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With new courses being built in every part of the world and with the ever increasing numbers of skiers taking to the cable at a very affordable price, the future of cableski looks very bright. The South African Cableski Championships were held and the first ever National Cable Ski Team was selected to ski in the 1998 European championships in South Africa.
With Leisure Lakes in Midrand, and many proposed sites in South Africa, the future of cable skiing can only get better and better. |
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| Historial Background |
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At the end of the fifties, during a holiday in Holland, Mr. Bruno Rixen from Munchen, Germany, experienced water-skiing for the first time. He liked it very much, but did not like the long wait at the overcrowded ski school. Being an inventor by nature and profession, he placed himself behind his drawing table to invent the ideal skiing machine. A few years later, in 1962, the prototype of what we now call a cableski-course, first made its rounds on a German lake called ‘Sci Nautico'. The official magazine of the World Water Ski Union Group II published a very enthusiastic report on this astonishing new way of waterskiing, with ten skiers in action at the same time and no boat. Trying to get Cable skiing recognised, Mr. Rixen proved to be a very persistent kind of person. He showed up at every waterski congress with his photos, brochures, films and patient smile. He also travelled to the States and to Australia. He finally succeeded when competitions were held for the first time in 1976 in both Germany and Spain. In 1981 an unofficial European Championship was organised in the Netherlands. Finally in 1985, the first official Group II championships were organised (in Germany of course).
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Cableskiing as its name implies, is water-skiing where the skier is not pulled by a boat but by an overhead cable, very similar to a snow ski lift, but erected around the banks of a dam. Up to ten ropes dangle from the cable onto which the skiers hold. The systems world wide have two straight sections, incorporating a Slalom and Ramp course, on which competitions are held. The speed that the cable travels, is the same as the boat speed in tournament Water-skiing, with a top speed of 58 kph. In fact all the rules are the same as tournament waterski. The biggest advantage to Cable skiing is that there is no expensive boat to own or run. The cable travels continuously and the skiers are, very simply hooked up to the cable on the move. The obvious advantage to cableskiing is the dramatic reduction in the cost for the individual skier. |
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| Cable Ski in South Africa |
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A far sighted Mr. Allen Louw of Aventura installed the first Cable ski at the Warmbaths Spa In 1993. The South African Cableski Association was formed in the same year as a steering committee and has held a number of very successful competitions over the past years. At the beginning of the season in November 1996 the Association held its first recognised standings list National competition and thereby, with the formation of two clubs, gained recognition within the South African Water Ski Federation. The association in conjunction with Aventura held the hugely successful 1998 EAME championships at the Aventura Spa where 2 world records were broken. The Aventura Spa resort in Warmbaths has been the perfect host and has nurtured and supported the sport despite the commercial disadvantage it places on itself by closing the site for practice and tournaments. They have been the key sponsors at all the tournaments and truly have their heart in he right place. Aventura Spa is not the only cableski venue in this country. Mike O Connell opened Leisure lakes in Midrand and this has become a very well supported site which is already sporting a club which holds regular events. |
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| The fourth discipline in waterskiing was born and officially recognised, with its own Group II council. But there was still one more step to get cableski recognised world-wide by the International Water Ski Federation. It seemed a simple task, considering that cableski courses were in full operation on almost every continent, but because some countries did not have separate organisations for cableski it took some time before they were founded. It wasn't until 1994 that the world cableski council finally start its work. |
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| Getting Started |
The simplest way of finding out about Cableski is to take a trip to Warmbaths or Midrand and visit the sites at Aventura Spa Leisure Lakes. There you will find very helpful people to tell you all about the sport and even get you started, or if you are already experienced they will put you in touch with one of the Clubs. |
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