A kinematic analysis of water ski jumping in male and female elite athletes

The aim of this study was to perform a kinematic analysis of the in-run, take-off and early flight phases in water ski jumping and to analyse the differences in linear/angular parameters between males and females. Forty-two elite skiers participated in this study (27 males; 15 females); their jumps were video recorded during competitions: the time course of absolute (trunk, thigh, ski) and relative (hip, knee, ankle) angles was calculated, as well as the (trochanter) resultant speed. Males were able to reach faster in-run speeds than females (25.4 ± 1.9 and 21.8 ± 1.2 m/s, respectively) and jumped further (56.2 ± 8.6 and 40.4 ± 6.3 m). Longer jumps were correlated with faster speeds in all phases (r range: 0.87-0.91, p