USA BAREFOOT HISTORY Keith St Onge, World and national champion The first man reported to meet the challenge of barefoot skiing was Dick Pope Jr, on March 6, 1947. In fact, for the first time, barefooting was recorded in pictures. According to sources at Water Ski Hall of Fame and witnesses of the event, it was actually the then 17-year-old A.G. Hancock, who made the initial attempts earlier in the year, driven by pioneer Chuck Sligh in Winter Haven, Florida. Charlene Wellborn Then the first woman to ski on bare feet was Charlene Dick Pope Jr Wellborn in 1951 at Cypress Gardens. The first barefoot competition was held at the 1950 Cypress Gardens Dixie Championships. As the tournament began, the first participants ended up with nothing but headaches, until Dave Craig of Miami successfully stepped of the ski. Then Stew Mc Donald of Tampa managed a short ride without skis. Pope, unaccustomed to the rough water of the tournament area had a difficult time, but was able to move into the first place with the longest ride. Finally, a young skier from Mexico named Emilio Zamudio was up. He kicked off his ski, stood up high, and waved joyously at the crowd, winning the competition. Ken Tibado Stew Mc Donald Ken Tibado As the story goes, Ken Tibado of Lake Wales introduced the two-ski jump out in 1953 and the beach start in 1956. Barefooting’s first significant public exposure came at 1956 tournament nationals in Laport, Indiana. A young skier named Mike Osborn thrilled the crowds with one of the first major barefoot exhibition in the World. Don Thompson In 1957, Joe Cash was the first to accomplish the front deepwater start, taking off in the water with no skis at all. Cash’s starting technique was unorthodox by today’s standards: he doubled over at the waist and held the handle near his feet, burying his face in the water. This method took much more strength than the method used today. The « tumbleturn » was invented purely by accident in 1960, when Don Thompson and Terry Vance were performing a double barefoot routine, on the lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. As Vance stepped off his skis, he began to fall, but while he continued to hang on, his feet spun around, returning almost in front of him. Thompson, still on his skis, reached over and pulled Vance’s legs around, so that he could stand up. Backward barefooting brought a new dimension to the sport. In 1961, Randy Rabe of St Petersburg started on a trick ski, then turned around, planted his foot in the water, and finally steppied off the ski. A friendly rivalry developped between Thompson and Randy Rabe Joline Paoli Rabe, who were both determined to learn new and Nathey & Don different tricks. Rabe first accomplished the front and Thompson back toeholds, while Thompson perfected the piggyback barefoot ride with Joline Paoli Nathey. Thompson and Rabe share credit for the introduction of front-to-back and back-to-front surface turns, with Thompson even attempting back deepwater starts in 1965. In 1962, on the initiative of Jimmy Jackson, the American Water Ski Association formed a barefoot club consisting of those who have skied continuously for at least one minute on their bare feet, credited by an official observer. The following year, Don Thompson set an American record of 33 min barefoot. Then in the summer of 1964, Thompson won his third national championships in a row with a run of 31mn on Lake Eloise, Cypress Gardens. At that time national championships consisted only in endurance, while Australian introduced wake slalom and tricks for their first nationals held in 1963. By 1968, membership of the AWSA barefoot club has grown to 1300, but the Australians had gained a “foothold” on the sport and were beginning to show the ameriacans one trick or two. Gary Barton and John Hacker developed many new maneuvers, including the back deep, stepover back to front and backward flying dock start. In Europe, a show team included a barefoot act in 1963. In 1968, the first tournament in Europe was held at Cirencester in Great Britain and the rules were a simplified version of the rules developped by the Aussies. The first successful jump in Europe - of 10.30 m - was performed during 1969, but before that time, jumping was already a regular event in Australian competitions. In 1973, Cypress Gardens invited the Australians for an international competition. Garry Barton, Peter Trimm, Grant Torrens and Mary Mc Millan - Australia’s best footers - accepted the invitation. As expected, they astonished everyone and made a clean sweep of the tournament. No one Australian came close to be beaten by a Yank, and the overall winner was 16-year-old Grant Torrens. The seeds were planted here for the next wave of U.S. barefooters and this competition was the beginning of the active promotion of the sport in the United States. Other tournaments were held in Wisconsin and other parts of the country, consisting only of endurance and starting methods. In 1977, Australian John Hacker acting as an ambassador for the sport, returned to the United States, to promote the first World tournament to be held in Canberra, Australia in November 1978. During summer 1978, five regional competitions were held in the United States and in September the first barefoot nationals took place in Waco, Texas. Randy Filter won the men’s overall title, but show skier Mike Botti had the most outstanding performances, placing first in start methods, wake crossing and tricks. Because he elected not to enter the jump event (Mike Seipel too !), he was inelegible for the overall title. Following the tournament, the first official U.S. barefoot team was selected to represent Randy Filter the United States at the World Championships. During November 1978, barefooting history was made in Canberra, where 54 barefooters representing 10 countries gathered on the banks of the Molongo river. Even with the increased level of competition in the United States, Australia’s talent and influence stunned U.S. footers. The Aussies were performing then unheared manoeuvres, like backward and forward toehold starts, 360 degrees surface turns and even toe turns! US team finishes at the third place behind Australia and New Zealand and Mike Botti showed the potential threat of a strong U.S. team, by placing third in tricks and fourth in jumping. In addition, he was the first to complete a wake front-to-back and a wake back-to-front in competition. In the women division, Jean Matthisen took a bronze medal in wake slalom. Then team USA came on each team medal presentation, in open division as well as junior and senior division, created respectively in 1995 and 1999. They won an impressive amount of team titles over the years, with an undefeated supremacy between 1984 and 2010 in open division. On an individual level, US athletes are very consistent and many of them won several gold medals, such as Lori Powell, Jennifer Calleri, Mike Seipel, Ron Scarpa, Rick Mike Botti Powell and nowadays Keith St Onge… Lori & Rick Powell Mike Seipel Ron Scarpa USA NATIONAL BAREFOOT CHAMPIONS year place year place year place year place 1978 Waco, Texas 1989 Piqua, Ohio 2000 Houston, Texas 2011 Waco, Texas 1979 Tyler, Texas 1990 DuQuoin, Illinois 2001 Fergus Falls, Mn 2012 Waco, Texas 1980 Ocala, Florida 1991 Houston, Texas 2002 Shortline Lake, CA 2013 Lathrop, California 1981 Defiance, Ohio 1992 Jacksonville, Fla 2003 Shortline Lake, CA 2014 Alma Center, WI 1982 St Leo, Florida 1993 West Palm Beach, Fla 2004 Austin, Texas 2015 Alma Center, WI 1983 Owego, N.Y. 1994 West Palm Beach, Fla 2005 Austin, Texas 2016 Alma Center, WI 1984 Zachary, Louisiana 1995 DuQuoin, Illinois 2006 Lake Grew, Florida 2017 Lake Grew, Florida 1985 Seffner, Florida 1996 DuQuoin, Illinois 2007 Lake Elmo, WI 2018 Lake Grew, Florida 1986 Defiance, Ohio 1997 Houston, Texas 2008 Lake Elmo, WI 2019 Alma Center, WI 1987 Owego, N.Y. 1998 Houston, Texas 2009 Maize, Kansas 2020 Canceled, Covid-19 1988 Houston, Texas 1999 Houston, Texas 2010 Maize, Kansas 2021 1. US NATIONALS BAREFOOT CHAMPIONS - OPEN DIVISIONS START METHODS year open men open women 1978 Botti Mike Matthisen Jean 1979 Bemman Rob Matthisen Jean 1980 Bemman Rob Emry Lisa 1981 Seipel Mike Powell Lori 1982 Seipel Mike Emry Lisa 1983 Farrell William Powell Lori 1984 Forgiana Punky Onofrio Chris OPEN MEN DIVISION year slalom tricks jump overall 1978 Botti Mike Botti Mike Farrell William Filter Randy 1979 Bemman Rob Seipel Mike Seipel Mike Seipel Mike 1980 Seipel Mike Seipel Mike Seipel Mike Seipel Mike 1981 Scarpa Ron Seipel Mike no jump Seipel Mike 1982 Scarpa Ron Scarpa Ron Seipel Mike Scarpa Ron 1983 Seipel Mike Seipel Mike Weir Tom Scarpa Ron 1984 Scarpa Ron Scarpa Ron Scarpa Ron Scarpa Ron 1985 Mixon Don Strasser John Seipel Mike Forgiana Punky 1986 Scarpa Ron Scarpa Ron Conoley Russ Scarpa Ron 1987 Mixon Don Merritt Steve Seipel Mike Seipel Mike 1988 Fuchs Brian Powell Rick Seipel Mike Powell Rick 1989 Mixon Don Powell Rick Seipel Mike Powell Rick 1990 Fuchs Brian Powell Rick Seipel Mike Scarpa Ron 1991 Mixon Don Scarpa Ron Kretchman Jon Scarpa Ron 1992 Fuchs Brian Scarpa Ron Kretchman Jon Scarpa Ron 1993 Fuchs Brian Scarpa Ron Dwyer Dodd (AUS)* Scarpa Ron 1994 Mixon Don Scarpa Ron Bowers Lane Scarpa Ron 1995 Fuchs Brian Scarpa Ron Fleck Peter Scarpa Ron 1996 Scarpa Ron Bowers Lane Mixon Don Scarpa Ron 1997 St Onge Keith St Onge Keith Bowers Lane St Onge Keith 1998 Lee Jason Scarpa Ron St Onge Keith Scarpa Ron 1999 St Onge Keith St Onge Keith Kretchman Jon St Onge Keith 2000 Lee Jason St Onge Keith Kretchman Jon St Onge Keith * In 1993, the innaugural US barefoot open stood up for open men and women division, with international entries.