Barefooting is one of the most challenging types of waterskiing.  This sport there are many ways to start some of them are drop a slalom ski, deep water, flyer, and sitting on something and standing up.  The easiest one is the sitting on something like a knee board or wake board.  This is for those first time barefooters.  After that you move on to drop a slalom ski.  After that you move on to deep water starts.  A deep water start is when you lay in the water and the boat just pulls you up.  The last on to learn how to do is a flyer.  A flyer is when you jump off a dock or something high and the boat pulls you in the air and then into the water.  Barefooting is a hard sport to learn and you will fall trying things, it will hurt.

The time period to ski is much more important than wakeboarding.  Water skiing you want smooth water no waves, a lake that looks like its glass is ideal.  Wakeboarding you want some smooth with some big bumps at random usually made from another boat.  When your wake and the wake from the other boat hit they become a super wake.  This super wake will get you tons of air.  When you meet rough water wakeboarding or waterskiing you want to make sure that your knees are bent to absorb the wave, like car shocks.  If you want to jump the wave because you are wake board you want your knees to be a little stiffer.  Bending g your knees in rough water will take less of a toll on your body.

 

Tower

The point that you ski or wakeboard on affects your performance.  Towers are usually made for wakeboarding and pylons are made for water skiing.  They do have a cross between the two which are on runabout boats, it’s called an eye.  The eye is meant for everything.  They make a special towing point for bare footing and it is called a boom.  The boom is for starting water skiers and bare footers it is just a pole on the side of the boat.  If you are starting out waterskiing and you have a tower you should use it.  The tower raises the rope out of the water higher and it is easier for the skier.  The only time you should use the pylon is when you ski jump, slalom water, or pulling lots of people.  When you start using these different towing points you will realize the differences. 

 Only Pylon

There are many water ski camps out there but the majority are in Florida.  If you live in the northeast there are a lot less to choose from.  The camps are great because you usually get great advice and ski for like a week straight.  The only thing is it takes a big toll on your body.  When you go to a camp try to choose one that has all different kinds of water sports so you can excel in all of them.  Also when you co gloves might be a good investment.  When I went to a camp once we skied so much that I had huge blisters on my hands.  If you every get a chance to go to a camp take it will greatly improve your water skiing abilities.

Banana George is a water skier who holds the record of oldest man to barefoot water ski.  Banana George can do everything he snowboards, surfs, and does all types of water skiing.  He started to water ski at the age of forty and learned how to barefoot at the age of forty six.  His favorite color is yellow.  This explains why just about everything he owns is yellow and that his favorite food is bananas.  That is how he got his nick name Banana George.  He also is not just a legend he is a champion he held the longest barefoot jump from 1983 – 1991.  Banana George is an icon in barefoot waterskiing.

Wakeboarding is a very easy sport to learn but tricks are a lot harder.  Theses tricks consist of spins, flips, and grabs.  The easiest group is grabs, you can do grabs if you jump over the wake or not.  The other two sets of tricks you need to be jumping over the wake with a good amount of air.  I think it is easier to do a back flip than a 360.  The 360 has a hand off on the rope handle which is very hard to accomplish.  Flips are just strait shooting you just have to have the guts for the flip.  For the back flip you just need to get the air and throw your weight back and you just need to work on the landing.  Overall all of these tricks are hard and it takes a long time to learn them.

The course in slalom water skiing shows the riders precision, balance, and techniques.  This is very hard to master and as soon as you master it the rope is shorten and it becomes harder.  This is the compotation for slalom water skiing.  Also in this sport it is very hard to find a course.  Courses are usually found on private lakes, some rivers, and some lakes.  When doing the course you driver needs to be precise or he will hit a buoy.  When you do the course you need to be able to make one handed buoy turns and be able to lock your knees across the wake.  When skiing you also need smooth water, it plays a big role in your balance.  This is a challenging thing to ski and is only for the best.

The water ski jump is very challenging.  When you water ski jump you it is very hard to land because there is slack in the line.   When you are trying to land the jump you need to lean forward so you do not fall back.  Also when you go up the jump you have to make sure you do not cut on the ramp.  If you cut on the jump you will fall and it will hurt a lot.  When you jump you should where some protective gear like a barefoot suit and a helmet.  You where the barefoot suit because it has lots of padding in it and you where the helmet to protect your head.  This sport is very hard to master and it’s hard to find a jump.  If you are looking to try this you would probably have to join a water ski team.

Water ski pyramids show the strength and organization for water skiers.  These are very challenging to do and usually are only performed in water ski shows.  A typical pyramid is three base members then two on the second level and one on the top.  When you do a pyramid you need wide water skis or what they call wide boards.  Also you need pyramid line which is the line that holds all of the individual lines of the skiers.  When you start building levels every level you go up you should add about eighteen inches on each skier’s line.  After this is all organized you need to figure out how you are going to start.  The most conman way is to put people on the bottom guy’s shoulders and then do a dock start.  After that have everyone get into position and climb up.  This is a very hard process and will take a long time to learn. 

Surfing is a relatively new sport.  Surfing is done behind a wakeboard boat.  In the boat you put all of the ballast on one side.  This will create a large wave that you can surf.  The surf board is not like one you would use on the ocean they are relatively small.  To start you would law down on them and hold this rope that is very short.  When the boat starts to go and the wave comes up you stand up and throw the rope into the boat.  After this you just surf the wave.  This is a dangerous sport though if you fall you could fall and hit the boat.  This is fun and you should try it if you get the chance.