Sask. athletes help Canadian team earn first medal in adaptive water skiing

Sask. water ski athletes celebrating big win WATCH: These Sask. water skiers helped Canada land on the podium last month at a world competition.

A group of Saskatchewan water ski athletes is coming off a big win last month at a world competition.

Their events may be modified, because of their varying abilities, but they helped Canada land on the podium for the first time in adaptive waterskiing at the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation world championships.

For adaptive water skier Ashley Baerg, being on the water makes her feel she can tackle anything.

“There’s always a new thing that could be a challenge for me. I really enjoy that. I love the speed and adrenaline,” the Dalmeny resident told CTV News.

Baerg was born with spina bifida. Every summer, she watched her family water ski from the boat, not able to try it.

When Baerg was in her early 20’s she was at a wheelchair basketball competition in the U.S. and saw adaptive water skiing. Once she tried it, she was hooked.

“People wonder how someone in a wheelchair can ski,” she says.

Baerg mastered the sport in just 10 years, and holds the world record for ski jump in her category.

She helped the Canadian team earn second place in the world adaptive championship last month in California.

“Canada won their very first medal ever at an adaptive world championship,” said David Wassill, high-performance director of Waterski and Wakeboard Canada.

Adaptive water ski criteria is different than the Special Olympics, where those athletes largely have cognitive disabilities.

“People who are visually impaired is one category; people who are seated like wheelchair,” Wassill said.

Some of the adaptive skiers have no use of their limbs, while some are amputees and others rely on core and upper body strength alone. The equipment is adapted for each athlete.

“You have a little cage or bucket, and you can move from ski to ski,” Baerg said.

The Canadian team had 14 athletes on the team for the California event and lost out only to the American team. Five members on the team were from Saskatchewan.

“This area has control over good boats, good coaching, good water. The location to train is close to where they live so they can ski twice in an evening,” Wassill says.

The Saskatoon team practices at a storm retention pond in the north industrial area.

Regina’s Blake Lamontagne contributed to the Team Canada showing, taking home a silver medal in seated men’s tricks.

The next world championships are in 2025 in Australia and Canada is eyeing up gold.

“I suspect that if we don’t do it in Australia, then in 2027 Canada will do it in Canada,” Wassill said.

As for Baerg, her world record is for ski jump, where she reached 17.9 metres. Now her goal is to beat that, and train to reach 20 metres next season and set a new world record.