WATER SKIING FUN

It is debatable exactly when and where water skiing got its start, however we do know that a patient was given to a Swedish manufacturer in 1841. Whether or not it was constructed successfully is unclear, however we do know that the Swedish word for water skiing, vattenskida, appeared in the 1921 edition of the Nordisk Familjebok dictionary. So, it would seem that the Swedes were water skiing by then.

According to the American Water Ski Association, water skiing got its start on June 28,1922 when an 18 year old Minnesota resident, Ralph Samuelson, decided that if you could ski on snow, you could ski on water. On Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota, he experimented unsuccessfully with boards of a barrel and snow skis, then finally got it right with skis he fashioned on his own out of lumber. It was on these skis that Samuelson discovered the secret to successful water skiing was to lean back with the ski tips pointed up out of the water.

Samuelson began giving exhibitions, or ’stunt’ shows, showing off his new talent in his local area, and eventually performed for audiences all over the Eastern U.S. It was on an exhibition on Lake Pipin in July of 1925 that Samuelson preformed his first water skiing jump, exciting the audiences and bringing popularity to the little known sport. With this popularity also came numerous other claims about inventing the skis, and in 1925 a man named Fred Waller patented the first water skis in the United States, the ‘Dolphin Akwa-Skees’. As it turned out, Ralph Samuelson never patented any of this work.

In 1928 a man named Don Ibsen also invented his own water skis, never having heard of Samulson or Waller. He was manufacturing and selling his own skis out of his Seattle area home, giving the sport much popularity on the west coast. Ibsen created the first ’ski school’ in the mid 1930’s, which eventually led to the Olympic Water Ski Club, one of the first clubs of its kind, in 1939.

Also in 1939, the American Water ski Association was formed by Dan B. Hains. Hains is credited with bringing the sport of water skiing to the tournament level worldwide. He held the first National Water Ski Championship at Jones Beach State Park in Long Island, New York this same year. Hains was the tournament chairperson, and he made it a success, laying the framework for decades of tournaments to come.

Since its start, water skiing has come a long way. Divisions now include trick skiing, slalom skiing, ski racing, and ski jumping. Hains’ National Water Ski Championship is still held every year, amongst countless others, only now lasts 5 days and the 1000 or more contestants compete in 26 different divisions.