After 20 years in the industry, I still get amazed by aspects of water skiing. Here are some little known facts about water skiing that have come from my experiences.
Fact 1. Water Skiers Achieve Insane Speeds
- Slalom Water Skiing is rumoured to be the fastest accelerating sport in the world. Skiers drop down below 20mph and accelerate up to 70mph, a 50mph acceleration in less than 2 seconds, and they do this 6 times in 16.08 seconds
- Slalom Skiers double the speed of the boat as they cross the wakes. This applies to skiers in the slalom course when they are pushing their personal bests. The boat will be going 58km/36mph but the skier can go 120km/70mph as they go from one side of the boat to the other.
- Jump skiers will also approach double the boats speed into the bottom of the ramp. 120km/70mph.
- The fastest Ski Racer recorded speed was 230km/143mph. During a race skiers will consistently go over 200km/120mph
- The Fastest Barefooter behind a boat went 218km/135mph. Average speed is 60-80km/35-50mph
- The Fastest Barefooter behind a Helicopter is 246km/153mph
Fact 2. Water Skiers Deal With Massive Forces
- Slalom Skiers can generate spikes of up to 4 G’s, and sustain up to 2G’s. As a skier hooks up with the boat out of a turn, the hook up from the boat can spike to 4G’s, but the skier will hold around 2G’s for up to a second as they accelerate to the wakes.
- The line Load while Slaloming can be around 750-800lbs. Big hits by pros are said to reach close to 1000lbs
- Jump skiers will sustain 2+G’s as they approach the ramp
Fact 3. Water Skiing Began A Long Time Ago
- Ralph Samuelson was the first person to ski in the 1920s. Couple pieces of 2×4 and the washing line were used to begin with until he began making his own skis. He has the vast majority of the ‘firsts’ for skiing.
- Surfers around the same time are credited with the progression of Wakeboarding, Wakeskating, Wakesurfing, And Kneeboarding. Surfers began riding behind boats when the surf was too small, leading to all the towed board sports.
Fact 4. 3.5 Million People Water Ski Each Year In The USA Alone
According to Statista.com, though there is evidence to say this number is a low estimation. In 2007 it peaked at just under 6 million
The number of water skiers is slowly dropping, however, these numbers don’t include wakeboarding, and the other board versions like cable parks, which are on the rise in the US and globally
Fact 5. Water Skiing Went To The Olympics
- Water Skiing was debuted at the Munich 1972 Olympic games as a demonstration sport. It has not returned, though the International Water Ski Federation is renewing attempts to have it added again.
Fact 6. Water Ski Tournament Facts
- The International Water Ski Federation started in Geneva in 1946, governing all towed water sports.
- The USA alone will have over 900 sanctioned towed sport comps each year
- Barefooting has 3 sub-disciplines, slalom, jump, and tricks. Just like in traditional water ski tournaments.
- In 1939 the first recorded Water Ski Comp was held
Fact 7. Show Skiing Is Not Tournament Skiing
- Show skiing is akin to professional cheerleading, just with even more balance and adrenalin involved, not the same kind of performance as 3-Event competitions.
For example, Going over a jump in a show is not about distance, but tricks to get reactions from the crowd. They are able to perform spins and flips that would be deadly at competition speeds.
Fact 8. Women Often Learn To Ski And Wakeboard Quicker And Easier Than Men
I’d happily put money on this! Because after all the couples I’ve taught over the years, I’d win 70-80% of the time.
When you tell women not to do anything but grip the handle in the basic start position, they tend to listen and get up really easily. Men think they need to push with their legs and pull with their arms to get up, that’s playing tug of war with a 460+hp V8 engine, your gonna lose!! The most common thing to say to a guy learning to ski or wakeboard is to do less.
You have to be going a certain base speed to be able to ride on top of the water. If you wait patiently for the boat to get to that speed, then standing is a piece of cake. If you try to push yourself up on top of the water before reaching that speed, you just fight the boat and the water, making yourself tired.
Fact 9. There Are Over 10 Different Tournament Categories
- 3 Event Comps, Slalom, Jump, Tricks
- Barefoot, Slalom, Jump, Tricks
- Wakeboard
- WakeSkate
- WakeSurf
- Kneeboard
- Hydro foil/ Air Chair
- Water Ski Races
- Adaptive Skiing
- Cable Park Versions of most of the above
- Show Skiing
Fact 10. There are well over 40 different Ways To Ski
Fact 11. Guiness Book Of Records Has Less Than 50 Skiing Records
Despite all the possible records skiers could go for, Guinness book of records only has 40ish listed. If you are looking to get a world record to your name, this is an open sport for you to try your luck at.
Fact 12. You Can Ski Behind A Boat With Only 15hp
- The driver of the dingy needs to drive in circles around the skier until the boat is going fast enough. Then, by making the circle slightly bigger each lap, they can hopefully slowly pull the skier out of the water while maintaining the boat speed. Once the skier is out of the water the boat can straighten in a way that maintains boat speed.
Fact 13. There Are 3 Dominant Water Ski Specific Boats
- MasterCraft – Traditionally better at jump and tricks because of power and wake shape. A new hull design came out a couple years ago that was a real step up in the slalom realm, becoming many people’s new favourite for all 3 events.
- Nautique – For the longest time these boats dominated for slalom towing. The 200 released in 09/10 stepped up their game again, reinforcing their claim.
- Malibu – A good all-round boat for casual and semi competitive skiers. Not commonly seen at tournaments but great boats to train with.
Fact 14. The Longest Jump By A Skier Is Longer Than A Football Field
Fact 15. Water Skiers Are Incredibly Sexy
Due to the extreme physical nature of the sport, it being a summer sport, leads to skiers being toned, tanned and generally sexy as hell!!
