Towed Watersports History in Saskatchewan

Use the buttons below to guide you through the story of the sport. Scroll down for a timeline summary.

Click on these photos for the history of each discipline

Waterski

Wakeboard

Adaptive

Cable Park

The invention of Waterskiing and it’s arrival in Canada

Water skiing was invented in 1922 by 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson in Minnesota, who believed that if skiing on snow was possible, then skiing on water must be possible (1). The first known waterskiing competition was held in 1939 at Long Island, New York (2). Classic waterski started off with slalom and trick events, with jump being added as the third discipline as athletes experimented with towed watersports when the boats became more powerful and the equipment more specialized. The sport of waterskiing made its way from the United States to Canada in the 1930’s, and grew in popularity after World War II. A significant milestone for towed watersports in Canada came in 1949 with the founding of the Canadian Water Ski Association (3). Canada's first national championship was held that year. The foundation of the association was rooted in governance for the waterski community, and the Canadian Water Ski Association has since become a pivotal governing body for towed water sports in the country, overseeing competitions and provincial sports organizations and promoting various forms of towed water sport. Canada hosted its first World Championships in Toronto, Ontario in 1953 (4). Saskatchewan lakes and waterways became a place for recreational skiers to experiment and learn about the sport of Waterskiing in the 50’s and 60’s as people began to spend time at cabins and parks on the weekends and over the summer, taking advantage of the long, warm days.

The Competive Stream in Saskatchewan 1960s and 1970s

It was during the 60’s that Elmer Hazzard and Clinton Ward – two Saskatchewan-born athletes – took the sport to the next level and began their successful competitive careers in Waterskiing, building provincial and national reputations. It was also during this time that the first mention in the collection memory from oral history of the Humboldt Boat club, which started in the early 1960’s. It was begun by a group of veterans from World War II. From 1962 to 1974, Clint Ward held a combined eight Canadian titles in Men’s Slalom, Senior Men’s Slalom, Senior Men’s Tricks, and Senior Men’s Overall. In 1968, he was the Canadian record holder for slalom (5).

In 1970, Jim was joined by Elmer Hazzard on the national stage who collected championships and records over the next several seasons. Elmer won the Regina Beach Open Trick Skiing event and the Stoney Lake Senior Men’s overall title that year. In 1972 he won three trick events, the Saskatchewan Open, the Stoney Lake tournament and the Crooked Lake tournament. He was the Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Overall Champion in both 1972 and 1973. It was in 1973, at Chrysler Lagoon near Upper Canada Village in Ontario that Elmer won the Canadian Senior Men’s Tricks Championship. He retained the championship in 1974 at Hull, Quebec (6).

The 70’s saw increased activity grow beyond grassroots toward a more competitive stream of participants. In 1972, the Saskatoon Water Ski Club was officially recognized by the Canadian Waterski Association. It is still active today, and is the oldest ski club in Canada (7). This same year, an Olympic trivia question was born. Water skiing was a demonstration sport for the first time at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Pat Messner of Ottawa won the women's gold medal (8), and remains the only gold medalist for waterski in Canada.

In 1974, Saskatoon Water Ski Club (SWSC) hosted the 1st Western Canadian Championships, and the event became a standard of excellence in waterskiing tournaments of the day. The sport continued to grow in popularity around the province. Saskatoon Waterski Club created a small beach area near the Rotary Park and in 1975 they built a dock on the river. The club was between the Freeway Bridge downstream to the Mendel Art Gallery (now called the WonderHub). From 1973 to 1978, SWSC hosted clinics in Saskatoon featuring coaching from the All Canadian National Team, which included two-time world champion George Athans (9).The decade closed off with Clint Ward becoming the first waterski athlete to be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.

The growth of Clubs in the 1980’s

In 1980, Elmer Hazzard becomes the second person to be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. The 80’s was a time of growth and development for towed watersports in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Water Ski Association (SWSA) was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization on April 16, 1984 by a group of very dedicated and visionary individuals. It became part of SaskSport and the association has enjoyed the benefits of being a member of this organization and the Lottery Trust Fund ever since. The founders and builders were a very capable and humble group, and there is little or no record in the archival data of their names and the significant work that they completed.

It was during the 80’s that other clubs joined Saskatoon on Waterski Club. Regina Ski Club, Pasqua Lake Ski Club, Crystal Lake Ski Club, Stoney Lake Ski Club (formerly the Humboldt Boat Club), Christopher Lake, and Kipabiskau Waterski Club. Kipabiskau is now known as Kipabiskau Watersports Club, as it evolved to include the wakeboarding discipline. Kipabiskau is the longest service club in that list, as it is still active at the time of this writing. The inclusion of waterskiing in the Saskatchewan Summer Games and Canada Summer Games added to the exposure and foundation for future growth.

Wakeboarding started to develop in the 80’s, and surfers can be credited with the origins. In 1985, a California surfer patented “Skurfing” which led to the eventual sport of wakeboarding that people recognize today (10). It continued to evolve with improvements to the board and boats as a fusion of surfing, snowboarding, and water skiing. In the next decade, wakeboarding became a major part of our Saskatchewan towed watersports landscape, and rapidly surged in popularity.

Wakeboarding and Waterskiing in the 90s

The 90’s saw the continued growth of Waterskiing and the introduction of the successful wakeboarding community in the province. There was significant growth in club numbers, membership, coaching development and athlete opportunities. In 1990, the World Wakeboard Association was founded, and major sporting events began to feature wakeboarding, leading to its rise in popularity. There were several athletes in the waterski community that were competing on the national stage, and in 1991 Jim Clunie became a member of Team Canada. He was on the team that won the Water Ski World Championships in Villach, Austria, beating the perennial champions – the United States – and bringing home Saskatchewan’s first world championship gold medal. In 1993, the world championships were broadcast on TSN and Team Canada repeated the feat, with Jim bringing home Saskatchewan’s first world individual medal to go along with his gold (11). Jim's brother Richard and Norm Lucas also competed on the national and international stage. The Moomba Masters in Australia saw many of these athletes in competition during this decade.

There were many provincial Waterskiing events and competitions in the 90s. The Mel Ross Open had its first event in 1994 at Christopher Lake, and it continues today in a very informal way, dedicated to fun and friendly competition. Saskatoon Waterski Club hosted the Fred Abrahamsen Open in 1996. According to the archival history in the minutes of the Saskatchewan Waterski Association, in the summer of 1996, Team New Zealand trained at the Saskatoon Waterski Club site to prepare for the world championships in Minnesota. 1997 was an opportunity to participate in the Canada Summer Games. To close off the 90’s for waterskiers, the Pan Am Games were held in Winnipeg in 1999 (12), and Team Canada once again won team gold at the world championships, this time in Italy.

The Wakeboard community organized as Wake Board Saskatchewan in 1996 as noted in the minutes of the Saskatchewan Waterski Association, putting on contests around the province following standard Canadian Wakeboard Association rules. In 1997, an executive position was created, officially making wakeboarding a part of the Saskatchewan Water Ski Association. The association's Strategic Plan from 1998 is an example of the vision and foresight regarding inclusivity in towed watersports in Saskatchewan. In 1999, Disabled Skiers Programming was discussed for the first time at a board meeting, and put on the 2000 agenda as an action item.

The explosion of clubs in the 2000s

Towed watersports in Saskatchewan and in Canada expanded rapidly in popularity in the 2000s. A National Sports Trust Fund was established, with two avenues created for people to donate to the Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan’s equipment and legacy. In 2001, the first National Wakeboarding Championship were held in Calgary. In 2003, the Wakeboard National Championships were held in Saskatoon. This marked the first time that any national towed water sports competition had ever been held in Saskatchewan. The development of wakeboarding in Saskatchewan provided the training and competition necessary for Rusty Malinoski to become the first Saskatchewan wakeboard athlete on Team Canada in 2003. He proceeded to climb to the top of the standings, winning several world championships by the end of the decade. The waterski discipline also had tremendous success. Several other provincial towed watersports athletes excelled in their disciplines this decade. Valerie Gilliland set Canadian records in 2002 in jump. The Association records list was updated in 2004, and many of these still stand as of this writing. In 2006, Trent Finlayson represented Team Canada at the IWWF Worlds in China. And in this same year, Brooke Smith [6] was part of Team Canada at the World Junior Masters event. In 2008, Jim Clunie was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, joining Elmer Hazzard and Clinton Ward in the Athlete Waterskiing category in the Hall (13).

The association had a name change in 2005, and became Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan (WSWS). The SkiAbility (14) program initiated by WSWC to promote water skiing and tubing among Canadians with disabilities also started in 2005, and coaches Troy Monz and LeRoss Calnek joined Dave Wassill as the coaches trained to deliver adaptive ski sessions in the province. The terminology changed to adaptive skiing in the minutes of the association in 2006, and a clinic was offered in Saskatchewan for the first time at Saskatoon Waterski Club. This was also the first year that Adaptive Skiing held a National Waterski Championships as part of team selection for the Pan Am Games in 2007 in Brazil. Pete Andrews was a trailblazer for Adaptive Skiing in Saskatchewan and for Canada, attending the Pan Am games and coming away with the only medal for Para athletes for Team Canada, coached by Saskatchewan’s own Dave Wassill at the Games.

It was in 2006 that WSWC introduced the “Rip ‘n’ Ride program, providing standardized instruction, report cards, stickers, and certificates. This program was foundational to the success of the Travel Clinic for WSWS and to the development of athletes and coaches at the club and provincial level (15). The Travel Clinic still continues as an annual programming opportunity for the association, and has averaged over 100 participants in more than a dozen communities each year over the past 20 plus seasons. Archival records for WSWS has a program from the National Congress held in Calgary in 2006, with the Long-Term Athlete Development Model for all disciplines as the focus (16).

The association received a grant in 2007 from the Jeux Canada Games (1989) Foundation which was used to purchase a portable electronic scoring system. In 2007, Ryan Riehl became the first visually impaired athlete at Nationals, and Pete Andrews achieved Canada’s first gold medal at the World Adaptive Water Ski Championships in Australia (17).The number of clubs in the province reached its highest number ever at 21 in 2007, and by 2008 there were members in all 8 Saskatchewan Sports Zones for the first time (18). Membership continued to grow year over year in this decade and into the next. Regina hosted the Wakeboard Nationals on Wascana Lake in 2008, marking the second time Saskatchewan hosted a National Championship. There were 12 people in Saskatchewan trained to use the World Wakeboarding Association scoring system which was fundamental in continuing to build the high performance team in the province.

In 2009, there were seven tournaments in the province, which included the first Wakeride event on the river in Saskatoon. The grassroots program had a full Travel Clinic schedule that included three Girls Only clinics to boost participation in this group of under-represented athletes in towed watersports. The association developed creative way to have a competitive and approach to the Travel Clinic and Wakeboard events with a Made in Saskatchewan version of a scoring system. There were also three Adaptive Give it A Go clinic that summer. On the high-performance side of programming, there was a total of five athletes from all three disciplines competing for Team Canada in 2009. By the end of the decade, the Legacy Fund had reached a total of over $10,000. The successes of the 2000s set the foundation for continued success and growth into the 2010’s.

The 2010s – Strength in Numbers

Waterski Wakeboard Canada responded to the popularity surge in membership with coaching development and programming. Their vision included a focus on the promotion of the development of cable wakeboarding at the National Summit in Calgary in 2011. They worked with the National Coaching Certification Program to develop a Master Learning Facilitator Program for all provinces (19).

The provincial Adaptive program received funding in 2011 from the Jeux Canada Games (1989) Foundation and purchased a boat for their programming. The Travel Clinic continued to thrive, with continued support from Novlan Brothers Equipment in Paradise Hill annually at the time of this writing. In 2012, the board discussed wake surf as a discipline, however, as the mandate of the association is to support towed watersport with wake surf not fitting that description, it was not added to the association’s mandate.

Wakeboarding continued to grow in the province, with Rusty Malinoski still at the top of the world rankings (20). In 2013, Wakeboarding was one of eight sports shortlisted for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics but was not selected (21). In that same year, Team Canada had four Saskatchewan athletes and one coach at the Adaptive World Championships in Italy, with Ashley Baerg collecting a gold medal and setting a world record at the event (22). The following year, in 2014, there was a total seven athletes from Saskatchewan representing Team Canada, with Carter Lucas and Adam Morris joining the Saskatchewan Adaptive athletes and competing for our country.

In 2015, waterski and wakeboard athletes from Saskatchewan travelled to the Philippines to train in the off-season along with athletes from Manitoba. There was also a training camp in Florida for the Adaptive team. Wakeride was held in Saskatoon in this same year and donated funds from the event to inner city youth programming for the purchase of equipment. Also this year, the Pan Am Games were held in Toronto, and Women’s Wakeboarding became part of the event (23). Nolan Barnes set a world record at the Adaptive World Championships in California in 2015 (24). Saskatchewan athletes continued to collect records over the next two years, as Trent Finlayson set a new Canadian record in slalom for his age category, and Ashley Baerg pushed her record jump in Adaptive even farther.

In 2018, the Association worked on it strategic planning, and created the Vision, Mission and Value statements to guide them going forward, to lead, organize, and create awareness of present and emerging towed watersports, and to commit to delivering all facets of the sport guided by integrity, fairness, and inclusion. The Travel Clinic continued to grow, and added programming and lessons for inner city youth in Saskatoon in 2018. The end of the decade saw the Adaptive team off to Norway for the world championships, where Nolan Barnes pushed his world record slalom score even higher.

The 2020’s – The Unexpected and the Comeback

The pandemic arrived in 2020, and its impact was devastating on the number of clubs and total membership in the association. The athletes were able to work around the restrictions and train as best as possible, however none of the athletes in any of the three disciplines were able to compete. There were no Travel Clinics delivered. The association took this time to regroup and plan for the return of the sport, which included purchasing a Travel Clinic boat and trailer.

In 2021, there was a limited return to competition. The next generation of Saskatchewan waterskiing families arrived with Norm's son Carter Lucas competing for Team Canada at the U21 Waterski World Championships and returning with a team silver medal (25). Blake Lamontagne collected his first Canadian record in Adaptive Trick this season. The Travel Clinic rebounded in 2022, with 13 sites including two on reserves, and over 130 participants. There were two fun clinics called “Mom’s Got Game” at Saskatoon Waterski Club and Bronson Forest, and a clinic for Deaf and Hard of Hearing athletes working with an interpreter. The High Performance team for waterski, wakeboard and adaptive was engaged in training for the full season and able to compete again at regional, national, and international events.

In the 2023 season, athletes from Saskatchewan were training internationally in the offseason to extend their training time and improve their competitive experience. Waterski and Wakeboard athletes travelled to Florida and Adaptive athletes to Louisiana. Adaptive Worlds were later in the season in California, an event at which Blake Lamontagne improved on his Canadian Adaptive trick record and set a new world record. (26) Team Canada also achieved a team silver medal at the event, a first for the Canadian Adaptive Team, setting them up to challenge for gold in 2025 in Australia.

2023 was another year of growth in club numbers and membership, and the Travel Clinic once again went to 13 sites, with two on reserves, and over 120 participants. The Travel Clinic also added two Deaf and Hard of Hearing camps, one at Blackstrap and one at Rowan’s Ravine. The 2023 season also marked a significant milestone for the association, as it realized a goal that was over a decade in the making, receiving grant money and funding for a downpayment to purchase a Konex 2.0 System build a Cable Park in Saskatoon. The overhead cable system pulls riders across the water, making the sport more accessible and affordable for youth and families. This unique approach to economic and environmental sustainability, coupled with its commitment to promoting physical fitness and active lifestyles is designed to make it a popular destination for families, groups, and individuals. It was installed in October due to delays in sourcing, which was a pandemic-related holdover, and was ready for opening in 2024.

2024 marked the full return post pandemic, with nine athletes represented on Team Canada at international events. The next generation of the Clunie family, Samson Clunie, competed with Max Strilchuk and Enzo Kristian and they got their first experience on the National waterski team.They all brought home a chestful of medals from the Pan Am Games in Chile. (27) The next generation of wakeboarding families got going as well, with Troy's son Marin Wempe Monz representing Canada at a Wakeboarding contest at a Pan Am event in Florida and was the youngest member on the team, setting the stage for the future. Saskatoon hosted a Canada Cup event in September (28), which brought the top waterskiers in the world to the city, and allowed the youngsters to compete alongside the world’s best. The Adaptive team had a year to prepare for the next Worlds in 2025. Saskatoon Waterski Club had installed a new dock in 2023 funded by a grant from Employment and Social Development Canada (29) that was capable of being easily adjusted for Adaptive competition, as it added increased accessibility. The association held two Give it a Go camps, that were followed by Development events throughout the summer where the high-performance athletes mentored new athletes and trained alongside them.

The Travelling Clinic boasted 13 events again, with over 140 participants, and once again, two Deaf and Hard of Hearing clinics. The Cable Park was opened in June to the general public, and it had a very successful first year, with over 100 users. It was a year of learning and promotion as the association worked to get the word out in Saskatchewan that the park provides an urban destination for water sports enthusiasts. There were five clinics held to promote the park, and learn about the opportunities for programming in the future.

Wakeboard Nationals were hosted by Waterski Wakeboard Saskatchewan in Saskatoon on the river, marking the third time it has been in Saskatchewan. The event was part of the YXE Urban Games, which was a multi-sport event in the city promoting active lifestyles and participation in sport. Over 1,500 spectators watched the finals on Sunday. Saskatchewan dominated the youth categories, and also took home the majority of the medals in the veterans’ category in the male and female division.

Water skiing and wakeboarding have become exemplary family sports in Saskatchewan, welcoming participants of all ages and skill levels. The story of water skiing and wakeboarding in Saskatchewan is one of growth, innovation, and community, with grassroots initiatives promoting the sports and numerous clubs across the region. The Saskatoon Water Ski Club, which is the oldest running club in Canada, established in 1971, has played a crucial role in nurturing talent and fostering a love for the sport alongside many other clubs including: Stony Lake Water Ski Club, Kipabiskau Water Sports Club, Bronson Forest Water Sports Club and Looney Lakers Water Ski Club, just to name a few.

The narrative will continue with Water Ski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan, as it embraces adaptive skiing programs and focuses on developing young athletes of varying abilities. As we look to the future, Saskatchewan's water skiing and wakeboarding community remains vibrant, with ongoing efforts to promote and create further accessibility for the sport through clinics, competitions, and installing cable parks to keep costs low and accessibility high. Key, longstanding clubs remain sprinkled throughout the province, and Water Ski Wakeboard Saskatchewan maintains a healthy and dedicated membership. The commitment to fostering participation and excellence in water sports continues to shape the legacy of water skiing and wakeboarding in Saskatchewan.