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WSIA: Safeguarding America’s Towed Water Sports

Nation’s leading towed water sports association forges partnerships to promote, protect boating access

>> Be there for the WSIA live presentation at IBEX on Tuesday, October 7th at 3pm on the Tech Talk stage <<

Founded in 1977, the Water Sports Industry Association has long been the nation’s unifying body behind towed water sports. In the nearly five decades since its founding, WSIA has remained true to its roots while evolving to become a national leader in boating safety, education, and public policy.

In its early years, the WSIA initially focused on water skiing – then the predominant towed water sport – hosting competitive events and developing standardized patterns and practices to help competitive water-skiing scale nationally. WSIA quickly emerged as a vital hub where towed water sports industry leaders could unite to develop best practices, exchange innovative ideas, and forge lasting connections.

“WSIA was created to bring towed water sports enthusiasts together and promote responsible boating. Its early work in building a national network for industry leaders and fostering safety in boating continues to this day, and that foundation remains central to our mission.” said Robert Oswell, President of Roswell Marine and President of the WSIA Board of Directors.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the WSIA enhanced its focus on boating safety. The Association helped create the first warning labels for boats, and educated boaters on safe boating practices, the importance of life jackets, and other safety topics. The WSIA built lasting partnerships with national authorities on boating safety like the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee. WSIA was soon recognized as a national authority and resource on how Americans can safely enjoy the water.

With the rise in popularity of wakesurfing in the 2000s, WSIA retained its focus on safety but increased its role in advocacy and public policy, helping to protect and promote access to public waterways nationwide.

“WSIA embraced public policy advocacy to ensure wakesurfing’s growth didn’t compromise waterway access, blending our safety roots with proactive efforts to shape fair, science-based regulations,” Oswell said.

Just in the last 4 years, WSIA has led grassroots advocacy and legislative campaigns in support of water access rights in 16 states. Across the nation, WSIA is educating both lawmakers and the public on the facts about towed water sports.

In 2023, for example, lawmakers in Minnesota – one of the nation’s largest boating states – proposed legislation that would severely restrict the operation of ballast-enhanced boats on the state’s thousands of lakes in response to the growth in boating traffic following the pandemic. WSIA’s government affairs team, working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, successfully prevailed on lawmakers to shift their focus from imposing boating restrictions to improving boater education. The result was a comprehensive boater education bill, taking effect this year, that will make Minnesota’s lakes safer without restricting access to towed water sports.

Similarly, in Tennessee, WSIA’s team worked closely with legislators to enact a uniform standard for towed water sports activities that reflects peer-reviewed science. Tennessee’s 200-foot setback for wakesurfing became a nationwide model for how to balance public water access rights with safety and ecological sustainability – and today versions of that legislation have been enacted in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Today, WSIA is active in all 50 states around the nation – not just in public policy advocacy, but in boater education and philanthropy.

Water Sports Foundation, founded by WSIA in 2003 on the premise that a safer boating culture saves lives, promotes safe boating habits. In partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Foundation has facilitated safety messages through videos, articles, social media and advertising that has reached more than one billion impressions.

The WSIA Wake Responsibly campaign educates boaters on towed water sports practices that ensure a safe and enjoyable experience on the water. Wake Responsibly focuses on three pillars:
· Operating at least 200 feet from shore.
· Minimizing repetitive passes.
· Keeping music at respectful levels.

Across the nation, water sports dealers and retailers have access to free materials – provided by the WSIA – to promote Wake Responsibly to customers.
“Our focus is on fostering a culture of responsibility on the water, working with lawmakers and communities to advance boater education and prevent restrictive bans that unfairly target wake sports enthusiasts,” said Lee Gatts, WSIA’s Vice President of Government Affairs.

WSIA hosts events each year that bring together industry to collaborate, share ideas, and build relationships. WSIA SUMMIT, held each winter, is the largest gathering of towed water sports leaders in the world. The WSIA’s Parasail Operators Symposium – also the largest gathering of its kind in the world – covers topics such as safety, insurance and marketing.

“WSIA’s dedication to towed water sports goes beyond advocacy—it’s about building a safer, more inclusive boating culture. Campaigns like Wake Responsibly empower boaters to enjoy our waterways responsibly,” said Gatts.

These efforts, cumulatively, have helped protect and promote boating rights for the millions of American families who enjoy towed water sports each year. As wakesurfing and other towed water sports continue to attract boaters across America, the WSIA will continue to support access, safety, and sustainability. By championing education over restriction and science-based policies over knee-jerk bans, the WSIA ensures that our waterways remain safe and open to all.

To learn more, visit www.wsia.net.