ grew up open water cutting and doing cut’n’pass sets far more often than they went over the ramp, building solid foundations of movement.
I grew up with the ‘lets hit the ramp’ approach, pretty sure I’m 2 inchs short because I started jumping before I even hit puberty. Would I jump again if I could do it all over?? Definitely, I’d just be smarter about how I went about it
Jump Skiing Gear
Skis
Jump skis take a beating hitting the ramp, so they need to be tough. In length, they can be anywhere from 70″ to 100″(177cm – 255cm) (depending on ability and size), just under a foot wide, and almost an inch thick. The insides of them are made from a honeycomb-shaped arrangement of carbon material to increase strength and reduce weight. They still end up weighing a lot, but the space in the honeycomb keeps them buoyant.
Fins
The fins are long and thick but don’t go very deep in the water. That way you stall have ski stability on the ramp and water, but you don’t break them too often(When you are late, you can catch the bottom right corner of the ramp, this will snap these long fins, happens all the time)
Bindings
Jump bindings are made up of numerous pieces of rubber, that wrap around your feet. Due to the forces you put them through a jump set, they are exceedingly tight. So that way, they don’t come off, and you have complete control over the skis. Dish soap is needed to get them on, getting them off is done by grabbing the tip of the ski and using it as leverage to rotate your heel out. There have been reports of Archillies snapping while removing jump bindings due to being too tight.
Jump-suit/Wetsuit
Specialized wetsuits are made for Jumping. Padding and buoyancy are sewn into the material, making the life vest is built-in and adding protection. Extra padding is added to the butt, as it will be impacting the back of your skis each time you land.
Helmet
A full-face helmet is required at all times. Crashes can be catastrophic, protecting yourself from loose gear and skis is paramount! At high speed, the water is like cement covered in tar. Water is hard!! And if something touches the water, it doesn’t let it go.
Jump Belt AKA Arm Sling
Due to the forces skiers are subject to, they wear a belt that has an arm loop for the right arm. While crossing the wakes to the ramp, it is physically impossible to hold the rope in the right place to avoid getting pulled out of position. The belt holds your right elbow against your hip, helping transfer pull to the hips, instead of through the arm and shoulder. But even with the help of the belt, it is still easy to let the handle get too far from you, forcing a safety abort(passing up). This arm(right) is also the one that stays on the rope while in the air.
Gloves
Gloves are key, simple gloves often work better, the stronger the connection between your palm and the glove, the more grip and less damage for your hands. No skier could hold on during a Jump set without gloves, at least not while pushing yourself.
Handle/Rope
Jumper almost always bring their personal ropes. All ropes get tested before the skier competes, to make sure they are within regulation tolerances. The rope is pulled on during testing, as skiers can load the line up to 700kg/1500lbs while jumping. With regular ski ropes, there is line stretch. In Jump, this would act like a spring and pull the skier back to the boat. A little is OK, too much, and you’ll crash. So jumpers add a form of ski rope with no stretch, called ‘Spectra.’ Often a mix or regular rope and Spectra gets used, ratios varying to the individuals’ preferences.
Jump Switch
A Jump Switch is a small device that the rope threads through, and plugs into the boat. When the skier pulls on the rope it compresses a button that makes the boat accelerate to compensate for the skiers drag. Skiers can modify when the extra power comes on, though not if, as the boat needs to get the correct times from course start to finish.