Barefoot skiing

Barefooting

Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds than conventional water skiing. Barefooting is known for its falls, which can be very painful.

History of barefooting

Barefoot water skiing originated in Cypress Gardens, Florida. Dick Pope Jr., on March 6, 1947, was the first recorded person to ever barefoot, though some believe it was in fact A. G. Hancock. Regardless, this was the start to an amazing sport. By 1950, the first barefoot competition was held in Cypress Gardens. Throughout the 1950's, many other start techniques were invented including the two-ski jump out, the beach start and the deep water start. By 1961, a whole new aspect of the sport, backwards barefooting, was added by Randy Rabe by stepping off a trick ski backwards.

Meanwhile, the Australians were developing the sport further. In March 1960, the first national competition was held in Australia, complete with 38 competitors. The Australian's were the first to develop barefoot jumping, one of the three events in modern barefoot competition, as well as pioneer many new tricks. In November 1978, the first world championships were held in Canberra, Australia, where 54 skiers competed for a total of 10 different countries. The Australian's blew away the competition with maneuvers almost unheard of. Brett Wing and Colleen Wilkinson capture the World titles for men and women, repectively.

Ben johnson was one of the main founders of the sport in australia, landing one of the first tumble-turns behind the boat, and going off a rope of only 10 feet long.

For more information, see The History of Barefooting.

Barefooting falls/injuries

Barefooting is well known for its falls, due to the speed the skier must travel at and the potential for falling (due to the small surface area you are skiing on, your room for error is marginal). There are many different types of falls, some of them mentioned here. The good thing about barefoot falls is most of them don't cause long term injury.

One of the most common barefoot injury is, in athletic terms, having the wind knocked out of the barefooter. This in normally not serious, but slightly painful to endure. Usually, the barefooter will take a rest after this.

The more serious injury is the "scorpion fall". It is a shallow-angle barefooting fall entry into the water in which the feet "flop-over" nearly hitting the barefooter in the back of the head with his own heels. This puts a severe, small-diameter reverse arch into the skier's back and spine. It is extremely painful and potentially dangerous. Recovery can take from a few minutes to a few months; this depends primarily on the severity of the maneuver and other factors such as the athlete's age and physical condition. Many experienced barefooters first instinct when falling forwards is to tuck their chin to the chest so that they rollout of the fall and therefore, are left unhurt.

The best defense against a fall is to let go immediately and if you are falling forward, to tuck your chin to your chest and close your eyes. After a while this should become an automatic reflex to you. On the other hand, as long as your feet are out in front of you, you can usually pull out of a potential fall. If you bounce back onto your derriere, hold your breath, hang on, and rock forward back on to your feet. Stay relaxed when you fall and try not to ski in conditions where there are a lot of waves.

Equipment

Though barefoot water skiing does not require water skis, there are many pieces of equipment you need to participate in their sport safely. These include:

Barefoot wetsuit - The skier wears a fitted, padded neoprene barefoot wetsuit which has built-in floatation so that the need of a life jacket is unnecessary. It is possible to ski with a Coast Guard approved Type III flotation vest though this does not pad the skier well and the skier will not be able perform many tricks. Some barefoot wetsuit manufactures include Vortex, Eagle and Barefoot International.
Padded shorts - Though not necessary, almost all barefooters wear padded neoprene shorts. These help pad the skiers butt, which is very helpful in preforming the deep water start and tumble turns.
Handles and ropes - Though you can ski with a normal 75 foot tow rope and handle, many skiers use special ropes made out of Poly-E or Spectra. Barefoot handles have plastic tubing around them, so the skier can wrap their feet around the rope without getting rope burn and can have small modifications for frontward and backward toe holds.
Boats - The skier needs to have a boat that can travel to a speed they can barefoot at. Some boats are made specifically for barefooting, as they have small wakes and can travel at fast speeds. These include the DXII by Sanger and Barefoot Response LX or the Filghtcraft by Malibu.
Booms - Barefoot booms are used for learning barefooting and also, learning new barefoot tricks.

Proper barefoot speed determination

Many people, especially those starting out, are unsure as to how fast they must go to barefoot. What follows is a simple formula to give you an estimated speed you should ski at. Remember, speed is based a lot on personal preference, so this is only a guideline:

Skier's weight (lb) ÷ 10 + 20 = boat speed (mph)

For example, for a skier weighing 150 lb:

150 lb ÷ 10 + 20 = 35 mph

When preforming tricks on one foot (one foots, toe holds, etc.) or surface turns, add 3 - 5 mph to the above result. If you are preforming tumble turns, skiing backwards or holding directly onto the boom, you can subtract 2–3 mph.

Barefooting on the boom

Barefooting is most easily learned through the use of a barefoot boom. The boom consists of a long, aluminum pole extending from the center of the boat, usually connected to the ski pylon in inboard ski boats, over the opposite side of the boat from the boat driver. A cable extends from the tip of the pole/boom to the bow of the craft to prevent the boom from bending rearward under loads. When using a barefoot boom, the skier is skiing alongside the tow boat rather than behind it. This also makes it particularly easy for those in the boat to communicate with and to coach the person barefooting and for the barefooter to request speed changes, for example.

Three methods exist for utilizing barefoot booms to barefoot:

Vault

Widely considered as the easiest method is the "vault" onto, under and eventually behind the ski boom.

Method

With the skier inside the tow boat, the boat proceeds down the lake at the proper speed (as described earlier).
The skier approaches the boom.
He or she places both hands, as far out as possible, onto the top of the boom.
He steps his feet around behind him onto the gunwale of the boat while he continues to lean forward and hold onto the boom.
He steps off the gunwale of the boat and swings his feet, legs and lower torso out, around and then dropping under the boom.
At first nearly all of his weight will be hanging on his arms, but as he sets his feet he will quickly be able to obtain a proper barefooting chair position with considerable weight on his feet.

This requires only a modicum of strength and agility, but not everyone can do it.

Learning the vault

The student can learn the vault more easily if the instructor demonstrates it once or twice with the boat at a stop.
Then the student attempts it with the boat still at a stop.
He practices several of these with the boat stopped until he has no trouble doing them correctly. When both he and his instructor are sure of this, only then will the student attempt the vaults at barefooting speed – not before.
The instructor demonstrates the vault to the student with the boat traveling at barefooting speed.
The student attempts the vault at barefooting speed.

Vaulting results in the student being fairly close-in on the boom. This has the advantage of a higher boom and more room for him to rotate under the boom. Accomplished barefooters skiing this way can stick their toes down causing their feet to catch and be thrown rearwards. By continuing to hold onto the boom as their feet are thrown back and into the air they can "hop" right back onto the gunwale of the tow boat and climb back into the boat.

Tumble-up

Another method is the tumble-up on the boom.

Tumbling-up on the boom requires the skier to start with his body half-submersed in the water, holding directly onto the boom above him.
As the boat accelerates, the skier's legs are forced out behind him.
When the boat reaches about 20 mph and he is "planing" on the water on his stomach, he must swivel his legs and torso around to the front so they are facing forward in a sitting position on the water.
- This requires considerable strength, agility and a high strength ratio as their weight, at this point, is pulling down on the end of the boom so that it is low and they are getting relatively more forward pull and less upward pull. Adjustable booms should be set for a relatively high position and the skier may have to be moved inward slightly from the end of the boom and/or a passenger may have to be moved to the driver's side of the boat so that the boom is higher.
Once in the forward sitting position on the water, the skier bends his knees, places his feet carefully onto the water at a very flat angle, gradually "sets" his heels and begins to arise to a chair position by pushing against his heels.
- He should be instructed in advance that if his feet catch and are thrown behind him, he should continue to hold onto the boom, at least momentarily. This prevents any injuries from accelerated falls caused by the violent action of his feet catching and being thrown behind him.

Deep-water start

The most common method to start for experienced barefooters is the deep-water start. This is accomplished by attaching a 5-foot long ski rope bridle to the barefoot boom or using the long-line.

The skier hangs on to the handle at the end of the rope.
This technique usually requires the skier to start, rope in hand, sitting in the water with one foot over the ski rope.
When ready he takes a breath, crosses his other foot over the ski rope and lays out flat in the water, face up, with his arms out straight and his hands holding the ski handle against the top of his thighs.
When the boat driver observes this, he accelerates the boat.
The skier is dipped underwater for a short period of time.
Once the skier is planing on his back, if he begins to encounter bouncing, he can eliminate it by arching his back and shoulders.
At about 20 mph, he should sit up and wait for the boat to accelerate further.
At about 30 mph, he should lean back somewhat, uncross his feet, bend his knees, place his feet lightly on the water at a shallow angle and gradually "set" his heels by pushing on them and start to rise into a chair position.

Barefooting long-line

The most difficult way to ski barefoot is while holding on to a rope behind a boat. Barefoot ski ropes are usually from 80 to 100 feet in length, but even with a standard 75-foot long water ski rope, there is virtually no vertical support as provided by a barefoot boom. The most common long-line start methods are the deep-water start discussed earlier or making a "step-off" from one ski. Sometimes a slalom ski or one ski of a pair of skis is utilized for this. A "step-off ski" or "free-board" may also be utilized. They are usually a lightweight ski specially designed for making step-offs and have minimal or no bindings on them. Ideally, their top edges fin have been beveled so there are no sharp edges to cut the barefooter if he falls attempting a step-off.

Step-offs are accomplished by placing one barefoot in the water and transferring a portion, usually about 50%, of one's weight to that foot. Then the other foot is removed from the ski very quickly and also placed onto the surface of the water. This is typically accomplished through a down-up, down motion to alleviate the 50% of the weight on the foot on the ski. Attempting to put 100% of the weight on the first foot on the water incurs more risk. It requires very high one foot step-off speeds, and it also puts the skier in a highly precarious position during the brief moment he is balanced on only one foot.

Other start methods

Other start methods include:

"Jump-outs", where a skier jumps out of a pair of skis to barefoot ski.
"Beach barefoot" which consists of sliding off of a beach.
"Flying dock starts" in which one vaults off a dock and essentially then does a deep-water start.
"Tumble-ups" where one comes up on their stomach and then rolls onto his back and executes a "tumble turn" to the front position.
"Aerials" which consist of jumping off of elevated structures such as boat houses, bridges and even helicopters and then essentially executing a deep-water start.
"Board Assist" which utilizes another board (like a wakeboard, kneeboard, surfboard, windsurfer, etc.) to start on (sit on it) until you are at speed and can stand up. Wearing tennis shoes or special shoe skis at first can help a lot (as well as reduce the required speed to 'foot).

Backwards barefooting start methods include:

"Back step-offs" from backward slalom step-off skis
"Back-deeps", meaning a backwards deep-water start. The skier lays on their stomache, their feet wrapped around the rope to start. They then plant and stand up.
"Back flying dock starts", same as their forward version, except the skier lands in the back-deep position.

Competition

Barefoot water skiing has a competitive aspect which is very established. In traditional competition, there are three events:

Tricks - The skier has two passes of 15 seconds to complete as many different tricks as possible. All tricks have specific point values depending on difficulty. The skier also is awarded points for the start trick they performed to get up. For more information on points awarded for each trick, see the Trick Point Chart.
Slalom - The skier has two passes of 15 seconds to cross the wake as many times are possible. The skier can cross the wake forwards or backwards and on two feet or one foot.
Jump - The skier travels over a small, fiberglass jump ramp. They have three jumps and the longest one they land (hold on and later stand up) counts. Professionals can jump as far as 90 feet.

Barefoot Jumping

For more information on rules, see the World Barefoot Council. For the current world records, see World Records.

Some other barefoot competitions feature endurance events. These include:

Figure 8 - Two skiers on opposite sides of the wake ski while the boat drives in the pattern of a figure 8. The skier who is the last one standing wins.
Team Endurance - This is a race between a variety of teams. Each team has a boat and the skiers take turns skiing. This generally takes place on a long river, where race distances can be up to about 45 miles. The first team to cross the finish line wins.

Links/references

Barefoot skiing

Contents

History of barefooting

Barefooting falls/injuries

Equipment

Proper barefoot speed determination

Barefooting on the boom

Vault

Method

Learning the vault

Tumble-up

Deep-water start

Barefooting long-line

Other start methods

Competition

Links/references

General information

Wetsuits

Federations

Ski schools

Media

See Also

Categories

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