Literally the day after I learned to ski, a group of kids decided to try and beat the Guinness book of world record skiers behind a boat. If memory serves me correctly, we were able to get 15 skiers behind one boat by using four boats and passing ropes. It took the entire day to accomplish. I was so thrilled when we all finally got up and made it around the lake! I have no idea if we broke that record, but it was insanely fun. Regardless, I felt like I had graduated to finally be called a water skier amongst the coolest people I knew.
My older brothers and one sister were amazing water slalom skiers. That was the next challenge. Slalom skiing is harder than it looks. It requires all the grit you can muster to fight the torque and emerge amongst an onslaught of water. My girlfriends and I were determined our 8th grade summer to master it. We all managed to learn on the same hot summer day and skied every day, multiple times a day, during those blissful times.