Waterskiing - Individual or Team Sport?

     Water-skiing is most unusual in that it is an individual sport that requires teamwork. There are very few other sports that your performance cannot even be attempted without the help of others.  Essential to water skiing is having a good support system of reliable drivers. It is just as important to have and be a knowledgeable driver or skier that understands that skiing can be a fast moving and dangerous sport. Just knowing how to operate a boat is not enough to pull skiers safely and correctly.

     Trying to maneuver a 300 hp boat around tight turns and between narrow buoy paths at speeds approaching 40 mph is not for the novice driver. The individual talents of the driver can dictate severely how well the skier performs.   To pick up a fallen or dropped skier can also be very dangerous for the skier. To do this safely requires talent from the driver. The skier also has to know how to properly pull out for a drop and the driver has to anticipate how each individual skier will drop.  To learn the different settings on speed control devices is a whole new learning curve which if set incorrectly can lead to a horrible pull.

     All boats drive and perform differently and some require complete opposite driving techniques. On some boats the prop rotates clockwise, some others counterclockwise. This requires completely opposite turning, backing and parking techniques.  Therefore it is very important to be able to adapt. Not only to be safe, but also to give the skier the best possible pull. Once you’re in the water the skier has no control over the pull.  Again, the individual talents of the driver dictate the pull for the skier.

     It is also just as important to have dedicated and reliable ski partners. People you can trust to show up when expected and on time. People to share in the fuel expenses. To help clean and wipe down the boat after skiing. To help maintain the Slalom course, or resurface the Jump. In another word, Teamwork.

     There are few things more frustrating than getting to your ski site only to have no one else show up or skiers that hit the dock when finished and leave without paying their share of the fuel or helping with the boat and gear. Your ski partners are your teammates. 

     Being courteous, knowledgeable, dependable and safe will go a long way to ensuring you have more ski partners and drivers to ski with.  In addition, skiing with the same group of people over time makes you feel a part of a team.

     So, can we honestly say that water-skiing it is an Individual Sport? I don’t think so. Is it a Team Sport? Not in the traditional definition. It is somewhere in between which is one of the things that make this such a great and uniquely challenging sport. A skier cannot perform without the driver and the driver can get as much satisfaction from a good run as the skier. The two are interconnected by 300 hp and a thin rope but each has their own individual job to do.

Gordon Slingerland

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