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.
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making it the second most populated city in Polk County. It is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is named after the Telemark region of Norway, where the discipline originated. Sondre Norheim is often credited for first demonstrating the turn in ski races, which included cross country, slalom, and jumping, in Norway around 1868. Sondre Norheim also experimented with ski and binding design, introducing side cuts to skis and heel bindings.
Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds (30–45 mph/48–72 km/h) than conventional water skiing. The necessary speed required to keep the skier upright varies by the weight of the barefooter and can be approximated by the following formula: + 20, where W is the skier's weight in pounds and the result is in miles per hour. It is an act performed in show skiing, and on its own.
Karl Frithjof Hovelsen was a Norwegian Nordic skier. Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was named in his honor.
Thomson "Tommy" Bartlett was an American showman and entertainment mogul from Wisconsin. He is most often associated with the water skiing thrill show based in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, known as Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show. The success of this and other traveling water ski shows led to Bartlett's induction into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in 1993. His shows have toured the United States, the Far East, and four World Fairs, and have been seen by 50 million spectators.
Richard Downing Pope Sr., better known as Dick Pope, was the founder of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. He was also known as "Mr. Florida" and "Mr. Water Skiing." He played a key role in the development of tourism in the state of Florida, and in the growth of theme parks as tourist destinations. He was a highly accomplished athlete, and helped to popularize the sport of water skiing.
Stewart McDonald, born Henry Stewart McDonald, III in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in Washington, D.C., and served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and Korean War veteran of the US AIr Force, including test pilot and aerial refueling. He attended Cornell. He began (pre-NASCAR) stock car racing in 1947. After recuperating from a crash, he attended the University of Miami and in 1948 began a long association with Cypress Gardens and the sport of water skiing including ABC Sports Color commentator and induction to the Waterski Hall of Fame in 1992. He was the first president of the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association (FMTPA) in Tampa. He was also an actor, model, movie producer, raconteur, public speaker, auto-mechanic, humorist, and writer. He was involved in many aspects of television advertisements including Cadillac, Vitalis hair products, and Mercury Outboard motors. He operated water-ski schools in Biscayne Bay and Tampa Bay, was the first rated Senior Judge in 1959, and co-author of the American Water Ski Association Judges Manual and other AWSA manuals. He was a local group leader of the Quiet Birdmen for 32 years and chairman of the national executive committee for two years
George Alfred Blair was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and waterskier, known for his barefoot waterskiing and trademark yellow "banana"-like wetsuits.
Colette Bourgonje (ber-gon-yah) is a Canadian Paralympic cross-country skier and athlete of Métis heritage. She has won four bronze medals in Summer Paralympics and medals in Winter Paralympics for skiing.
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.
Ricky McCormick is an American water skier. He won 11 world titles, 37 national championships. He was awarded two gold medals for Water skiing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, though as it was a demonstration sport that year they are not included in the medal table. He came from a family of water skiers so started at age five. In 1982 he retired and in 1988 he was inducted into the Water Skiing Hall of Fame.
The Water Ski Hall of Fame and Museum is the hall of fame, museum, and archive of the sport of water skiing. Founded in 1980 and currently located in Davenport, Florida, the organization is administered by the USA Water Ski Foundation.
Frank Bare Jr. is an American freestyle skier. Bare was one of the sport's innovators and trained using a trampoline as well as on the aerials water ramps. In 1983, at Donner Ski Ranch, California, Bare performed the first quadruple somersault on skis. He did a triple twisting quadrupole back flip and did not wear a helmet. For nearly 20 years, no other skier performed a quadruple somersault onto snow.
Roby Luigi Zucchi was an Italian water-skier noted for slalom. He won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, where water skiing was an exhibition event. Later he won the slalom at the 1975 world championships. In 1995 he was inducted into the Water Skiing Hall of Fame.
Mike Seipel is a retired American competitive barefoot water skier. He was considered to be one of the greatest barefoot water skiers in the world. He was a member of the United States Barefoot Team and was a two-time overall world champion in 1984-85 and 1986–87. Seipel didn't win any medals at his first Worlds, but he launched a sports career that would eventually earn him 11 National titles, six World titles and nine World records. He skied on eight U.S. Barefoot Water Ski Teams and has since trained numerous National and World champions at his Barefoot International Ski School. Mike invented the inverted barefoot jumping technique, which he first attempted in competition at the world championships in 1990. This technique is now used by all the top competitors around the world and has allowed the world record to be extended up to almost 30m. Mike was also well known for being the first footer to do tricks like one-foot 360 turns and a stepover back-to-front feet-to-feet in competition.
Janelle Kirtley Godfrey was an American former World Champion water skier.
John Morton is an Olympic skier and writer from the United States. He was born in Keene, New Hampshire. Morton has participated as an athlete, coach, and team leader in seven Olympic Games for the United States in the biathlon event.
United States Army, 
United States Navy 
Commander 
