Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1264
Down 18% over 5 years
The verdict
Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 36/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 6,071 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 18% over the last five years.
- 36/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 6,071
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1264 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume6,071 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-18%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Water Skiing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1264, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 6,071 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 121,414 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 36/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 18% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (9,928 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2024 (3,651 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 10,293 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (6,073 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 44,700 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 5.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 226 | 55 | |
| 5-14 | 9,568 | 4,555 | |
| 15-24 | 31,614 | 13,086 | |
| 25-34 | 16,658 | 6,329 | |
| 35-44 | 11,806 | 4,874 | |
| 45-54 | 8,812 | 4,258 | |
| 55-64 | 4,841 | 1,938 | |
| 65-74 | 1,719 | 708 | |
| 75+ | 283 | 80 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Leg | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Leg | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
14YOF WAS WATERSKIING AND FELL. DX: ANKLE SPRAIN.
29YOM REPORTS INJURING HIS RIGHT ANKLE YESTERDAY WHILE WAKEBOARDING - HYPERFLEXION INJURY; DX: ANKLE SPRAIN AND STRAIN
63YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR FOOT PAIN. PT WAS WATERSKIIGN THIS AFTERNOON WHEN CAUGHT AN EDGE ON THE SKI CRASH. NO LO. DX: LISFRANC DISLOCATION RT
22 YOF C/O KNEE INJURY THAT HAPPENED 1 HR PTA WHILE ON A WAKEBOARD. DX: POSTERIOR DISLOCATION OF THE R KNEE.
15 YOF WAS WAKE BOARDING FELL INJURED HIP DX: PAIN
16YOM WAS WAKE BOARDING WHEN HE CAME DOWN HARD ON HIS RIGHT SIDE DX:SPLEEN LAC
53YOM COMES TO THE ER WITH KNEE PAIN. HE STATES HE WAS TRYING TO STAND UP ON A ***, PULLED BY A BOAT. WHEN HE FELT A POP. HE TRIED TO STAND AGAIN AND FELT ANOTHER POP. EXAM POSITIVE FOR TENDERNESS, JOINT SWELLING AND PAIN. DX: EFFUSION KNEE RIGHT
37YOF PRESENTS WITH RIGHT SUBSCAPULAR PAIN PRESENT OVER A WEEK. SHE WENT WATER SKIING AND FELT A POP BUT DID NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT PAIN UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY. DX: RIGHT SHOULDER PAIN, STRAIN MUSCLES AND TENDONS ROTATOR CUFF RIGHT SHOULDER
26YOM STATES THAT HE WAS WAKEBOARDING WHEN THE WAKE BOARD ROPE PULLED ON HIS LEFT ARM CAUSING HIM TO FALL INTO THE WATER NOW HAS SIGNIFICANT PAIN DX: LEFT ARM PAIN
14 YOF WAKEBOARDING ACCIDENT AT LAKE DX CONCUSSION
61YOM WAS WATER SKIING AND DEVELOPED PAIN ACROSS CHEST DX: CHEST WALL PAIN
14YOM WAS WAKEBOARDING IN THE GULF WHEN HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO A FLIP OFF THE BOARD AND LANDED ON HIS HEAD DX: CLOSE HEAD INJURY
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
While using a HydroSlide wake board my nephew went over one side of a wake and came down the other and wiped out. Upon turning the boat around to retreive him I saw that his feet were still in the boots and the boots were no longer attached to the board. I went online and found similar issues of broken bindings(http://www.boatersworld.com/etc/powerreviews/pwr/product-reviews/7553/Wakeboards/Hydroslide/p/478322191-Hydroslide-Black-Widow-Wakeboard.html). His ankles were really bruised and I thought possibly broken at first. My guess is no testing of the plastic was done for impact? As a product safety engineer I know about things like this and these should not be breaking under normal use. At the very least I thought it should be brought to your attention.
I was using the slalom ski and was doing a deep water start behind my supra inboard ski boat and the ski broke in half. The material under the laced binding broke. See pictures. These were only used three times this season. No injury sustained as I was able to let go of tow rope after ski broke and was only using one ski. I did get dragged under water due to broken ski.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 36/100 (low risk). An estimated 6,071 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 10,293 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 18% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 44,700 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 5.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with water skiing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 36/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
