WSM

[minaquabat]

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[Horton]

@minaquabat

 

I think your assessment of Water Ski Magazine is a little harsh.  If you do not like WSM I suggest that you simply do not look at it.

 

I can tell you from personal experience that no media outlet is going to make every reader happy.  WSM is understaffed and has to cater to a much wider audience than BallOfSpray. Todd is a super talented guy who does the best that he can within the constraints he has to work with. WSM does a lot of things I cannot and I provide things that they cannot. We are two very different entities.

 

As the owner of this site, I directly compete with them for advertising - as a skier, I believe the health of WSM is important to the sport. We need the magazine. I will stand up for Todd and WSM any day of the week. Beating up WSM does not do anything positive.

 

If you want to contribute to the magazine I know Todd is always looking for submissions. Otherwise please temper your pot shots and let’s get back talking about skiing.

[Bulldog]

All print media is suffering....I like getting the magazine still after these years (since 1986 or so).

[jcamp]

Many of the things you are looking for are in the print edition. Subscribe. It's crazy cheap.

[jp]

If WSM focused on what miniaquabat is suggesting, they would be out of business, which would not be a good thing IMO. When most people start reading WSM, they probably have never been exposed to a slalom course. But without WSM, my guess is a lot of people on this site would not have taken the next steps toward slalom course skiing. I was given a subscription to WSM when I was 10 years old, skiing on public lakes for the next 20 years. I finally flipped to the classifieds, called a Florida ski school, booked the trip, learned the course, bought a MC skier 19. The mag has value.

[DooSPX]

They are looking for input at anytime. As @Horton said, Todd is a great guy, and tries very hard to promote the sport. Not to mention a pretty damn good skier.

[ALPJr]

I started with The Water Skier when I was in high school around 1975 - 76 and then Spray mag. Both inspired me to ski more, buy equipment and work on technique. I never saw or skied a course until 1989. I still look forward to taking it out of the mail box. I have a process - first scan through the ads and study the pic's. The next time through I check for good reads. Then for months I flip through randomly. Long live Waterski Mag, and long live Ball of Spray!

[Wish]

One of my fondest memories was teaching my daughter how to count with WSM. We would turn every page and count the number of buoys found throughout the mag. Funny how some issues were loaded with them and others had very few. It was a great hunt and cool that she could practice her counting.

 

I also have the privilege of being friends with one of the great photographers of the magazine. By no means do I know diddly squat about photography but I know a ton of what goes into those photos. I've been on and been part of many photo shoots. It is extensive and at time extreme. I have a great admiration, respect and at times am in auh of some of the spreads these guys create. They are nothing short of passionately dedication to the magazine. If for anything else, do yourself a favor and get the subscription just for the photos. You do not get that here on BOS and I'm sure @Horton would agree.

 

Todd let me tell my story in the pages of WSM. Having been though Malignant Melanoma and survived via surgery and chemo, I wanted to get the word out on prevention. We all spend lots of time in the sun. Wasn't sure he would put it in considering it wasn't exactly water ski related. It did have a good ending. In the end he did. I have to believe it saved lives.

 

So thanks to Todd for that. And thank you to the amazing photographers

[rockdog]

I have been subscribing for some time with my ipad app which is a fantastic way to view the mag, though the last few editions have not come to me for more than week into the new month and I have yet to see the Sept edition (maybe there isn't one not sure?) Emailed Todd a week or so ago attempting to get some answers but have not heard back.

[slow]

I subscribe to waterski magazine and enjoy getting it each month. I do believe they would do themselves a favor by cleaning up their website of old material.

[Zman]

I have subscribed to WSM for almost 30 years and have never loved it more! Todd has taken the mag to a new high over his years - and a great guy, awesome skier who really understands our sport, and quite crazy - like most of us (or more). I don't visit the web version so cannot comment. I love having BOS for web content and the mags to pile up next to my bed!

[Horton]

Looks like the original author of this thread wants it to go away. I am going to honor that.

 

@minaquabat man you put it out there and the readers of BallOfSpray disagreed. Hopefully you will come back and talk about skiing or gear or boats or whatever.