Sports Link ..WATER SKI RACING

Water Ski Racing

World Water Ski Racing

Water Ski Racing combines the excitement of speed and water along with human and machine. With the world’s best water ski racers hurtling across lakes, oceans, rivers and dams at speeds in excess of 120mph, water ski racing is a ‘must-see’ for extreme sport enthusiasts.

Teams race around a set course in the same fashion as Formula 1 Grand Prix car racing with the fastest team winning the race. If you take a fall, then you get yourself back onto the ski as quickly as possible to continue the race. Races can be anything from 10 to 60+ minutes in length, depending on the category and level of competition.

Some uninitiated people often assume that the skier with the fastest boat will win. Well it’s not usually about the speed of the boat because the boat will normally exceed the skier’s ability in terms of speed on varying water conditions. And there are so many other factors which help create a winning team. Water ski racing is a real team effort.

The next step is trying it yourself and no you’re not going to do the 120mph thing on day one – that’s for sure. It takes years of dedication to clock speeds of 120mph but your earliest experiences in this amazing sport will be both exhilarating and unforgettable. Then you'll be hooked!

A driver, observer and skier makes up the team needed to go water ski racing and of course you need a speedboat and other basic gear such as ski line, ski, wetsuit and helmet, etc.

The best way forward is to contact someone at your local water ski club that gets involved in water ski racing. They will be able to fill you in on so much more.

A great starting place for information and a taste of this superb sport is www.skirace.net. It’s the official International Water Ski Federation portal for the sport and it links to all the major water ski racing sites throughout the world. It offers a free mailing list, discussion forum and so much more.

Water ski racing – “The Ultimate Family Sport”

For more information contact:
Robbie Llewellyn [email protected]
IWSF Racing Communication Director
www.skirace.net

Please visit the Water Ski Racing website.

Photos courtesy of Memories Ink.