here are a number of different categories in disabled water skiing.

Multiplegic (MP) seated skiers are those with disabilities such as spinal cord injuries (for example, paraplegia or quadriplegia), bilateral leg amputations or other conditions that affect the lower limbs. Multiple plegics and double-leg amputees are classified in categories MP1, MP2 and MP3, of which the general guidelines are as follows:

MP1: Athletes who are unable to utilise the majority of their trunk muscles and to rise from their knees without arm support. They lack full use of their upper extremities. Typically, they do not have adequate grip strength and may utilise their wrists or forearms to hold the handle.

MP2: Athletes who are able to use their upper trunk muscles and to raise their body partially from their knees in the skiing position. Typically, they have full use of their upper extremities.

MP3: Athletes, including double leg amputees, with good use of the majority of their trunk muscles. Typically, they are able to raise the trunk from their knees in the skiing position and have full use of their upper extremities.

Other categories are:
V1: Visually impaired athletes who have no light perception at all in either eye and have to ski with blackout goggles.

V2/3: Partially sighted athletes, with ‘3’ being the lesser loss of sight.

A: Arm disability, for skiers with an arm amputation or paralysis. Competitors ski one-handed with or without the aid of a delgar sling. No part of the affected limb may touch the handle.

L: Leg amputees skiing without a prosthesis.

LP: Leg amputees with prosthesis, for leg amputees skiing with a prosthesis.

AL/1: Arm and leg disability, for skiers with a significant impairment to both an arm and a leg, arm and leg amputation or hemiplegia.

AL/2: Arm and leg disability, for athletes with a lesser impairment to both an arm and a leg.

The British Disabled Water Ski Association (BDWSA) was established in 1979 and it was at Heron Lake in Middlesex, the headquarters of the BDWSA, that the first water skiing for the disabled World Trophy, a non-record event, took place in 1987. There were 40 participants from seven countries and Great Britain won the team title on home water ahead of USA and Australia. Further World Trophy events took place in 1989 (in Australia) and 1991 (in USA), with Britain winning the team title on both occasions to complete a glorious hat-trick.

The first World Championships, a world record capability event, were held in France in 1993 and they have taken place at two-yearly intervals ever since. A record 84 participants from 15 countries participated in 1993, when the United States carried off the team title.

There have been a total of eight World Championships. Overall, Britain and USA have each lifted the team title on four occasions while Australia finished in third place on six occasions before gaining the runners-up berth in 2007. Including the three World Trophy events that took place between 1987 and 1991, Britain lead USA by a 7-4 margin. Marvellous stuff!

Tournament water skiing consists of three disciplines: slalom, tricks and jump.

A slalom course consists of six buoys with entry and exit gates and is done at a maximum speed of 58kph/36mph for men and 55kph/34mph for women. The ski line is progressively shortened until a competitor fails to complete all six buoys. In trick skiing, a competitor has to perform two 20-second passes with as many jumps and turns as can be fitted in. All tricks have a designated points value depending upon the degree of difficulty. The aim is to score as many points as possible. The jump discipline, which is a distance-based event in which there are no points for style, involves skiing over a ramp at a maximum speed of 57kph/35.4mph for men and 54kph/33.6mph for women. The maximum height of the ramp is 1.5m.

Disabled water skiing in Britain received National Lottery funding through UK Sport for four years between 1999 and 2003 before being cut, because it was a non-Olympic sport.

When Be Number 1’s Jacky Stimpson was competing in the MP2 ladies slalom event at the 2007 World Championships in Australia, she duly completed her opening run at the maximum speed for a female competitor of 55kph without any problems. However, the non-English speaking driver of the boat presumably thought she had suddenly metamorphosed into a man! And Jacky was forced to ski her subsequent runs at a speed of 58kph, the maximum speed for a male competitor. It didn’t affect Jacky, who still won the gold medal with ease, although she did admit to feeling “a bit exhausted” after a quicker than expected slalom!