Traditional water skiing features slalom, trick and jump skiing.
Slalom skiing involves a slalom course. The skier must ski through the entrance gates of the slalom course, around 6 balls, and through the exit gates. The task is made more difficult by increasing the boat speed to a maximum of 58km/h (36mph) and then by shortening the rope in pre-determined amounts.
Trick skiing involves complicated manouvers on one or two trick skis. Points are given for each "trick", with larger point values for more difficult tricks and for performing the trick on one ski rather than two skis. A trick run is limited to two 20 second passes.
Jump skiing, the most spectacular event of the three, is a contest to see who can fly the farthest distance off of a jump ramp. The jump ramp height can be adjusted to either 5, 5.5 or 6 feet high, and the boat speed can be varied up to 58km/h (36mph).