Cable Park History

 

It was during the early 1950’s that using a cable system rather than a boat to tow water-skiers began.  Bruno Rixen, an engineer from Munich, Germany, had the idea that it would be possible to create a towed watersports experience without a boat using towers and cables, similar to a ski lift.  His first design was like a winch system, and pulled water-skiers one direction across the water, and in 1962 the first cable system for was opened to the public.  By the the 70’s and 80’s there were several hundred of these systems in operation across Europe. 

 

The development of wakeboarding emerged in the late 80’s and changed the cable system world, moving the focus of users from waterskiing.  Cable wakeboarding began its successful growth as riders began to show up at the cable systems around the world and changed them by adding features for jumps and tricks.  There was a greater opportunity to use the physics of the cable system and the features in creative and exciting ways.  The ability of the system to accommodate more riders at a much lower cost attributed to the rapid rise of the popularity of this type of towed watersport.  A cable system is time efficient; it can accommodate up to 5 riders as compared to 1 rider behind the boat.  The savings are even more dramatic, as electricity is much more cost effective than fuel.  The next evolution of the one-way system was to add the ability to have continuous riding and adding more towers to extend the opportunities for additional features in a longer circuit.

 

Cable Skiing was recognized as an official sport with the International Waterski Federation in the 70’s.  In the late 80’s, the EAME Cable Wakeboard Council was the first governing body of Cable Wakeboarding for Europe, Africa and Middle East. It consists of three regions: Pan American Region (PANAM); Asia-Australia (A/A) and Europe, Africa & Middle East.  It eventually became part of the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF). The Cable Wakeboard World Council coordinated all activities world-wide, including the World Championships.  The World Championships took place bi-annually as the seasons across continents allowed.  As cable parks became prominent throughout Europe and Austral-Asia, interest in North America started to build in the 90’s.  The first cable systems in North America were built in the United States by private developers, with many of them still in operation today.  

 

In 2011, Waterski Wakeboard Canada held its Annual Congress in Calgary with the focus for the conference on the promotion of Cable Wakeboarding.  There was a plan to work with the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) to develop standards for cable parks in North America.  At the time, Cable wakeboarding was the fastest-growing segment in the towed watersports community in North America and Europe.  The Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan board of directors discussed this trend at a board meeting later in the year.  Successful parks were operating in Winnipeg and Abbotsford in the West, and there were several operators in Ontario and Quebec. The first Canadian Cable Park Championships took place in Quebec in 2013, with 45 athletes taking part.

 

In 2014, the topic of Cable Parks once again made the minutes for the association, as board members realized the potential for growth and development. The SaskFirst Wakeboard team traveled to the Adrenaline Park in Winnipeg in the summer to train.  In 2015, Brett Morris, Mitchell Keet and Taylor Fiesel attended Cable Park Nationals, dominating the 19-24 age category.  The park was very successful and well developed, and in 2016 Waterski Wakeboard Manitoba hosted Wake Park Westerns at the site.  Athletes from the Saskfirst team traveled to the United States in the offseason,  working with former Saskatchewan team members and pros Rusty Malinoski and Dylan Miller at the Parks in Florida.  In 2017, Mitchell Keet and Connor McNeill recalled when they put in a winch system at the Keet acreage in Grandora, and had a few seasons of good times and riding. “We built a cable park at Mitchell Keet’s, that’s memorable times.  It took alot of time but it was well worth it”

 

The pandemic created an opportunity for the association to re-focus, and work to address membership decline and rising costs. The building a cable system in Saskatchewan was again discussed in the fall of 2022. Saskatoon Waterski Club was in discussion with the City of Saskatoon and had written an M.O.U. to access 64th Street Retention Pond in an agreement with the local boat dealers. The pond was large enough for Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan to consider the site for a potential location for a Cable Park, and entered into a subsequent M.O.U.  In the spring of 2023, fourth-year team of students from the University of Saskatchewan Edwards School of Business, Amanda Kumar, Kayla Sawchuk and Alicia Hyshka,  took on the challenge to write a Business Plan for a Cable Park in Saskatoon.  This project provided the foundation for applications for grants and funding.  There were successful grants from the City of Saskatoon for $10000, and the Jeux Canada Games Foundation (1989) for $10000, and this provided a downpayment opportunity to support the project.  Key volunteers such as Danny Gray, Troy Monz, Mike Napper, Kevin Johnston and Richard Clunie provided construction expertise, corporate knowledge, and volunteer hours and donations to take the project to the development stage and funding.

 

The funding for the purchase of Cable Park was made possible through a very favourable loan from Dr. Gary Morris, a long-time supporter of towed watersports in Saskatchewan.  Once this agreement was in place, Danny Gray, VP of Sport for All, and co-owner of Casa Boldt Consulting became the Project Lead and with his connections in the community arranged for site preparation for construction. Mike Napper, director of Wakeboard Excellence, contacted Konex systems, who came to Saskatoon to consult with the team.  The size of the site created the potential for Konex to design a park that would be one of a kind, making it the longest system in Canada.  Once the downpayment was made, Konex began to construct the bespoke system in Winnipeg.  

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 Site preparation was completed by TM Construction and Kelsey Pipeline in preparation for the pouring of the foundation for the towers.  Getting power to the site was a major hurdle, an unforeseen cost factor as SaskPower had to bring the power across a roadway around a drainage system, quadrupling the cost in the budget and delaying it significantly.  The pandemic hangover also created headaches, as parts that were needed by Konex were difficult to source due to the slowdown of manufacturing.  Through the summer, the pilings were poured and the site made ready for the delivery of the system.

The system arrived in October, and the team was fortunate to have a few warm days to install.  Once again, key volunteers and donors stepped up to make it happen, with Troy, Danny, Kevin and Richard leading the group that also included Association president Norm Lucas, Executive Director Len Thomas, and SaskFirst riders Marin Wempe Monz, Nathan Johnston, Jacob Clunie, and Mason Wempe Monz lending a hand.  After the towers were up, it required a portable generator for testing as the power to the site was not in yet, and Chad Stolte of Lead Energy stepped in to provide the electricity service for testing.  The first rider on the last day in the dying light was Nathan Johnston, and it was a moment for celebration for the entire team, and an opportunity to focus on opening to the public in 2024.

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Over the off-season, Danny Gray made a connection with a First Nations company in North Battleford called Timberwood Innovations which volunteered to donate a Guest Services building to the site.  The building was unique in structure, as it was built from deconstructed grain elevators using the recycled lumber.  This makes the building very solid, with amazing features such as spots where the grain is still visible in the crack and the erosion from decades of grain hitting the boards made it smooth and shiny.  Vereco designs stepped in with the next donation, and provided Timberwood with the design of the building.  Voce Developments provided the donation of siding and shingles to complete the exterior.  

Other donations became part of the finished building, as Mike Napper fitted it with a garage door, and Danny Gray and Troy put in the doors and windows.  Saskatoon Coop donated lumber to help with framing, and Don Wehage and Sons hauled in some sand for a beach area.  The building was ready for the grand opening on June 21st thanks to the countless hours of time put in by the key group that made the park a reality.

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In May of 2024, TM Construction and Troy Monz with the help of Kevin Johnston and their families put in more volunteer work and created and installed features for the site.  These features provided the SaskFirst team with training opportunities as soon as it was warm enough to get on the water.  The website booking system was opened, and fittingly Brett Morris was the first person to pay to use the new Cable Park.  The park was open in May and June after school hours and saw a steady increase in usage as the weather warmed up.  The Grand Opening was June 21st, and was sponsored by Dakota Dunes CDC.  The attendees enjoyed Bannock Tacos on an amazingly warm and sunny day.  Once school was over, July and August experienced growth in numbers as people learned about the park.  There were clinics held using grant support from Waterski Wakeboard Canada, the City of Saskatoon and Dakota Dunes CDC.  Two of the clinics were geared toward females aged 8-15, and had waiting lists.  5 day programs were made available to the Pleasant Hill Community Association, with inner city youth invited to the site to experience towed watersports.  The first year of the park was a great success.

The Cable Park was officially named the Josh Dutchak Park in 2025, as the Josh Dutchak Foundation held a fundraiser golf tournament and donated funding for a boat, equipment, and completion of the deck.  His parents, David and Shannon Dutchak, remember Josh’s involvement fondly.  “Josh’s biggest achievement is helping others.  To him, that was the biggest achievement, bringing other kids into the fold.  He was just such a beautiful person and his spirit will continue on.”  In addition to naming the park after Josh, the Wakeboard community created an annual award, called the “Josh Dutchak Spirit of the Sport” Award, it is to be awarded annually to the athlete(s) who displayed the dedication, effort, volunteering, growth, and positive attitude that best represents Josh Dutchak’s involvement in the Wakeboard community.

The City of Saskatoon provided $10000 to increase accessibility at the site, and a ramp was built from the building to the dockside.  MORE TO COME AFTER THE GOLF TOURNAMENT AND FINALIZED DONATION.