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.
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/50–70 km/h) than conventional water skiing (20-35 mph). 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.
The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the world governing body for all towed water sports. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1946, it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole authority governing all towed water sports and has 91 affiliated member federations worldwide. The IWWF is also an affiliate member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and is one of the seven founding sports of the World Games.
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.
Deena Mapple is a retired American competitive water skier. She is regarded to be one of the greatest female water skiers of her generation. Her Grand Slam Victory in 1987 - overall wins in the World Championships, U.S. Nationals, U.S. Masters and the Pro Tour - made her one of two athletes to ever accomplish the feat. She remains the only American to earn membership to the United States Waterskiing Team seven consecutive times.
Regina Jaquess is an American water skier. She had won awards in the sport by age 13 and won medals in Water skiing at the 2003 Pan American Games. In that same year she won at the Water Ski World Championship. She won gold medals in Water skiing at the 2011 Pan American Games and for 2012-2013 was named "Female Slalom Skier of the Year" by Water Ski Magazine.
Julia Gromyko is a Belarusian-German water skier. As of 2004 she was the world record holder in the tricks and jump events.
Australian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation, or AWWF is the governing body for the Waterskiing, Wakeboarding and Bare footing in Australia.
Raimi Merritt is a professional wakeboarder and is one of the top female athletes in the sport of wakeboarding.
Michael "Mike" Kjellander is a former Swedish professional water skier. He won the US Pro Tour 21 times, two times Masters champion, one-time US Open champion, 15 times European champion, 32 times national champion, two silver and one bronze from World Championship and one-time world record holder. He specialized in slalom and jump but was initially also successful as an overall skier. He is still the national current record holder in trick with a score of 7,760 points.
South African Water Ski Federation (SAWSF) is the governing body for the sport of waterski in South Africa. It is affiliated to the world governing body International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, and SASCOC.
The following is the qualification system and qualified countries for the Water skiing at the 2019 Pan American Games competitions.
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.
