Few sports are as global as water skiing. With over 30 million active participants, 52'000 competitors and 92 National Federations, major international competitions have a United Nations feel to them. The bi-annual Tournament World Championships for instance attract athletes from over 40 countries and the number is still increasing. Major water skiing events are broadcast by many of the large TV networks. The annual Moomba Masters held in March in Melbourne, Australia, attracts over 60'000 spectators, captures 14 hours of live TV national coverage over three days and, in TV ratings, outperforms most other sporting events at that time. The US Masters, held at Callaway Gardens, Georgia, each May, is networked through several major sports TV Channels and is regarded as one of the most prestigious sporting events in the USA.

Water skiing is of course not just one discipline. Most of people have enjoyed, at one time or another, trying to ski off a beach on two skis, but water skiing proper comprises Slalom, Tricks, Jump, Wakeboard, Barefoot, Cable, Racing and Disabled. Here are the basic rules involved in The World Games' water skiing disciplines.

Tournament Slalom
This is all about reaction time, strength, coordination and balance. The object for the skier is to pass around six buoys while being pulled through the slalom course by the ski boat. The speed of the ski boat is computer controlled - not driver controlled. This ensures that each competitor gets exactly the correct speed on every pass. That sounds easy!  However, with each successful pass through the course, the boat speed is increased by 3km/h from a set start speed and continues up to 58km/h for men and 55km/h for women. If the skier is still without a fall at 58km/h / 55km/h, the rope length is reduced progressively from 18.25 meters to a possible 9.75 meters.  It is worth noting that the distance from the boat rope pole to each buoy is 11.5 meters, so the only way the skier can get through the slalom course on the shorter rope is by using reach and body height. Top slalom skiers tend to be athletic giants!  For example: the present men's world slalom record is 1 buoy on the 9.75 meter line, travelling at 58km/h. This will bring 60,000 spectators to their feet with very little encouragement.

Tournament Tricks
This is also called figures. Here balance, agility and total control are critical. The movements are almost like gymnastics on water. Each competitor is given just two passes of 20 seconds to cram in as many different movements as possible. Some of the top athletes can average one trick per second ! Here the skier submits a written list of tricks before leaving the dock, selects his own boat speed, usually about 30km/h, and just goes for it ! In recent years, a variety of flips bring a big reaction from the spectators' and Akita was no exception.

Tournament Jump
This event is not for those with a nervous disposition !  A jump ramp is the center stage object.  Scoring is simple too.  The athlete who lands the furthest from the ramp and skis away is the winner. Here are the parameters. The jump ramp is only 4.2 meters wide. It's height varies: up to 1.65 meters high for women and 1.8 meters high for men. Maximum boat speeds also vary, all the way up to 57 kph for men.  While this is the computer controlled boat speed, by cutting diagonally across the wake, the athlete can increase the actual approach speed to 100 kph ! When kicking off the jump ramp, athletes must absorb up to 3 Gs for 0.2 of a second and still get perfect timing on when to kick !

Tournament Overalls
Now that all athletes had completed their disciplines, the overall scores can be calculated. The winner in each discipline scores 1'000 points and all others are calculated off this base.  Barefoot Slalom, Trick and Jump

We can now describe these together because they are almost the same as the Tournament events above - except that the athletes have no skis, only their bare feet.  In slalom, they don't use marker buoys - just wake crossings in the backward or forward position, on one or two feet, and are given two 15 second passes each.   The same number of passes and times are given to barefoot trickers. Watching flips, 540 degree turns and reverse one foot tricks are spectacular by any standards.

Wakeboard
Now it's time to crank up the lakeside sound system and bring on the wakeboarders - and there are over 280'000 riders in Japan alone. Akita was ready for some big moves on the water. Wakeboarding on water is very close to snowboarding. The equipment, bindings, moves and scoring system are quite similar. Each move has it's own name: Scarecrow, Tantrum, Elephant, KGB, Backroll, and the High Side Fuji Glide are some examples. With marks for expression and intensity, the judges are looking for spectacular big air performances.

Even though the sport of water skiing has been with us for over half a century, The World Games formula is unique.  Mixing Tournament, Barefoot and Wakeboard together produces an outstanding event.

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