Cable Ski History

Mr. Bruno Rixen from Munchen, Germany, was the first man who came up with the idea in the 1960s to use winter ski lifts for water skiing. In 1962, the prototype of what we now call a cable ski course first appeared in Germany on a lake called 'Sci Nautico'. Mr. Rixen proved to be a very persistent salesperson. He showed up at numerous waterski legislative bodies with his photos, brochures, films and patient smile. He also traveled to the U.S. 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 organized in the Netherlands. Finally in 1985, the first official championships were organized in Germany.

Cable Skiing was officially recognized, with its own council. But the International Water Ski Federation still did not recognize it worldwide. It seemed a simple task, considering that cable ski courses were in full operation on almost every continent, but because some countries did not have separate organizations for cable ski it took some time before they were founded. It wasn't until 1994 that the world cable ski council was finally formed.