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Water Ski & Wakeboard Canada held their annual congress last week from Nov 18th - 20th in Calgary, Alberta and the recognition Ontario received at the gala was well worth the wait!
In total, there were 11 awards presented across the country of which Ontario was acknowledged with a total of eight! Not only did Ontario steal the show, but our young talent was finally noticed, rightfully so. Congratulations to the following:
Male Athlete of the Year - Jason McClintock
Female Athlete of the Year - Whitney McClintock
Jr. Water Skier of the Year - Neilly Ross
Jr. Wakeboarder of the Year - Christian Primrose
Barefooter of the Year - Paul MacDonald
Adaptive Athlete of the Year - Jennifer Cloutier
Volunteer of the Year- Erika Langman
Coach of the Year - Jay Poole
Our athletes continue to shine from year-to-year and are improving with every summer that goes by. Whitney McClintock successfully defended her overall slalom world title this past summer and Jason McClintock swept all four gold at the Canadian championships; adding a couple of silver at the recent Pan American Games. Paul MacDonald broke a Canadian record this summer en route to four gold medals at the Canadian championships, while Jennifer Cloutier earned a bronze in tricks at the disabled world championships - also winning two gold at nationals and setting a Canadian record in tricks.
Ontario athletes are not the only ones who deserve the recognition; there is a lot that goes on "behind the scenes" as well that makes our province what it is in waterskiing, wakeboarding and barefooting today. With Jay Poole being recognized as Coach of the Year and Erika Langman winning Volunteer of the Year it shows that the involvement and effort that Ontario puts in at a grassroots level is making a real difference in the face of our members and across the country. The WSWO is thrilled to have involvement from such passionate people who are eager to advance water sports within the province. Erika Langman has been the key organizer for The Roots Wakeboard Series, increasing the interest in wakeboarding competitively starting at a grassroots level. Erika has accomplished a great deal for the sport and is in no hurry to stop - for this we are very thankful. Jay Poole is also very deserving of his award. He helps coordinate the Canadian Water Ski and Wakeboard Instructors Course on an annual basis, coaches athletes and increases participation in our sport. Jay is also a main contributor and a regular voice to Water Ski & Wakeboard Canada in developing programs and coaching materials to use across the country. It is because of people Like Erika and Jay that our sport is and our athletes are where they are today.
Ontario is made of such talented and committed people. We are thankful to all of them for helping provide awareness of our great sport. Congratulations to everyone on their well deserved awards!
