Letter: Ski Racing Media Looks Toward the Future

This year marks my 8th year at Ski Racing and in that time, our small team has striven to tell stories that have helped to lead the conversation within the ski racing community. Our efforts have bridged a wide range of related stories that span from the grassroots fun of NASTAR all the way to the lofty excellence of the World Cup. Our team works hard to bring quality and informative content to our readers, and we provide a platform for communal discussion. It’s just as much of passion for us as it is for you. In the past year, I have spent time with the youngest competitors in the country, and I have interviewed with some of the greatest skiers in the history of the United States. Telling these stories continues to re-affirm my passion for what we do.

Our content comes with a cost. We are passionate about skiing and our community, but it takes money to cover these stories. We have always relied upon the community for financial support. For more than 30 years, U.S. Ski and Snowboard covered the cost of subscriptions to Ski Racing for each of its members. As of this year, this arrangement has been terminated. This means, USSS members are no longer subscribed to Ski Racing as part of membership dues, and U.S. Ski and snowboard no longer reimburses us for those subscriptions. While we continue to have a strong relationship with the National Governing Body, we are now a truly independent publication that relies primarily on our readership’s support.

The loss of revenue that came with the end of our partnership requires adaptation. Our response has been to create a digital subscription model, also known as the “paywall.” We’ll be the first to admit that since the paywall has gone up there have been frustrations. We’ve heard the complaints and have been hard at work redesigning our business model to serve the community while keeping the lights on. Like almost all publications today, we’ve been navigating the challenges of adapting to online trends and new opportunities in the digital media environment. These challenges have forced us to find a business model that will cover the costs associated with running a small media company in a new environment.

So, what is changing?

We are re-launching our subscription paywall and asking everyone who has been a subscriber to re-up with the new system as we offer a $35/year subscription. We also need new subscribers to join with us.

It’s an exciting and critical time and your support is more important today than ever before. As an independent publication, we can be trusted to present the facts and shed light on the issues facing our sport.  We are covering a wide range of topics like the funding crisis in ski racing, leadership and program changes like Project 26, and the celebration of ski history through video series’ like American Downhiller. We have podcasts and we cover World Cups, NorAms, NCAA, and junior racing.

We want to thank you for your support of Ski Racing and for your continued support of the valuable role we play in the sport of alpine skiing. After all, what’s ski racing without Ski Racing?

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Claire Brown

Publisher and COO of Ski Racing Media