When it comes to his time on the water, water-skier Samson Clunie knows one or two centimetres can make all the difference.
That precision has led the 16-year-old to wearing the maple leaf at the upcoming World U17 Water Ski Championships near Calgary alongside two teammates Max Strilchuk and Enzo Kristian.
“It’s really nice that all three of us are going and getting to represent Saskatchewan,” said Clunie. “I think Saskatchewan has the most athletes going to the World Juniors this year, so it says a lot.”
“It will be really cool, hopefully we’ll go to a couple more events and sweep the podium a few more times.”
It’s the first time in the province’s history that three water-skiers will compete at the World U17 level, a path which started for the trio at the local Saskatoon Water Ski Club.
Guiding them along the way has been Carter Lucas, a former World Junior competitor himself, now a rising star on Canada’s elite men’s team.
Along with fellow national teammate Thomas Daigle, Lucas has been taking time out of his training to instruct the teens.
“It’s just great to see three young guys competing on the international level and the sport and club growing from Saskatchewan,” said Lucas. “It was not a normal thing in the past, now it’s becoming very prevalent. Our club and our group are really becoming known throughout Canada and internationally too.”
The trio already swept a podium at the Junior Canadian Open this summer and with a strong week in Calgary are eager to bring even more hardware back home.
The 2024 World U17 Water Ski Championships runs Aug. 1-4 at Predator Bay Water Ski Club in Foothills County, Alta., south of Calgary.