Water Ski-ing

One of the most popular forms of water sports is water skiing.   Individuals or groups of all ages, from young children to elderly people, can enjoy the sport.   Most peoples’ first experience of water skiing is when they holiday abroad and spend a large amount of money being towed behind a boat and failing to master the basics of the sport.

It is a false conception that it is an expensive sport, and you need a boat and all the equipment before you can ski, as today there are many clubs and associations who provide the boat and equipment plus qualified instructors, enabling the rookie skier to quickly master the basics and then progress either by using their own equipment or joining a club and paying to ski on a regular basis.

As stated, children of 4 or 5 learn to ski on a small pair of skis joined together at the front to assist them and then quickly progress to a standard pair of skis.   Today’s modern ski’s are user friendly, having a wide surface area and tunnel running from the front to rear, ensuring the skis stay in a straight line.

Most people start skiing on a pair of ski’s and progress to ‘mono’ skiing, or skiing on a single ski.   The technique for starting and skiing on a mono ski is different to that of a pair and should not be attempted until proficient on a pair of skis.

As the skier becomes more proficient, the choice of equipment increases up to expensive Kevlar mono ski’s used in tournament skiing, often seen on the television, with the skier slaloming between fixed buoys.   This sport is known as Tournament skiing, which includes a number of disciplines, slalom, jump and trick.

In slalom, the skier is towed trough a fixed course at a fixed speed and the ski rope is gradually shortened, making it difficult to slalom between the buoys.   The skier who completes the most buoys on the shortest rope is declared the winner.   In the jump section, the skier jumps over a fixed ramp, the skier who jumps the furthest wins.

Another form of skiing is water ski racing. The skier uses a single laminated wooden ski with a flat surface area and two boots screwed to the ski for the skier to strap his feet in.   These skis are longer and wider than tournament skis and the skier does not hold the rope in front of him, but is pulled along by a harness he holds behind his back.   The races are usually over a set course of approximately 3 miles and last for up to 50 minutes, dependent upon the age group and formula.

Further information on water skiing can be obtained from the Welsh Water Ski Association via its chairman, Mr David Silver or from the Penarth (Wales) Water Ski Club, who have their own boat and five qualified instructors, via their commodore, Mr Warren Perry.

Forthcoming events in the area include a series of open days, they will be listed in the Whats On section, where members of the public can try skiing organised by the Penarth Club and a round of the British Racing Championships organised by the Welsh Water Ski Association at Milford haven on May 25th.

Mr Silver can be contacted on 029 2021 1193.   Penarth Ski club can be contacted on 07973 664073.