The Origins of Popular Water Sports
The Origins of Popular Water Sports
When we think of summer, we think of the lake and ocean as well as sports and sunshine. If we’re lucky, we can get the chance to combine all of these ideas by participating in a fun watersport on a sunny day. When we’re on the water jet skiing, wakeboarding, or water skiing, we’re focused on the fun we’re having and not on the fact that what we’re doing has a history.
For those of us who like to learn the ins and outs of our favorite things, the history of these sports can be exciting to learn about and make our favorite water sports even better. So, to help you come to terms with just how amazing water sports are, here is a brief history of some of the most popular water sports that can be done on Lake Mead.
Water skiing
Water skiing originates in Minnesota, USA and was created by two teenagers- Ben and Ralph Samuleson. The boys had the idea that if humans could ski on snow, they should be able to ski on water as well. A month after having this idea, Ralph was standing on two skis while his brother towed him along on a boat.
Ralph soon discovered that the key to skiing on the water was to lean backwards with the tips of his skis pointing upwards. Despite its simple concept, the makeshift water skis allowed him to glide at 30 mph.
The brothers eventually took their invention on tour and introduced people around the world to this new sport. In 1925, however, the official patent for water skis was given to a man named Fred Waller.
Jet skis were originally called water scooters and were introduced to the world in Europe sometime during the 1950’s. They were created by motorcycle makers who were looking for unique ways to expand their market.
A British company called Vincent produced around 200 water scooters in 1955, but the idea was a flop and failed to create the market that they had been hoping for. In the 60’s, an Italian company named Mival created its Nautical Pleasure Cruiser, which required its user to hang on from behind.
An Australian moto crosser named Clayton Jacobsen took this idea into his own hands and created the new model so that the users were both standing and hanging on from behind. His biggest breakthrough was when we switched the outboard motor out in favor of a new internal pump jet.
His idea was sold to a snowmobile manufacturer, who failed to see the potential after Jacobsen’s creation didn’t catch on. He took his patent to Kawaski, who produced its first jet ski in 1973. This time, the invention caught on.
Wakeboarding came about in its earliest form in San Diego, California in 1985. A surfer by the name of Tony Finn developed what he called the Skufer- a hybrid of a surfboard and a water ski. The creation appeared to be a small surfboard but was pulled by a motorized boat while the rider performed surf-like moves.
In the summer of that year, a major development occurred- the addition of foot straps. This idea was created by two people, who, at the time, had no idea that the other was creating the same idea. Finn was adding foot straps to his Skurfer while Texas native, Jimmy Redmon was adding foot straps to his water ski board.
Finn went on to promote his Skurfer and the idea of skiboarding was created. Despite being a hit, the creation was proving to be a flop as it was failing to progress in term of development. Redmon’s creation was also failing.
Herb O’Brien, a businessman, began to tinker with these ideas and eventually introduced his idea- the Hyperlite. This creation was what sparked the idea of wakeboarding, and in 1993, when Redmon made some minor adjustments to the wakeboard, wakeboarding became an official sport.
By knowing how these sports came to be, we can be more appreciative of them and enjoy them more. We can thank the creative minds who came up with the ideas for the sports for giving us something fun to do on hot summer days and providing a way for us to get fit.
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source https://www.lasvegasjetskiandboatrentals.com/origins-popular-water-sports/
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