Water skiing is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires sufficient area on a stretch of water, one or two skis, a tow boat with tow rope, two or three people, and a personal flotation device. In addition, the skier must have adequate upper and lower body strength, muscular endurance, and good balance.
Hilary Kirsten Lindh is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. A specialist in the downhill event, she was a world champion and Olympic medalist.
Darin Fane Shapiro, nicknamed "The Scud" is an American professional wakeboarder from Orlando, Florida and the most successful rider in the history of the sport. Shapiro is well known for landing the first ever Double-flip on a wakeboard, which he named the "Speedball" as well as many other tricks which laid the foundation for what wakeboarding is today. After a 10-year retirement from wakeboarding, Shapiro returned to competition at age 40, at the 2014 Wake Games contest at Orlando Watersports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
USA Water Ski & Wake Sports, also known as USA Water Ski, is a non-profit water skiing association headquartered in Polk County, Florida whose mission is 'to promote the growth and development of recreational water skiing, and organizing and governing the sport of competitive water skiing." The American Water Ski Association (AWSA) was founded in 1939 to organize the first U.S. National Water Ski Championships. Today, AWSA is one of the nine sport disciplines that comprise USA Water Ski and Wake Sports. As of 2015, USA Water Ski was the largest water ski federation in the world with more than 600 clubs and 20,000 members. In 2016, they announced plans for a new training facility, office complex and space for the industry's Hall of Fame and museum in Auburndale, Florida.
Michael Hazelwood is a retired British water skier and a was the world overall champion in 1977.
Nautique Boat Company is an American boat manufacturer that produces boats primarily for waterskiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing. With models in the Super Air Nautique and Ski Nautique lines, they are widely considered the gold standard in the inboard towboat market. Owned by parent company, Correct Craft, Nautique is a member of the oldest family-owned and operated boat manufacturer in the world.
Kris LaPoint is an American former professional water skier. During his career he set or tied the world record on seven occasions and won 14 major championships. In 2008 he was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame. He is the older brother of water skier Bob LaPoint.
Andrew Henry Mapple was a British-American professional water skier. Competing professionally between 1981 and 2004, Mapple is regarded as the greatest slalom skier of all time. During his career he won six World Championships, 168 professional events, and set or tied the world record on eleven occasions.
George Joseph Cash was an American professional water skier. During his career Cash won four Masters, three U.S. Nationals, and two World Championships.
Richard Downing Pope Jr., better known as Dick Pope Jr., was a World Champion water skier and an important business leader in Central Florida. Pope was an important innovator in the sport of water skiing, including the development of barefoot skiing in 1947. He is the son of Dick Pope Sr., the founder of Cypress Gardens theme park.
Freddy Krueger is professional water ski jumper. Krueger is a 8-time World Record Holder, 5-time World Champion, and 14-time Masters Champion. He currently holds the World Ski Flying record at 312 feet.
Julia Gromyko is a Belarusian-German water skier. As of 2004 she was the world record holder in the tricks and jump events.
Camille Duvall, also known as "The Golden Goddess", is a retired American female professional water skier. She is a five-time World Champion and Hall of Fame water skier. After her water skiing career, Camille worked for ESPN and Fox Sports as a broadcast journalist. Now she is a licensed real estate broker in New York, New York for Warburg Realty. She received a certificate in Broadcasting from New York University.
Whitney McClintock is a Canadian water skier. She is a five time world champion. McClintock has also won thirteen Pan American Games medals.
Nancie Rideout Robertson was an American professional water skier. During her competitive career, Rideout won the inaugural Masters and two World Championships in jump.
Joel McClintock is a Canadian former water skier. During his career, McClintock and his sister Judy became the first pair of siblings to both win world titles.
Karen Morse MBE is a British water skier who was a British and European gold medalist.
The U.S. Professional Water Ski Tour was an annual standardized series of professional water ski tournaments held across the United States and Canada. The tour began in 1984. Tour stops were typically held on public water in metropolitan areas designed to draw large crowds and were televised on cable networks such as ESPN. The tour ceased in 2002.
Sherri Slone is a former professional water skier and former World Record holder. She is the only skier to win two professional titles in the same day, winning the 1990 Michelob Dry Water Ski Tour stop in Ft. Worth, Texas and the 1990 Budget Rent a Car (PAWS) Tour stop in Dallas, Texas in June 1990. Sherri Slone also won a gold medal in women's water skiing at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina.
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