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| Established | 1980 |
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| Location | 101 Adventure Court Davenport, Florida |
| Founder | USA Water Ski Foundation |
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.
Since the creation of the sport by Ralph Samuelson in 1922, water skiing has grown immensely, and USA-WSF works to document individuals and events which have significantly contributed to water skiing history. The museum houses items of memorabilia, vintage skis and related equipment, classic photos, press clippings, and highlights from historic competitions and events. From 1982 to 2012, the USA Water Ski Foundation Hall of Fame inducted 63 individuals who have made major contributions to water skiing. [1]
The Water Ski Hall of Fame and Museum was originally established by the USA Water Ski Foundation in 1980 in Winter Haven, Florida, just a few minutes from the famed Cypress Gardens Water Ski Show. The museum is currently housed at the Central Florida Visitors & Convention Bureau Welcome Center in Davenport.
The Water Ski Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to "honor and perpetuate the names and accomplishments of skiers, pioneers, and officials whose dedication and competitive achievements at National and International levels brought lasting fame to the sport of water skiing". [2] The Hall of Fame admits four categories of individuals: competitive water skiers, water skiing pioneers, water skiing officials, and show skiers.
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.
Tracy Anne Stockwell, OAM,, née Tracy Anne Caulkins, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events.
The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and association have been headquartered in Park City, Utah.
Karl Frithjof Hovelsen was a Norwegian Nordic skier. Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was named in his honor.
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.
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.
Sarah Jean Burke was a Canadian freestyle skier who was a pioneer of the superpipe event. She was a five-time Winter X Games gold medallist, and won the world championship in the halfpipe in 2005. She successfully lobbied the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have the event added to the Olympic program for the 2014 Winter Olympics. She was considered a medal favourite in the event. Burke died following a training accident in Utah in 2012.
George Alfred Blair was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and waterskier, known for his barefoot waterskiing and trademark yellow "banana"-like wetsuits.
Diana Golden Brosnihan was an American disabled ski racer. After losing a leg to cancer at age 12, she went on to win 10 world and 19 United States championships between 1986, and 1990 as a three-tracker, or one-legged skier. Golden also won an Olympic gold medal in giant slalom at the 1988 Calgary Games, where disabled skiing was a demonstration sport. She participated in alpine skiing at two Winter Paralympic Games, in 1980, and 1988, winning two gold medals in the latter year. After retiring from skiing, cancer returned in 1992, and 1996, with her last bout of cancer resulting in her death in 2001.
Horst Hardy Bulau is a Canadian former ski jumper who competed for the Canadian national team.
Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele are identical twins and Canada's women's skiing pioneers and champions of the 1940s and 1950s. Together they made up the entire 1948 Olympic Women's Alpine team for Canada.
Tracy Mattes is a retired American track and field athlete and Humanitarian Activist.
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.
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.
Move United is an American non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of parasports among youths and adults with physical disabilities. The organization operates community parasports programs via over 150 local chapters across the country. Move United was formed in 2020 as a merger of two organizations; Disabled Sports USA, which was first founded in 1956 and based in Rockville, Maryland, and Adaptive Sports USA, a second organization founded in 1967. Move United is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As of 2020, the organization operates programs serving 100,000 residents in 43 states. In 2020, the two organizations merged as Move United, introducing a new identity by Superunion. A goal was announced for the organization to serve 90% of the U.S. population with local programs by 2028, in time for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.
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.
Nancie Rideout Robertson was an American professional water skier. During her competitive career, Rideout won the inaugural Masters and two World Championships in jump.