World's largest water skiing competition coming to Palm Beach County

The next few days at Okeeheelee Park promise to be a combination of wet and wild, fast and furious and incredible precision as the 81st annual Goode Water Ski National Championships run from Wednesday, Aug. 9, to Saturday, Aug. 12.

Hosted by the Ski Club of the Palm Beaches, this is the largest water skiing event in the world and will feature over 600 athletes.

Competitors from across the United States will be vying for national titles in the three traditional water skiing events: slalom, tricks and jumping. Overall titles in the respective competition groups by gender, age and proficiency level, will be up for grabs, determined by placement in those three skill events.

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Water skiing competitions

The slalom: Athletes use one ski and attempt to navigate around the outside of six buoys in a zigzag course without falling or missing a buoy in consecutive passes. They receive one point for each buoy they successfully round. The athlete who skis around the most buoys and scores the most points wins the event.

Each skier begins with a 75-foot slalom rope. The rope is then shortened in pre-measured lengths thereby increasing the difficulty.

Trick skiing: Each skier attempts to perform as many tricks as they can during two 20-second passes. Each trick has an assigned point value and an athlete may perform each trick only once. The athlete who earns the most points wins the event.

Tricks are performed either with an athlete's foot slipped into a strap attached to the handle, called toehold tricks, or with the handle held in the athlete's hands.

Jumping: This skill is all about distance. No style points, just hit the ramp and fly. Each age/gender division has a set boat speed and ramp height. The men's world record is currently 254 feet.

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In addition to the difficulty involved in the three disciplines, the skiers must also navigate the added wrinkle of skiing behind three different makes of boats.

The competitors will be working behind makes including Malibu, Nautique and Mastercraft. Though all of the boats have inboard engines and are designed to tow skiers, they are each slightly different. Several weeks in advance, organizers hold a drawing to determine which boat each skier will use for which discipline. Competitors then use the time leading to the event to practice behind the boats they've drawn.

All three makes have a GPS tracking system to ensure the boats travel directly down the center of the slalom runs — the systems are accurate to within centimeters.

This week's event at Okeeheelee marks the 16th time the Nationals have been held at the park ... and not without good reason.

Considered to be one of the best water skiing locations in the world, the park has five lakes that were specifically designed for the sport.

The depth, width and length of each lake is perfectly set up for skiing, as is the slope of the shoreline, which is designed to disperse the wake put out by the boats and skiers.

Palm Beach Invitational

Within the national event there will be a separate Ski Club of the Palm Beaches event called the Palm Beach Invitational on Friday, Aug. 11.

This slalom-only event, featuring men's and women's classes, will be held at night under lights with lighted buoys for the skiers to see during their runs.

It will feature several food trucks including Crazy Cuban, Walker's Barbecue, Hitching Company, Awesome Empanadas, Royal Palm Ice Cream and Professional Concessions Incorporated.

The trucks will be onsite and open for business at 6 p.m. and the competition starts at 8 p.m.

If you go

What: 81st Goode Water Ski National Championships

Where: Okeeheelee Park, 7715 Forest Hill Blvd., West Palm Beach

When: Aug. 9 to 12

Cost: free

Information: usawaterski.org ; okeeski.com

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He has lived in the West Palm Beach area for more than 30 years and, from mild to wild, will cover noteworthy community happenings. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 81st annual Goode Water Ski National Championships at Okeeheelee Park