Home

Requirements January 1969 until June 1972

(Second Class Scouts must first qualify for First Class Requirement 8 before attempting to meet the requirements for this badge.)

To obtain this merit badge, you must also be able to swim 150 yards and must have spent at least 6 hours in preparation and practice. An appropriate flotation device must be worn in all practice and performance.

1. Know the Water Skier's Safety Code and pledge your word that you will live up to it. Know the safety precautions that must be observed by the boat operator in pulling skiers.

2. Demonstrate the following water-skier signals to safety observer in boat: in gar, start, faster, slower, speed required, speed OK, turns, whip off, jump, stop, back to dock, cut motor, skier in water. Help others to ski by acting as the safety observer in boat who tends rope and watches skiers.

3. Demonstrate ability to adjust binders to fit and put on skis in knee-deep water.

4. Make an unassisted shallow-water start on two skis.

5. Demonstrate ability to fall properly in avoiding an obstacle. Release handle and coast to a stop unassisted without loss of balance.

6. Demonstrate ability to recover skis that have come off during fall, put skis on in deep water, recover and retain handle, and make an unassisted deep-water start on two skis.

7. Demonstrate ability to cross both wakes and return to center of wake without falling. Repeat three times.

8. On two skis, jump off the wake lifting both skis clear of the water.

9. During a demonstration run, life one ski clear of water for 2 seconds. Then do the same with other ski, at all times demonstrating that you are steady and comfortable on skis.

10. Ski on one ski for 30 seconds demonstrating reasonable control.

11. Demonstrate a one- or two-ski start from a seated position from dock or float unassisted.