International water ski event will see young rising stars compete in Edmonton

The Junior Canadian Water Ski Open will take place at Shalom Ski Park in Edmonton this weekend. Athletes can be seen practicing ahead of the competition on July 18, 2025. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)

Young athletes from around the world are putting on their skis and hitting the water for an international competition in Edmonton this weekend.

The Junior Canadian Water Ski Open returns for its fourth year, which sees rising talent in the sport compete in three skiing events – slalom, trick and jump – from Friday to Sunday.

Shalom Ski Park, which has a man-made lake nestled near the North Saskatchewan River, is hosting the event that is open to competitors under 21 years old.

“When I built it, I didn’t really expect it to achieve this kind of success but some of the top skiers in the world have considered it to be the best place to ever ski,” Shalom Ski Park owner Ken Nelson told CTV News Edmonton on Friday, as water skiers were training on the lake.

Nelson said the park is celebrating its 40th anniversary and he originally looked for a site for skiing under controlled elements.

“The size of the lake controls all elements, even on a windy day, (and) it’s not very rough,” he added, saying the boats can go up to speeds of 35 miles per hour when skiers are jumping.

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Evan Kraus, a 20 year-old who has been water skiing since he was three, grew up in Calgary and now lives in Dallas. But he said he comes up every summer to ski in Edmonton.

“A lot of the athletes that are here today are going to be competing at worlds in a few weeks, so it’s a really high level event and there’s a lot of good skiing,” Kraus said, referencing the U-21 World Championships in Calgary at the end of July.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia Zhang from Edmonton started being interested in water sports three years ago and began competing in slalom for the last two years. She said seeing skiers from around the world compete in her hometown is inspiring.

“It’s really cool that so many people from around the world are coming here and it’s really interesting to watch how everyone skis,” Zhang told CTV News Edmonton.

“I really love the sport and I’ll just see where it takes me.”

Nelson said hosting young athletes from as far as Germany and Australia is the goal of the event.

“The wonderful thing about working with these young kids is that they develop skills that put them at the point where they can actually get scholarships to go to university.”

The event is free to watch and attend.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sean McClune and Sasha Pietramala