In 1922, Ralph Samuelson from Minnesota thought that Skiing could also be done in water. His first few attempts were unsuccessful. He used barrel staves and tried being pulled by a boat. When this did not work, he used Snow Skis, all to no avail. At this point, he decided to make his own pair of skis that would enable him to effectively ski on water. He managed to make skis out of two 8x9 inch boards in which he attached leather straps to hold his feet in place. To make the attempt complete, he used a 100´ long sash cord with an iron ring for the handle. This served as his towrope. It was later attached to a boat. His brother was his "boat driver" and they reached a maximum speed of 20 mph at Lake Pepin, Lake City, Minnesota. After that remarkable event, Samuelson began to show his new sport in the United States for about 15 years.
On July 8, 1925, Samuelson smeared lard on a half-sunken diving platform and he jumped with a height of 60 feet off its raised end, making him the first ever water ski jumper. In that same year, he made another breakthrough by attaching a sash cord which was 200 feet in length to a World War I flying boat with 200 horsepower. He was pulled behind it with a speed of 80 mph. This made him the first speed skier.
Ralph Samuelson's attempt was a great milestone in the history of skiing, as this paved the way for the development of Water Skiing as a sport. From then on, Water Skiing became popular. In fact, more and more water ski enthusiasts contributed in the improvement and in making other people aware of the joys of water skiing. In 1924, Fred Waller created his own skis at Long Island Sound which he patented and called 'Akwa-Skees'. Four years later, Don Ibsen was the first ever skier of West Coast. In 1929, Water Skiing was introduced at French Riviera by Count Maximilian Pulaski, while Dan Hains of New York organized AWSA, or the American Water Ski Association. This is a governing body for Water Skiing made in 1939.
Water Skiing became part of several tournaments and various water ski competitions were organized. It was included in the 1972 Olympics as an exhibition sport. On the other hand, the first National Show Ski Tournament was held in 1974, and in 1979, the first ever National Intercollegiate Water Ski Championships was held. Ten years later, the first competition for people with disabilities was organized and called Home CARE US National Water Ski Challenge. Those were all parts of water skiing history.
Nowadays, people are coming up with innovative ideas on how to further improve skiing equipment. Modern materials are used in the production and design of water skis to meet the requirements and needs of the growing number of people who are enjoying the wonders of this amazing sport.
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