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/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.
Alberto Tomba is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerful build was a contrast to the lighter, more traditional technical skiers who prioritised agility over muscle. Tomba was able to take advantage of the introduction of spring-loaded ski gates which replaced the older, solid gates in the early 1980s by using his power to maintain a faster, more direct line through courses. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles: four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title. He was popularly called Tomba la Bomba.
Kjetil André Aamodt is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway, a champion in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is one of the most successful alpine ski racers from Norway.
Theodore Sharp Ligety is a retired American alpine ski racer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofounded Shred Optics. Ligety won the combined event at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the giant slalom race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-time World Cup champion in giant slalom. Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in 2013 in Schladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in the super-G and a third gold medal in the super combined.
The Skiing Cochrans are a family of American alpine ski racers from Richmond, Vermont, a dominant force on the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and again in 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
Michael Hazelwood is a retired British water skier and a was the world overall champion in 1977.
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.
Tamara McKinney is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She won four World Cup season titles, most notably the 1983 overall, the first American woman title holder for a quarter century. McKinney's other three season titles were in giant slalom and slalom (1984). She was a world champion in the combined event in 1989, her final year of competition.
George Alfred Blair was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and waterskier, known for his barefoot waterskiing and trademark yellow "banana"-like wetsuits.
Jimmy Siemers is a former professional 3-event water skier and 3-time World Record holder. Siemers skied for Arizona State University Water Ski Team, where he won the trick event at collegiate nationals four times in his four years on the team. He also set a Collegiate Record in the men's trick event in his last tournament as a student.
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.
Bob LaPoint is an American former professional water skier. During his career he set the world record on five occasions and won 15 major championships. In 2006 he was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame. He is the younger brother of water skier Kris 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.
Wayne Grimditch is an American water skier. He competed for the United States in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Germany, winning two silver medals in the water skiing. Grimditch would go on to establish 10 U.S. national jumping records and four world marks in the sport. He earned 16 national titles and was the first skier to earn jumping records in the Junior Boy's, Boy's and Men's divisions simultaneously. Grimditch was known as a child prodigy qualifying for his first national tournament in slalom at just nine years old and winning the world jumping title in Copenhagen, Denmark at age 14. Due to a concussion, he began wearing a helmet which became common to the sport—though not a requirement—thereafter.
Willa McGuire Cook was the winner of 18 American national titles in water skiing. She was the first freestyle water skier, and had a unique and creative approach to her sport. In the 1950s, Cook invented swivel skiing, a style of water skiing that became hugely successful around the world, which combines the moves of ballet with water skiing by using swivel bindings on the ski. Today there is a trophy in her name, which is awarded to the best female performer at the National Water Ski Show Tournament each year.
Kristi Overton Johnson is an American former water skiing champion, author, and missionary. Competing professionally between 1983 and 2005, Overton Johnson accumulated 80 pro victories.
Judy McClintock-Messer is a Canadian former water skier. She won the Masters Water Ski Tournament in 1981 and the Water Ski World Championships in 1985 and 1995.
