This summer a new festival is coming to the South Saskatchewan River: WakeRide ’09.
“We have such a beautiful river bank, so why don’t we use it?” asked WakeRide ’09 spokesperson Nicole Martini. “We have a gross winter but summer is so cool.”
The wakeboarding competition is part of an effort of the government-funded initiative Urban Playground to attract and retain younger people in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan.
The competition levels will include beginner, intermediate one and two, and advanced. There will be big air competitions, different trick competitions, and rails in the water. Sunday is the professional competition, including the likes of Rusty Malinoski, a local rider who has made it big in the wakeboarding world.
“We decided that this is just something we want to do to make Saskatoon cooler,” said Martini. “The fact that Rusty comes from Humbolt says that anything is possible; you can dream big, you can achieve your dreams. We want to give that encouragement to kids in Saskatoon.”