Dick Pope Sr. played an important role in the development of Florida tourism and the growth of the sport of water skiing.
[2] When Walt Disney was scouting for a location for a second, even larger theme park, the Pope family promoted Cypress Gardens and Central Florida.
[6] He and his friends in Winter Haven, Florida discovered that if the speed of the boat was increased high enough, then barefoot waterskiing became possible.
Photographs and newsreels of Pope barefoot waterskiing at speeds in excess of 40 mph became an international sensation at the time.
[6] The media attention was created by his father, Dick Pope Sr., to generate publicity for Cypress Gardens, but it also helped popularize water skiing worldwide.