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WATERSKI MagazineLike its native country, water skiing was in a state of flux early in this decade. While Europeans rolled across the ocean in the form of 45-rpm records, our sport teetered between being a unique stage show and popular entertainment. Uncertain as it was, this would become the most illustrious period of the sport's first 75 years.
Only three networks existed in the early 1960s. There was no cable or satellite dishes. So popular was water skiing that NBC, CBS and ABC had bidding wars for rights to broadcast top events like the U.S. Nationals and World Championships. On most weekends if you flipped between the “big three” – manually, of course – you'd find a water skiing tournament. America's curiosity with the sport was piqued further when skiers made appearances on shows like The Tonight Show and What's My Line?
All this attention had a more broad impact: We were tempted. No longer satisfied with fascination from a distance, it was time to experience the mystique of gliding across water in a standing position. By the end of the decade, combos and slaloms were showing up virtually everywhere you could find lakes and homes. Mom, Dad and the kids became a water skiing family.
