PROFILE AMERICA

June 29, 2008

Water Skis

An annual, three-day summer event winds up today in Lake City, Minnesota — celebrating the birthplace of water skiing with a parade, boating, and antique cars and tractors.

It was in 1922 that a young Lake City resident named Ralph Samuelson strapped on some pine boards and was towed by a boat with an early outboard motor around Lake Pepin. The sport of water skiing had been born.

At first a novelty, water skiing quickly became a brand new sport in the U.S. and then spread around the world. For the first time, water skiing was a show sport at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. Today in the U.S., nearly 7 million people enjoy water skiing each year.

You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at
<www.census.gov>.