I started water skiing in 1960 on a creek in Chickasaw, Alabama. After free skiing on open water for a short time, a few of us decided to enter a tournament on Dog River in Mobile, Alabama. This was when I realized I wanted to be involved in tournament skiing but had a lot to learn. I contacted AWSA, and they were very helpful. We formed the Aqua Nuts Ski Club and started to hold tournaments in Saraland, Alabama, and attend tournaments in the Southern Region. One of my friends in the Ski Club was Jerry, who was in the US Coast Guard and transferred from Colorado. He was as passionate about water skiing and judging as I was, and we were later married in 1982.
As years went by we attended a lot of tournaments and reached the Senior III event level in judging, and when the Pan Am ratings came out, we passed the tests and, as a result, were invited to attend tournaments around the world. Later we were transferred to Virginia for nine years and competed and judged at some beautiful lakes with wonderful people in the Eastern Region. Our last transfer was to New Orleans in the South Central Region, where Jerry retired in 1996. I continued tournament skiing and was fortunate to set a W8 National Slalom Record of 3-1/2 buoys at 28 feet off, lasting for several years. Jerry and I were inducted into the Alabama Water Ski Hall of Fame in 2015.
My husband, Jerry, was my best friend, the love of my life, and my biggest supporter for 36 years and passed away on May 16, 2018. In the past 60 years, I have been involved in water skiing as both a competitor and an official; I feel very blessed to have met the most amazing people around the world, which warms my heart with memories that will last a lifetime.
I am Margaret Ann Woodard. I am a water skier and an official, and #WeAreWaterSki.