If you ask us, a perfect summer day starts with a lake like glass — ideal for cutting across a wake and slaloming around buoys. Wake boarding is hip, but water skiing has our hearts.
Minnesotans' love of water skiing, by the numbers
June 17, 2019 at 2:59PM
1922
The year Minnesotan Ralph Samuelson, above, just shy of his 19th birthday, strapped pine boards to his feet and skied on Lake Pepin — the first person in the world to do so.
80
Number of people in the world's largest water-ski pyramid, performed last summer in Janesville, Wis.
36
Percent of water-ski injuries that affect the lower body. Wakeboard and tubing injuries most often involve the head and neck.
254
Distance, in feet, that a Canadian traveled off a 6-foot jump in 2017 before landing back on the water — an international record.
Sources: Guinness World Records, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation
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