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The Sport Of Barefooting And Equipment Needed
By: Art Gib

Barefooting is a new water sport that has been introduced within the last 60 years that has caught on and is growing fast in popularity. Barfooting is essentially barefoot water skiing; though it differs from traditional water skiing in that, not only is it done without skis, barefooting also requires that the skier travel at much higher speeds than conventional water skiing.

Barefoot water skiing originated in Florida in 1947. On March 6 of that year the legendary water skier, Dick Pope Jr., was the first person recorded to ever water ski barefoot. His performance made such a splash that by 1950 the first barefoot competition was held. Throughout the 1950s, the sport was developed and different techniques and tricks were introduced. By 1961, a whole new dimension of barefooting, backwards barefooting, was added by Randy Rabe.

Barefooting caught on like wildfire in Australia, with the first national barefooting competition held in 1963 included 38 competitors. Barefoot jumping, a standard event in barefoot competitions now was invented by the Australians, as well as many other signature barefotting tricks. The Australians continued to dominate the sport in the first barefooting world championships held in Canberra, Australia in 1978 where 10 countries were represented by 54 skiers. The Australians completely swept the competition, winning world titles in both men's and women's events.

Barefooting does not require the use of water skis, however, like most sports barefooting still calls for a great deal of equipment to be performed as safely as possible. Some essential barefooting equipment includes the following:

A wetsuit - Just as in conventional water skiing or other water sports, a fitted, padded wetsuit is necessary for both protection and warmth. Wetsuits are made of special materials making them effective floatation devices, rendering the use of bulky and inconvenient life jackets unnecessary. There are some Coast Guard approved life vests that can be used in place of a wetsuit, however these severely limit the tricks a skier can perform and don't provide the padding and insulation of a wetsuit.

Handles and ropes - Though it is possible to barefoot with a normal 75 foot tow rope and handle, many skiers prefer to use ropes made out of Poly-E or Spectra enabling the skier to wrap their feet around the rope for various tricks without getting rope burns. Barefoot rope handles have plastic tubing around them, and can have small modifications for frontward and backward toe holds.

Boats - It makes sense that a barefooter needs a boat to be pulled behind, but because the speed needs of barefooting differ from those of conventional waterskiing, the choice of boat becomes important. Some boats are made specifically for towing barefooters. They are designed to create small wakes and travel at fast speeds for optimal barefooting conditions.

Article Source: http://www.ebooks-health.com/articles

Barefootcentral.com (www.BAREFOOTCENTRAL.COM/) is the place to come for all the best information about the sport of barefooting or waterskiing with bare feet. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

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