Southern Alberta adaptive water skiing clinic growing in popularity

LETHBRIDGE — To break down barriers, an adaptive water skiing clinic was held for those with mental and physical disabilities on Tuesday evening.

The Give It a Go clinic was held at Stafford Lake for the fourth time since being introduced to southern Alberta in 2021.

"When I get out on the water or when I get out on snow or to do anything outdoors, I really feel that my disability is non-existent, like it's not even there and for a split moment in time, it's gone," said Rebecca Neels.

Neels, who has cerebral palsy, was introduced to adaptive water skiing after taking part in downhill skiing.

She describes herself as someone who is always up for a challenge.

"It's a program for people with disabilities but it's not the focus and it's not something we think about when we're here," she said.

"We just go out and do it. So I think I'm just excited for other people to just experience that."

Neels was one of several participants who strapped into the chair and rode the waves at the adaptive water ski clinic on Tuesday evening.

Jason Beekman brought the sport and clinic to Stafford Lake from Calgary three years ago.

"The program has grown substantially from an athlete standpoint but also from a volunteer standpoint," said Beekman, who also serves as a coach with Water Ski and Wake Alberta.

"The first time we did it here, we kind of brought our community – my family and friends – in to help with this. We had a really good showing but it's turned into the entire Stafford Lake community coming out to take part and watch."

The free clinic is just one of about half a dozen programs now being offered throughout the summer.

The clinic is broken down into two versions – one for first-time skiers and one for intermediate skiers.

Since 2021, Beekman says registration has been full, with waitlists for each event.

"We've started networking with other adaptive sports, other adaptive sport programs and from that, we've had a lot of new skiers," he said.

"At our clinic a few years back, a couple of our participants who came out weren't even aware of the adaptive sport world that was available to them. ... They’ve started to see a whole new world that is available to them."

Water Ski and Wake Alberta received the specialty equipment thanks to recent grants that helped get the athletes behind the boat.

"That's what it's been about since Day 1. ... There doesn't need to be boundaries and what can we do to remove them," Beekman said.

While Neels says getting out on the water is the highlight of the event, the friendships made are the real value of taking part.

"The unspoken solidarity that there's people here that understand you and everything that you're going through, I think is the biggest gift you can ever give anyone," she said.