Editing Snowmobile skipping (section)

== Safety ==
[[File:SnowmobileSkippingAugustWatercrossAtUnion.jpg|thumb|right|Snowmobile skipping right after leaving shore. Note the rider is wearing a life jacket]]

Watercross competitions are held during the summer and the participants of official events wear [[Personal flotation device|life jackets]] and helmets,<ref name=MilwaukeeJournalSentinelJuly182009 /> and have a [[buoy]] tethered to their sleds.  If for some event the rider and sled do not complete the course, the rider releases the buoy from the snowmobile so that it floats to the surface and marks the sled for retrieval.  Watercross competitions, as with other motor sports competitions, have ambulance and rescue crews nearby in the event of an accident.<ref name=MilwaukeeJournalSentinelJuly182009 />

While it is possible to skim over the water with a stock snowmobile, the practice can be dangerous. For example, in February 2006, a Massachusetts man died in New Hampshire after sinking into the water during a failed skimming attempt.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/newspapers/atlanticnews/2006/02-03-2006/Pages05and36.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-03-16 |archive-date=2015-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916115552/http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/newspapers/atlanticnews/2006/02-03-2006/Pages05and36.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In July 2010, a 40-year-old man died in [[Anaktuvuk Pass]] while attempting to skim across Eleanor Lake.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://community.adn.com/adn/node/152774 |title=Rural Alaska blog: The Village : Anaktuvuk Pass: Man dies skimming snowmachine across lake &#124; adn.com |access-date=2010-08-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820033927/http://community.adn.com/adn/node/152774 |archive-date=2010-08-20 }}</ref> In January 2018, a 48-year-old man died after partially skipping across [[Sturgeon Lake (Ontario)]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/8085893-opp-say-earl-strong-48-of-courtice-dead-after-snowmobile-enters-open-water/|title=OPP say Earl Strong, 48, of Courtice dead after snowmobile enters open water|date=22 January 2018 }}</ref>

The practice of "skimming" is illegal in the states of Minnesota<ref>{{cite web|last1=Strandberg|first1=Dave|title=DNR To Cite "Water Skipping" Snowmobilers|url=http://kdal610.com/news/articles/2017/mar/16/dnr-to-cite-water-skipping-snowmobilers/|website=[[KDAL-FM|KDAL]]}}</ref> and Maine.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.maine.gov/IFW/laws_rules/snowlaws.htm| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071230112416/http://www.maine.gov/ifw/laws_rules/snowlaws.htm| archive-date = 2007-12-30| title = Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - 2007-2008 Maine Snowmobile Laws and Rules}}</ref> On the contrary, in Wisconsin there are places where skimming is encouraged, and some businesses rely on it to attract customers, for example at Bauer's Dam in [[Conover, Wisconsin]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}