If you ask us, a perfect summer day starts with a lake like glass — ideal for cutting across a wake and slaloming around buoys. Wake boarding is hip, but water skiing has our hearts.

1922
The year Minnesotan Ralph Samuelson, above, just shy of his 19th birthday, strapped pine boards to his feet and skied on Lake Pepin — the first person in the world to do so.

80
Number of people in the world's largest water-ski pyramid, performed last summer in Janesville, Wis.

36
Percent of water-ski injuries that affect the lower body. Wakeboard and tubing injuries most often involve the head and neck.

254
Distance, in feet, that a Canadian traveled off a 6-foot jump in 2017 before landing back on the water — an international record.

Sources: Guinness World Records, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation