Water skiing

Water skiing has its origins in the USA. There, in the 1920s, people tried to be pulled from a boat, first on just one board, then on two boards. The first water skis consisted of self-made wooden slats up to three meters long. Only with the further technical development of motor boats did water skiing become the leisure sport that is widespread today.

The International Water Ski Federation was founded in 1946 and at the same time the first World Championships were held in France. These are now held every two years. In 1957 the German Water Ski Association was founded, which is responsible for the national championships.

With water skiing, the athlete is pulled on one or two water skis or barefoot on the water by a motor boat or lift.

The water skis are available in different lengths made of wood or plastic. The skis, which are bent upwards, have a keel on the underside for better guidance. The feet find support in slipper-shaped bindings made of rubber or detachable ski boots. The adjustable tow lines measure 23 m and can be shortened to 11.25 m. At the end there is a 28 cm wide handle that the runner holds on to.

At all championships, the competitions are held in the disciplines "jumping", "slalom" and "figure running".

In "jumping" the furthest jump is counted, with each runner having three attempts. The rope length in this discipline is 23 meters and the speed is set at 57 km/h (men) or 51 km/h (women).

In the "Slalom" discipline, it depends on the rope length and how often the course is completed. The time doesn't matter. The maximum speed of the motor boats is 58 km/h for men and 55 km/h for women.

In "figure skating" the speed and rope length are up to the runner himself. Rather, the figures shown, which are divided into different levels of difficulty and evaluated by five competition judges, are decisive. The athlete has two runs (each 20 seconds) to show the figures.

In barefoot water skiing, starting figures, tricks, slalom and jumping as well as the combination are evaluated. Water ski racing (with special skis) includes long-distance runs on circuits. European Championships have been held since 1947, World Championships since 1949.