Waterskiing
12 Canadian Championships
13 Western Canadian Championships
31 Provincial Championships
Builder of Shalom Park
Developer of Waterski Programs and Events
Water Ski and Wake Board Hall of Fame Inductee 2011
1971-2014
Ken
Nelson is being inducted into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of
Fame for his achievements in and contributions to the sport of
waterskiing in Alberta and Canada. Growing up on a farm near Wetaskiwin,
waterskiing wasn’t even a consideration until, as a teenager on a family
trip to the US, Ken discovered waterskiing and quickly developed a
passion for the sport. He started competing at the age of twenty-six
and in thirty-seven years of competing Ken won:
31 Provincial
Championships
13 Western Canadian Championships
12 Canadian Championships
In 2013 he was ranked
sixteenth on the International Water Ski Federations World Ranking
List. As a builder Ken’s contributions have benefitted thousands of
athletes. Ken was responsible for building and developing Shalom Park
which is now recognized as a world class water ski site. He has also
furthered the sport by establishing programs, serving on the Alberta
Water Ski and Wakeboard Executive and various other initiatives.
Sets Six National Records
and
Ranked 1st for Nine Years
Ken started competing in
waterskiing in 1971 and two years later he qualified for the Canadian
Championships where he won a Bronze Medal. During his career that
continues to this day, in thirty-one Provincial Championships Ken won
thirty Gold and one Bronze medal; in twenty-one Western Canadian
Championships, Ken won thirteen Gold and five Bronze and at the National
Level in twenty-four Championships he has twelve Gold, five Silver and
four Bronze. Ken set six National Men’s records and ranked first on the
Canadian Ranking List for nine years. In 2013, in his age group, Ken
was ranked sixteenth in the world. In 2014 in the 35+ World Water Ski
Championships with 345 competitors from around the world, Ken placed
twelfth out of twenty-seven skiers in the 65+ Men’s Division. All in
all an impressive competitive record.
In 1972 Ken visited a
man-made water ski lake in California. Seeing the facility gave Ken the
idea of building such a site and thirteen years later his dream was to
become a reality. He found the ideal site for building a man-made water
ski lake in Alberta, a former gravel pit adjacent to the Rabbit Hill Ski
Resort near Devon and next to the North Saskatchewan River. After local
and government approvals the project was started in December of 1985 and
with Ken’s background in engineering he was able to provide all the
technical aspects to ensure that it would be an ideal water ski site.
Shalom Park opened in June 1986 and was the first man-made site in
Canada that was designed exclusively for water skiing sports.
Designs and Builds World
Class Facility
Over
the years Shalom Park has become recognized as a world-class facility.
Competitive water skiers who have competed at the park rank it as “one
of the top ten water ski sites in the world”. It is the most prolific
host site in Canada for water-skiing tournament events and from 1986 to
the present has hosted six Canadian Water Ski Championships, eight
Western Canadian Championships, three International Pro Competitions and
one World Junior Championship. There are nine other water skiing sites
in Canada and Ken has served as a design-consultant on four of the
projects.
Competitor, Innovator,
Supporter and
This Sport’s Recognized Pioneer
Besides competing in water
ski tournaments and developing and administering Shalom Park, Ken’s
volunteer work has been considerable. Ken has served on the executive
of the Alberta Water Ski and Wakeboard Association as Vice-President
1976-77, Secretary 1977-78, President 1987-91, Past President 1992-95
and Chairman, Boat Drivers’ Committee in 1977-78. Ken initiated and
continues a Drivers Instructional Program which teaches the skills of
driving. He has also developed the first Boat Drivers Clinic to
instruct or assist those wanting to improve their skill or to become
“rated drivers”. He himself is a qualified International Driver. In
1986 Ken started the Recreational Water Ski Championships. This
initiative resulted in a surge in the numbers taking up the sport in
Alberta. In 1987 Ken started the New Kids on the Water Program for
children ages 5-12 and to date over 2000 children have participated in
the program. In 2011 and 2012, Ken set aside a day to honour and
express gratitude to our military from the Namao base. At each “Honor
Day” about seventy-five military family members were hosted by Shalom
Park members to a day of learning to water ski and an evening dinner.
From 1982-2002 Ken served as the Nautique Boat dealer. Nautique is the
sanctioned boat for tournament competition. Ken continues to provide
services to many boat-owners in Alberta and across Canada. Ken also
designed a water ski jump that has been adopted as the official design
for the International Waterski Federation.
In 2011 Ken was honoured
for his many contributions to the sport of waterskiing by being inducted
in the Pioneer category into the Water Ski and Wakeboard Hall of Fame
located in Ottawa. This award along with Ken’s distinguished and lengthy
athletic career and his generous beneficence to thousands of athletes
through his volunteer efforts make him more than worthy of induction
into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame.
|