Summer is here so I figured it was time to talk a little about Water Skiing.I recently I talked about my first experience on snow skis. It involved a trip to Wintergreen Ski Resort with a bunch of my Greek friends who tried to convince me that there was very little difference between snow skiing and it's water counterpart.
My first journey on the slopes proved them otherwise, so I decided to explore if there was indeed any major distinctions between the two sports. My unprofessional study is based on my first snow ski trip versus my years of water skiing on the Warwick River in Newport News.
There are some basic techniques that crossover between both sports. Some of the physics and bio-mechanics like gravity, momentum, centrifugal forces, and friction, apply to both water and snow skiing. Anything beyond that is a little tricky to compare.
Some of the basic techniques are shared in both sports, but here are my thoughts on the biggest differences between water and snow skiing:
1. Acceleration :
Water Skiing: The boat, along with the shifting of body weight is the major source of acceleration. With water skiing we are always accelerating through the wakes and then decelerating into the turn.Snow Skiing: Gravity and the incline of the slope is where you control acceleration and steering, along with the shifting of your body weight, ankles and legs. In snow skiing you can pretty much keep the same speed all the way down the hill.
2. Speed Control:
Water Skiing: In water skiing there is no such option. If the boat is traveling at 31MPH, then you are getting pulled at 31MPH.Snow Skiing: On the snow you have better complete control of your speed. While gravity is a constant, your ability to be affected by gravity is completely optional.
3. Turning:
Water Skiing: Your motive force (boat speed) stays constant so you're trying to capitalize on that as much as possible by converting some of that motive force into a sudden lateral acceleration towards the wake by using the skis edge as a rudder of sorts.Snow Skiing: Your motive force is the momentum you've built up and your goal is to lose as little of that as possible when you make your turn, otherwise you waste most of your downhill speed. Also, because of the location of the motive force in both sports (arms and shoulders in water skiing and feet and legs in snow skiing), fore-aft balance and other components are dramatically different.
4. Lateral Movement:
Water Skiing: out of the turn, most water skiers over-emphasize the lateral acceleration that's needed out of the turn. The slalom course is about 200% longer on water than it is wide. So the feeling of needing to get across the course ASAP out of the turn is largely misplaced, and most water skiers need to settle for the sudden rush that they think they need out of the turn.Snow Skiing: Lateral movement is created and maintained with the edge angles of your skis by adjusting the angles of your body. You can get to the inside of a turn by moving not only forward and backward but also side to side.
5. Center of Mass Movement:
Water Skiing: In water skiing you have to resist and avoid pushing.Snow Skiing: With snow skiing you push strongly with your legs during the turn to generate speed power. Also, and very importantly, each sport uses separate upper and lower body movement.
6. Learning Techniques:
A few pointers for novices of both Water and Snow Skiing.a. Keep the shoulders open.
b. Keep the head still.
c. Don't look down, look ahead.
d. Stay balanced over the center of the ski.
e. Let the ski move underneath you to change edge.
Related posts:
