RICHARD D. POPE, SR.

Dick Pope was almost certainly the greatest
promoter that the sport of water skiing has ever
known, and few have made greater contributions to
tournament skiing. A pioneer water skier and a
founder of Cypress Gardens, Dick used his famous
Florida attraction to create movies, television
shows, magazine features, and newspaper articles
which promoted the beauty and fun of water skiing
all over the world,

But Dick's contribution to the sport was more
than pretty girls and daredevil water skiers. He
sponsored the second World Water Ski
Championships in 1950 and helped to form at that
time the World Water Ski Federation as a rival
organization to the International Water Ski
Union, whose foundation in 1946 we celebrate
tonight. He was equally involved in the
negotiations which brought the two organizations
together again in 1955 as the World Water Ski
Union. He sponsored another World Championship
at Cypress Gardens in 1957, as well as the All-
American and Dixie tournaments which set the
standard in water skiing for decades. Several of
the members of our Hall of Fame owe their skiing
careers to the support and experience gained as
members of the Cypress Gardens water ski team,
including Willa Worthington McGuire, Alfredo
Mendoza and Marina Doria.

I am pleased to announce the induction into the
International Hall of Fame of a pioneer and a
prodigious promotor of the sport of water skiing:
Richard Downing Pope, Sr.