How to Stand Up on Water Skis

Water skiing is such a fun sport, which may lead to hours and hours of quality time with your family and friends. Once you learn the basics of how to stand up on water skis, you get to spend a whole day on your boat, taking skiing turns in the water. Keep in mind that water skiing is one of the most challenging water sports out there, especially for a beginner like you. The good news is that we have this guide to teach you how to master the skill.

In this post, we will be discussing the steps on how to stand up on water skis. This skill introduces you to the world of water skiing and contrary to popular belief, this sport will never require you to exert tremendous amounts of strength and effort. In fact, water skiing can be enjoyed by both adults and children, beginners and experienced skiers alike. Keep on reading this post if you’re curious about this healthy and exciting hobby.

What Do You Need?

Standing up on two water skis can be a bit challenging, especially for beginners. Therefore, you need to take note of the following to make things a lot easier for you:

•     -Two water skis
• - Boat
• - Personal floatation device
• - Towrope

How to Stand Up on Water Skis

• -The first thing that you need to do is to get yourself a personal floatation device, preferably a life jacket approved by the coast guard. Make sure that it properly fits. The last thing that you want is your life jacket just floating its way around your head.
• -When you have successfully worn your life jacket, you may now put on the skis. -While this step may be done in the water, it may be beneficial for beginners to try putting them on while still on the boat. It would also be great for kids to have someone assist them in putting on the water skis.
• -Beginner skis mostly come with extendable bindings, which allows it to accommodate several shoe sizes. With this, you need to make sure that you have measured the bindings of its accurate size. As these are also adjustable, ensure that you have adjusted its tightness and still have your feet comfortably squeezed in.
• -Once the skis are on, you are now ready to take on water skiing.
• -Try grabbing the rope’s handle, which should already be tied up and unwound, and then, float in the water and on your back. Do this step while the driver is taking the slack out from the rope. Here’s a helpful tip: try not wasting your energy by staying aligned with the boat. It would also be unnecessary to keep the skis straight. This step is crucial. You need to relax, as the life jacket is there to help you float.
• -Once the driver has successfully taken the slack from the rope, he must put the boat in neutral mode and wait for your signal when you’re ready.
• -You must position your body in such a way that your legs are bent fully and with your arms slightly extended. Also, make sure that the skis are between the boat and yourself.
• -In addition, make sure that the rope goes between the two skis.
• -If you’re looking at a mirror, your body should be in a position resembling being curled up like a ball. However, your head must be on an upward position and is focused on the boat.
• -Once you are in the right position, let your driver ‘gear’ the boat. This will give the driver the signal that you need to be pulled up. With this, make sure that the driver can give an easy yet gradual pull. It wouldn’t be at all possible to pull a beginner too slowly. However, it may be possible that the driver pulls them a lot faster, therefore, jerking the handle out of the driver’s hand.
• -For a beginner like you, your first instinct should be to resist the boat’s pull through straightening your knees. However, you may be wrong. What you need to do is wait for the boat to gain ample speed. You also need to make sure that the boat has planed off right before the surface tension is strong enough to be able to hold you right above the water.
• -Keep in mind that you stay in your ball. This might be the most common mistake every water skiing beginner makes – they try to stand up too quickly. In case you don’t know, this would only lead to you sinking and falling into the water.
• -To do this step right, wait around three to four seconds after the driver has started the boat before you attempt to stand up.
• -The next thing that you need to do is to push with both of your legs and try to stand up.

Helpful Tips

• - Remember to keep both of your arms straight, with only a little bend right in the elbows. You should also keep in mind to never pull your arms all towards your chest because this will only create slack in the towrope.
• - Make sure that your knees are bent. In fact, the accurate skiing position must be your weight all over the skis’ tails. Picture as if you’re sitting in a heightened chair.
• - Before you attempt to go on a water skiing trip, you must be comfortable enough to be in the water. With this, we do not recommend that you try this water sport at all if you’re not at least a swimmer with average ability.
• - Make sure that you are wearing your personal floatation device at all times. As water skiing is considered an extreme sport, it certainly requires you to take safety precautions.
• - If you find yourself out of balance, you must let go of the towrope. You will never be able to recover from a fall. No one did and no one ever will. All that you need to do is to let go of the rope, set them up and then try again.

Conclusion

Water skiing can be such a fun activity or hobby to do on a weekend with your family and friends. If you have at least average swimming ability, then you should definitely try this sport. The real challenge is that for beginners, standing up might get very tricky. Hopefully, we have provided you with all that you need to know on how to stand up water skis before you attempt to try it. And the most important thing among the rest is that you should always wear your personal floatation device.