6 Great Australian Disabled Water Skiers
Most water skiing enthusiasts take their ability to participate in their beloved sport for granted — that is, of course, until they suffer an injury that, temporarily at least, impairs their ability to take further part. For some skiers, however, these disabilities are not just temporary — they are permanent challenges which must be overcome. In this article, we’ll take a look at six of Australia’s top disabled water skiers. These are people who overcome these challenges on a regular basis in order to compete in the sport they love.
Ian ‘Clyde’ Denman
Born with cerebral palsy, Clyde competes in the mens multi-plegic level 1 (MP1) category and has represented Australia at the World Championships. MP1 competitors use a sit ski and are unable to utilise most of their trunk musculature and rise from their knees without arm support, lack full use of their upper extremities, and usually don’t have adequate grip strength, instead using their forearms or wrists to hold the handle.
4 Things to Remember When Buying a Wetsuit
In order to enjoy you water skiing or wakeboarding experience year round, you’ll need to invest in a wetsuit. The role of the wetsuit is to:
- Keep you warm
- Protect the body from hard falls
- Protect from the sun’s UV rays
In particular, wetsuits are about keeping you warm, especially in those colder winter months when hopping in the water — and getting out of the water — is otherwise too much to bear. They work by trapping a layer of water between the suit and your skin. Your body warmth then works to heat the layer of water, acting as an insulator and helping to minimise heat loss in even the coldest conditions.
A Beginner’s Guide to Kneeboarding
Kneeboarding is a water sport where the rider is towed at planing speed behind a motorboat on a hydrodynamically-shaped board. Unlike water skiing and wakeboarding, kneeboarders enjoy a much lower centre of gravity, making balancing much easier, and making the falls often less painful. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at kneeboarding, including its history, necessary equipment and some of the tips and tricks that can be performed in the discipline.
A very brief history of kneeboarding
The earliest records of kneeboarding date back to 1965 in the U.S. state of California. Since towed water sports were gaining popularity, many of the state’s avid surfers tried using homemade boards to tow themselves behind motorboats. Because of its lower centre of gravity, kneeling soon became a popular way to ride on these boards, and pretty soon specially-designed kneeboards were popping up all over the place, including Danny Churchill’s commercially successful "Hydroslide".
5 Towed Water Sports You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Water skiing and wakeboarding are brilliant, but there’s a bunch of towed water sports out there that the average punter hasn’t even heard of. In this article, we’ll introduce you to a few towed water sports that haven’t quite reached the popularity of their wakeboard and water ski counterparts, but which still have a strong following and a heck of a lot to offer adrenalin seekers around Australia.
- Kneeboarding
Generally seen as being easier to learn than more traditional towsports — and with a sense of being closer to the water’s surface — kneeboarding involves the participant kneeling on a specially-shaped kneeboard, secured with an adjustable strap that rests over the thighs. Speeds generally don’t exceed about 30km/h. Kneeboarders grip the tow handle either with their palms facing down or with a baseball grip. Because the centre of gravity is lower when kneeboarding, it’s sometimes seen as a suitable option for those who have trouble standing on water skis or a wakeboard.
What is the Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic?
The Hawkesbury region, which lies to the north-west of Sydney, is a picturesque and historic area offering a rural feel right at the doorstep of the largest metropolitan area in Australia. The region is famous for its heritage attractions, antique shopping, art galleries, horse riding and, most of all, the mighty Hawkesbury River which runs through it. And in November of every year, all eyes in the Hawkesbury region — and in the Australian water skiing community in general — turn towards the magnificent waterway for the biggest event on the Aussie water skiing calendar: the Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic.
From Brooklyn Bridge to Windsor Bridge
As Australia’s internationally-renowned water ski race, the Bridge to Bridge holds a special place in the hearts of many Australian water skiers, and also attracts competitors from around the world. The race begins at Dangar Island, located at Broken Bay in Brooklyn in Sydney’s north-east, just a few kilometres before the Hawkesbury River meets the Tasman Sea.
A Brief History of Water Skiing
The first boat to be powered by a petrol engine first appeared in 1886 in Germany, and by the early 20th century powered boats were becoming more and more common on waterways around the world. Such is the ingenuity of man, then, that it didn’t take very long at all for someone to realise the potential of these new inventions in helping human beings ski on water. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at the history of water skiing.
From humble beginnings
It was June in Minnesota, U.S.A. in the summer of 1922 when two teenagers by the name of Ralph and Ben Samuelson hypothesised that if humans could ski on snow, then they could probably ski on water. This hypothesis turned out to be accurate, though, as it would turn out, it was a little more complicated in the case of the latter. The brothers put their theory into practice, and just a month later, Ralph found a way to stand up on two skis while his brother drove the boat that was towing him along.
Teaching Kids to Water Ski: 5 Tips
When they say water skiing is fun for the whole family, they’re not lying. Children as young as two years old have been known to hop on a set of water skis — in fact, in the U.S., three-year-old Kimberly Westover has even competed in the Water Ski National Championships, qualifying for the girls’ under 9′s division in 2010. In this article, we’ll show you how water skiing can be a safe and fun activity for your child to take up as well.
Teaching Your Kids to Water Ski
If you’re heavily into water skiing, then you probably can’t wait to teach your kids how to ski too. Taking the boat out on to the water makes for a fun family day, and watching your little ones first experience the joys of this fantastic sport makes for some great memories.
What is Sit-down Hydrofoil?
Sit-down hydrofoil is a form of water skiing where you don’t actually ride on the water. Sounds weird, right? Well, let’s be clear — there’s not strictly no contact with the water whatsoever. Instead, the rider is strapped into a board with a seat, hovering slightly above the water, supported by a hydrofoil wing which is partly submerged. Occasionally, the rider will make contact with the water with the board, but for the most part the friction of the water is completely eliminated as the rider experiences the feeling of "floating on air".
History of Sit-down Hydrofoil
To look at the history of the sit-down hydrofoil, you first need to take a look at the history of the hydrofoil boat. This type of boat, where the hull was raised out of the water in order to reduce hull drag, was first invented in 1906 by Italian inventor, Enrico Forlanini. Up until the 1960s, various militaries around the world developed their own style of hydrofoil. The US Navy, for example, developed the Jetfoil, which was the forefather of the Jetski.
The Essential Wakeboarding Glossary
Just getting into wakeboarding and don’t wanna sound like a n00b? Here’s a quick wakeboarding glossary to ensure you don’t verbally faceplant.
Air: A measure of a jump’s height — basically, how much air there is between rider and water.
Backside: A spin where the back of the board goes towards the boat first.
Bail: To fall off your wakeboard.
Ballast: Extra weight added to the boat to create a bigger wake. It could be anything from extra people to specially-designed “fat sacks”.
Biff: To mess up on your wakeboard — often, to mess up a landing.
Bone: A type of grab where you keep your legs straight. Referred to as a “boned out grab”.
The 10 Best Wakeboarding Beginner Tricks
The better you become at wakeboarding, the more tricks you’re going to want to try. However, you need to crawl before you can walk. When learning how to wakeboard, here are a few beginner tricks you can try to help get your confidence levels up. Mastering these basic wakeboarding tricks will put you in good stead when it’s time to attempt something a little more difficult.
1. Ride w/ one hand on handle (5 seconds)
This one’s all about style. Once you’ve got a bit of confidence and balance, take one hand off the handle. You can use the other to wave to your mates in the boat or perhaps some hotties on shore. It doesn’t have to be a wave, either — be creative! Just don’t fall down or you’ll be left looking stupid!
2. Crouch down and touch water
