About Adaptive Water Skiing#
Water skiing has been adapted so that physically disabled athletes can participate and compete. Tournaments offer slalom, tricks and jumping events for vision impaired individuals (blind or partially sighted), multiplegics (paraplegics and quadriplegics), leg amputees (above and below knee), arm amputees and athletes with both arm and leg disabilities. The skiers in the latter three categories compete with the same water ski equipment used by able-bodied athletes and have the option of using a prosthesis.
Vision impaired athletes do not require special equipment. However, they are guided by another skier in the jumping event, although they must be released before they go over the ramp and use audible signals instead of buoys in the slalom course.
Multiplegic athletes use a sit ski, which is larger than the ski of an able-bodied skier and includes a cage similar to that used in snow skiing.
A narrower slalom course than that set out for able-bodied competitors is an option for those whose disability is greater such as quadriplegics and athletes with both arm and leg disabilities.
WORLD TOURNAMENTS
1987 - The first World Trophy, a non-record event, took place outside London in England with officials from the European, African, Middle Eastern (EAME) Region and one from the Pan Am Region. There were 40 participants from 7 countries. Great Britain won the team title ahead of the USA & Australia.
1989 - The second World Trophy, a national record capability event, took place outside Perth, Australia with officials from the Asia-Australasian Region and one each from the Pan Am and EAME Regions. There were 55 participants from 9 countries. Great Britain won the team title ahead of the USA & Australia.
1991 - The third and final World Trophy, a world record capability event, took place in Michigan, in the USA with at least two officials from each Region. There were 65 participants from 12 countries. Great Britain won the team title ahead of the USA and Australia.
1993 - The inaugural world championships, a world record capability event, was held in Roquebrune, France, with at least three officials from each Region as per the new rules. There were a record 84 participants from 15 countries. The USA won the team title ahead of Great Britain and Australia.
1995 - The second world championships were held in Mulwala, Australia with 56 athletes from 12 countries. Nineteen world records were set. The USA won the team title ahead of Great Britain and Australia.
1997 - The third world championships were held in Florida in the USA with 66 athletes from a record 16 countries. Sixteen world records were set and one equalled. Great Britain won the team title ahead of the USA and Australia.
1999 - The fourth world championships were held outside London, at the site of the first World Trophy. There were 75 athletes from 15 countries. Eleven world records were set. The USA won the team title ahead of Great Britain and Australia.
2001 - The fifth world championships were held near Melbourne, Australia. There were 57 athletes from 15 countries, the best attendance to date both in athlete and country numbers in the AA Region. Eight world records were set. Great Britain won the team title ahead of the USA and Australia.
2003 - The sixth world championships, and the sport’s 10th anniversary, took place in Florida, USA. There were 68 athletes from 15 countries. Eight world records were set and one tied. USA won the team title ahead of Great Britain and Italy.
2005 - The seventh world championships were held in Schoten, Belgium, in September with 60 athletes from 17 countries, the latter a record with two new ones participating, Brazil and South Africa. There were 10 world records, and the team title was won by Great Britain, ahead of the USA and Australia.
2007 - The eighth world championships took place in Townsville, Australia, in May with 52 athletes from 15 countries, the number of countries tying an AA record for attendance. Eight world records were set; and Great Britain won the team title again, ahead of Australia, second for the first time ever, and the USA. The USA and Great Britain have now each won four world titles.
2009 - The ninth world championships were held Sept. 3-6 in Vichy, France, with 47 competitors from a record 18 countries, the newest country being Austria. There were four world records set, one of them (a jump) having stood for 20 years. The United States broke its 4-4 team-title tie with Great Britain in garnering the prestigious team title, ahead of Italy and France, both on the podium for the first time ever.
2011 - The 10th world championships were held Aug. 25-28 in West Chester, Ohio, with 38 competitors from 13 countries. The United States won its second consecutive team title; and Italy and France repeated their podium finishes of two years earlier in France. There were four world records set and one tied by four different skiers from three confederations. For the first time, medals were awarded in only three categories: seated, standing and vision impaired.
2013 - The 11th World Championships was held Aug. 29-Sept. 1, in Milan, Italy, with 45 skiers from 12 countries. The United States won its third team title in a row with Italy second for the third time straight and Australia third, back on the team podium for the first time since 2007. The United States is the first country to ever win three consecutive team titles. There were five world records set by three different skiers from two confederations. Nine of the 12 countries in attendance won medals.
2015 - The 12th World Championships were held in Elk Grove, Calif., in September with 49 skiers from 11 countries. The United States won its fourth consecutive world team title with Australia second, one spot up from 2013 (second time on podium since 2007) and Italy third for its fourth consecutive podium placement. The United States is the first country to ever win four consecutive team titles. There were three world records set by Great Britain's Claire Ellis, and eight of the 11 countries in attendance won medals.
2017 - The 13th World Championships were held at Myuna Bay, NSW, Australia in April with 44 skiers from 10 countries. There were 2 jump records set, one each by Canada and Australia, and seven of the ten countries in attendance won medals. After placing third in Italy in 2013, second in the USA in 2015, Australia was victorious by skiing consistently well to win its first ever team title, very satisfying as the host country
2019 - The 14th World Championships were held in Skarnes, Norway in July with 44 skiers from 11 countries. The United States won the world team title with Australia second and Great Britain third. There were seven world records set, three in slalom, three in tricks and one in jump, by skiers from Australia, Canada, France and USA. Nine of the 11 countries in attendance won medals.
2021 - Canceled Due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
2023 - The 15th World Championships were held in Elk Grove, Calif., in September with 44 skiers from 11 countries. The United States won the gold medal with Canada earning the silver and Great Britain the bronze.
IWSF/IWWF* COMMISSION/COUNCIL
1986 - In Norway, the original commission of three persons was formed.
1987 - At the time of the first Trophy, there was one member from each Confederation, all disabled, and a president, Peter Felix. It was a Commission, reflecting a lack of participating countries, hence a World Trophy instead of a World Championships.
1989 - At the second Trophy, an additional member was chosen to the Commission from each Confederation, all able-bodied.
1991 - After the IWSF Executive Board encouraged the Disabled Commission to move towards Council status (the status of all other major Sports Disciplines such as Tournament, Barefoot and Racing), a third member was selected to the Commission from each Confederation, and in some cases an alternate.
1992 - The IWSF Executive Board approved Council status for the disabled in July, due to an increase in participating countries, established rules, etc. The Disabled Council is now on equal footing with the other Sports Disciplines.
2021 IWWF* DISABLED COUNCIL
Chair: Paul Airey, GB (19)
Confederation Pan Am (North America and Latin America)
Glenn Bowie, CAN (18) – President (20)
Jim Grew, USA (89)
Craig Timm, USA (20)
Bill Bowness, USA (86) – alternate (20)
Jasmine Northcott, CAN (18) - alternate
Confederation E&A (Europe & Africa)
Dany De Bakker, BEL (09) – President (20)
Paul Airey, GBR, (14)
Carmen Ferrer Bosch, ESP (18)
Ivar Fosse, NOR (09) – alternate
Confederation AO (Asia & Oceania)
Jason Sleep, AUS (17) - President
Noel Dix, AUS (19)
Belinda Sidman, AUS (19)
Glen Sidman, AUS (17) – alternate
Technical Committee: Co-chair, Paul Airey, GBR (13); Co-chair Dany De Bakker, BEL (09)
Classification Committee: Chair: Jennifer Moore (21)
IWWF Web Site Liaison: Paul Airey (11)
IWWF Athletes Commission Representative: Daniele Cassioli, ITA (17)
IHOF Disabled Selection Committee: Chair, Geneva Brett, USA (20)
Four of the nine voting Council members are former or current elite athletes. Bill Bowness, the first disabled athlete to be inducted into the IWWF HOF (13) and the USA HOF (15), served as 2017 Worlds Chief Judge, a first.
RULES
In 1989, each Confederation had its own set of IWSF World Rules for the Disabled. By 1991, one set of rules, keyed to the IWSF able-bodied rules, had been approved. A more sophisticated set was finalized, including all the necessary appendices, and keyed specifically, rule by rule, to the IWSF rules in 1992. 1994 witnessed the addition of a tournament handbook, which by 2001 contained sections on classification, interpretations, and records (record standards and a complete record series). The diagrams out of the Handbook were put into a separate addendum in 2007.
RECORDS/RANKING LISTS
The first world records were set at the 1991 World Trophy with the proviso that there were at least 4 contestants in the event. Performances from the 1989 Trophy that qualified under this stipulation, and were not exceeded at the 1991 event, were also grandfathered in as records. All others were tracked as world tournament bests. With the 1993 Worlds, records could be set in all categories because minimum standards had been established. 1995 witnessed the tracking of Confederation records for the first time.
CATEGORIES
The original categories were as follows: Arm amputees (A); Leg Amputees (L & LP); Multiple Plegics -Paraplegics & Quadriplegics – (MP1, MP2 & MP3); Blind & Vision Impaired (V1, V2 & V3); Deaf; Les Autres (the others)
- The Leg Amputee category was divided into two (with and without prosthesis) after the 1989 Trophy.
- The Multiple Plegics category was divided into three after the 1991 Trophy according to a classification system performed at each worlds. The women were recombined at the World Tournament in 1995 because of a lack of participation and were separated again in 2000.
- The Vision Impaired category (V2 & V3) was divided into two according to the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) classification system, which necessitates passports indicating status. In 1994, it was combined back into one again (V2/3). 1998 saw the IWSF Disabled Classification Committee take over the task of classifying its athletes using the IBSA like parameters.
- The category for Deaf was eliminated after the 1989 Trophy.
- Les Autres, a catchall category for those who do not fit into the current framework, became demonstration in 1990.
- The IWWF Disabled movement was determined to be for the physically disabled only in 1989.
- A new category was trialled in the 1999 Worlds called A/L for those with significant arm and leg impairment, arm and leg amputation, and hemiplegia. This category would also include skiers with cerebral palsy and other disabilities/conditions that are able to ski upright for slalom. It received a second trial in 2001 and was added as an official category after that event and for the 2003 worlds, for men only. After the 2003 Worlds, this category was expanded to include women. In 2006, it was divided into two categories (A/L1 & A/L2).
- Also trialled was a new slalom event for the vision impaired called audio slalom, which better simulates able-bodied slalom. It replaced wake slalom in 2001.
- In 2010, the ten existing categories at that time were combined into three: seated, standing and vision impaired for medal distribution. World record standards remained in all ten categories.
- The Multiple Plegics category was divided into five after the 2013 World Championships using an updated version of the former classification system performed at each worlds in that the tests themselves remained unchanged, only the cut-offs between categories.
- A second arm amputee category was finalized for 2016 (A1 & A2).
*The International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) became the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) in August 2009.
Q: What events are there?
A: Slalom, Audio Slalom, Tricks and Jumping
Q: What is slalom?
A: In the slalom event the skier must go around six buoys that are staggered the length of a 259-meter (850-foot) long course while the boat runs down the middle of the course. Each time the skier successfully completes the course, the boat speed is increased by 3 kph (2 mph) until reaching the maximum speed of 55 kph (34 mph) for women and 58 kph (36 mph) for men. After reaching the maximum speed, the skier’s rope length of 18.25m (60’) is shortened by pre-determined increments each successful pass. The skier continues until he or she falls or does not go around a buoy.
Q: What is audio slalom?
A: Audio Slalom was designed for individuals with visual impairments to create an event similar to slalom as described above. The difference is that the skier turns at the sound of a tone rather than turning around a buoy. The tone is produced by the Audio Slalom Signal Generator (ASSG). The ASSG measures the angle of the rope in relation to the boat path and sounds a tone when the skier has pulled far enough to the outside to simulate a turn around a buoy.
Q: What is tricks skiing?
A: Trick skiing entails skiing on a short flat bottomed ski that allows the skier to turn sideways to the boat (known as a “side slide”) or ski facing away from the boat (the “180 trick” is called a “front to back” or ”back to front”). Combinations of these moves can be linked together to perform a variety of tricks with multiple turns both on the surface behind the boat or in the air using the wake as a take-off point.
Q: Can I use a wakeboard as a tricks ski?
A: Most sit skiers and a few of the stand-up skiers use wakeboards as a tricks ski. This is allowed in disabled rules. However, in order for the skiers to get full credit for the trick his or her ski can’t be any wider than 30 percent of its length. For example, if a board is 52 inches long it cannot be over 15.6 inches wide (52x.30=15.6). Furthermore, a fin cannot be used.
Q: What is jumping?
A: In the jumping event, the skier skis over a ramp and tries to go the farthest possible in the air and ski away. The ramp is 14 feet wide by 22 feet long. The height of the ramp can be set at 1 meter (3.3’), 1.25m (4’), or 1.5m (5’) and is selected by the skier.
Q: What type of disabilities do people have who compete and whom do I compete against?
A: A variety of physical disabilities are represented at the national championships. Competition is organized into different “categories” so individuals with similar disabilities compete against one another. An athlete is placed in a category as determined by a “classification” process. Classification is available and mandatory at the national championships and is typically offered on the day before competition begins.
The different categories for water skiing are:
-Arm (A): Skiers with any arm disability preventing him or her from using the disabled limb.
-Leg (L): Single leg amputees or single leg disabilities skiing on one leg.
-Leg with Prosthesis (LP): Leg amputees skiing with prosthesis.
-Multiple Plegics (MP): Skiers that ski sitting down. Paraplegics, quadriplegics, and double leg amputees comprise the largest number of MP skiers. There are three categories of MP skiers (MP1, MP2 and MP3). General guidelines are as follows:
MP1: Athletes unable to utilise the majority of their trunk musculature and rise from their knees without arm support. They lack full use of their upper extremities. Typically, they do not have adequate grip strength and may utilize their forearms or wrists to hold the handle. This division is comprised mostly of quadriplegics.
MP2: Athletes able to use their upper trunk muscles and raise their body partially from their knees in the skiing position. Typically, they have full use of their upper extremities. This division is comprised mostly of paraplegics, with breaks above T-10 that have poor balance.
MP3: Athletes with good use of the majority of their trunk muscles, possibly including abdominals. Typically, they are able to raise their trunk from their knees in the skiing position and have full use of their upper extremities. This division is comprised mainly of double leg amputees and paraplegics with complete breaks lower than T-12.
-Vision Impaired (VI): Skiers with vision impairments shall be classified as follows, using the best eye with the best possible correction.
V1: No light perception at all in either eye, up to light perception but inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction. V1 skiers are required to ski wearing “black out” goggles.
V2: From ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to a visual acuity of 2/60 (20/600) and/or a visual field of less than five degrees.
V3: From a visual acuity of 2/60 (20/600) up to a visual acuity of 6/60 (20/200) and/or a visual field of more than 5 degrees and less than 20 degrees. Skiers classified as V2 and V3 will always ski in one single category named V2/3.
-Arm/Leg (A/L): Skiers with significant arm and leg impairment, arm and leg amputation, and hemiplegia are eligible for this category, which may also include skiers with cerebral palsy and other disabilities/conditions.
Q: What do I need to do to be able to compete at the national championships?
A: The national championships are open to skiers with a physical disability. All skiers must be members of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports and have skied a minimum qualifying performance (see below).
Q: How do I join USA Water Ski & Wake Sports?
A: Athletes may sign up on line on the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website under the Membership heading. You may request a membership application by contacting USA Water Ski & Wake Sports at (863) 324-4341.
Q: How do I qualify to ski in the national championships?
A: In order to enter the jump event, a skier must prove that he or she has successfully landed and skied away from a jump. In order to enter the slalom event, a skier of category A, L, MP1, MP2, MP3 or A/L must prove that he or she has successfully completed a pass on the inner or outer slalom course at any competition speed; a skier of category LP must prove that he or she has successfully completed a pass on the outer slalom course at any competition speed. In order to enter the audio slalom event, a skier of category V1 or V2/3 must prove that he or she has completed a pass on the audio slalom course at any competition speed. In order to enter the tricks event, a skier of category A, LP, MP1, MP2, MP3, V1 or V2/3 must prove that he or she is capable of scoring 200 points; a skier of category L or A/L must prove that he is capable of scoring 50 points. These performances must have been performed during the year of the competition or within two years prior. A new skier shall provide, at registration, a proficiency certificate signed by an official judge, driver, scorer, or coach in which the signatory certifies that he or she has personally observed the skier achieving the qualifying performance successfully in conditions similar to those of a competition. The date of observation must be stated on the certificate. A skier qualified in slalom or tricks may compete in both events even if not qualified in the second event. In order to compete in the jumping event, a skier must prove that he or she has successfully landed a jump as outlined in the above paragraphs.
Q: How do I sign up for the national championships?
A: Contact USA Water Ski & Wake Sports at (863) 324-4341 and ask that a registration packet be sent to you.
Q: Where can I get a copy of the rules?
A: On the “Adaptive” page of the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website there are links to the International Water Ski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) rules and Competition Handbook. The Competition Handbook covers topics such as classification, audio slalom signal devices and rules interpretations as well as listing all world records established to date.