Waterski and Wakeboard Sask Sport History Project
The Project
Waterski Wakeboard Saskatchewan received a grant from the Sask Sport Hall of Fame in 2023 to complete a research project to celebrate the history of towed watersports in Saskatchewan. A team of researchers went through the association, local and provincial archives. to collect stories about the formation of Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan. The team also conducted over 30 interviews with prominent people in the towed watersports communitiy from past and present, recording and transcribing theire stories. They also worked on collecting memorabiia that will be kept in the association's collection.
The results of the research are available on this website. There is also physical media on site at the Saskatoon Watersports Hall of Fame, located in our Cable Park Guest Services building on 64th St. Some of the media is portable, and is used at events for promotion and sharing of our story. Additional media goes around the province with the Travel Clinic, as the coaches have sets of banners and posters to display during the lessons. The story is not finished, so if you have read through our documents or been to the History Museum and notice that something is lacking, you can submit your suggestions to wswsask@gmail.com.
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The Partnership with SaskSport
In 1972, SaskSport was established by a dedicated and visionary group of individuals, and grew into the organization that today operates SaskLotteries, the main fundraiser for sport, culture and recreation in the province, as well as other entities with a common goal to support and drive vibrant communities. (source - www.sasksport.ca/about-us). Each time someone purchases a lottery ticket in Saskatchewan, amateur sports wins. 50% of all revenue from lottery sales is committed to sports, arts, recreation and culture. The other portion is used to distribute the money to the lottery winners and for administration.
The Saskatchewan Waterski Association joined SaskSport in 1984, and has benefited greatly from the annual funding model, which also includes additional support such as grants for the Membership Assistance Program (MAP) for clubs, Adaptive Programming and Equipment, Future Best, and Hosting of Events. A name change in 2005 reflected the growth in towed watersports with the popularity of wakeboarding, and the association became Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan. The addition of Adaptive Skiing to the disciplines under the association’s umbrella occurred in 2006. SaskSport recognized this growth and expansion and provided access to additional annual funding to support the increased activities and programming.
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The majority of the annual funding is used to support the programming involved in the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. Each year, the Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan board develops a budget based on the annual funding and its own self-help to plan the season for the towed watersports community in our province. This includes development and programming for athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers. Self-help is derived from membership fees and costs charged for programming and training. Since 1984, over 15,000 memberships have been sold, with between 300-800 sold annually.
There are grassroots clinics offered by our Travel Clinic, which consists of two coaches, a boat, and all the equipment to learn to waterski, wakeboard or kneeboard. These are made available to local communities. Our clubs offer lessons for beginners as well. There are also Adaptive Give It A Go clinics for the beginners. The addition of the Cable Park has increased the opportunity for exposure to towed watersports to a wider audience, as it reduces cost and dependency on boat availability and lake access. The Development program is for the athletes that wish to continue to progress on the LTAD pathway. Each year, applications are accepted from athletes that wish to become part of our SaskFirst program. The training over the season helps the athletes prepare for competitions and our provincial championships, as well as working toward earning points toward qualification for regional events. The next level is the Excellence program, which consists of athletes that have qualified for national and international level competition and the potential to become a member of Team Canada. These athletes are eligible for partial assistance in funding for training and competition expenses as part of the LTAD budget.
The association works with Waterski Wakeboard Canada to offer coaching clinics at all levels and additional resources. Since the adoption of the National Coaching Certification Program for waterski and wakeboard coaches was developed in XXXX, over 220 people have taken a watersports coaching course in Saskatchewan. Waterski and Wakeboard Canada and WSWSask also work together to plan for officials training and development and keep a database of qualifications. The national body provides opportunities for coaches and officials to train and apply to be involved in national and international competitions. The volunteer opportunities at the local club level can lead to provincial level work, and at times, involvement at the international level.
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SaskSport has helped the association develop National Sports Trust Funds for short and long term goals. The Capital Equipment Fund established the foundation that provided for the development of the Legacy Scholarship program, which became the second Trust. The third trust was established to support the purchase and continued development of the Cable Park, and a fourth was added to provide for donations to be accepted to support the Excellence team.
Waterski and Wakeboard Saskatchewan are proud to be members of SaskSport, and wish to express our gratitude for their support of our association. The vision of the original founders has been realized and grown beyond what they could have imagined. The development of the funding relationships with Sask Lotteries and the Western Canada Lotteries Corporation allows for sports, art, recreation and culture to thrive in this province. Everyone in our province benefits from the opportunities provided.
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The following amounts are approximate totals that the association has received from SaskSport since it was founded in 1984:
Total Annual Funds – over $4 million (since 1984)
Total M.A.P. grants - $325,000 (since 1984)
Hosting – (since 1996) - $25000
Total Future Best (since 2001) - $50,000
Total Adaptive Programming and Equipment (since 2020) - $50,000
MAP Grants (since 1984) - 325,000
Hosting (since 1996) - 25,000
Future Best (since 2001) - 50,000
Adaptive Programming and Equipment (since 2020) - 50,000
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