By Martha Uniacke Breen
Does living with sight loss mean you can’t become as good at waterskiing and wakeboarding as anyone else? Well if it does, someone forgot to tell Joshua Cook.
Joshua, who is 23, started coming to CNIB Lake Joe as a camper with sight loss back when he was 12, and tried waterskiing at the camp three years later. “I wanted to waterski because I love the water,” he says. “I enjoyed winter skiing and snowboarding, and thought about putting the two awesome things together and trying them. It was a fabulous, thrilling experience.”
CNIB Lake Joe Advisory Board member Daryl Knudson, a former counsellor and Waterfront Specialist at the camp, has seen countless kids like Joshua transformed by the experience of waterskiing. The sport is thrilling enough in its own right, Daryl says – being pulled behind a fast powerboat, the wind in your face. Some become skilled enough to cross the wake or drop a ski and go slalom. But for kids living with sight loss, it’s a lot more: learning how to waterski or wakeboard is a huge confidence-builder.
That’s why the focus of the 2022 CNIB Lake Joe Dock-to-Dock: Taste of Muskoka celebration is particularly exciting. This year’s goal is to raise $170,000 to rebuild the waterfront program with a new boat and waterski/wakeboarding equipment, along with waterfront staff training and safety programs, provided by Waterski and Wakeboard Canada. On first mention of a waterskier who is blind or partially sighted, says Daryl, many people are surprised.
Actually, it’s not that different from teaching a sighted person, but with just a few extra steps to help the skier get acquainted with their surroundings and the physical sensations of being up on skis and pulled by the boat. There’s lots of encouragement and praise, and excitement as another skier gets hooked on the sport!
Joshua started working as a counsellor at CNIB Lake Joe five summers ago, and is following in Daryl’s footsteps, working with Daryl’s son Jordan, as a Watersport Specialist at the camp, teaching other kids with sight loss how to get up on waterskis and experience the joy of pushing past their own boundaries. His advice to first-timers: “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it the first or second or third try. Keep trying. Everyone here will pump you up. I promise them they will get up, even if just for 30 seconds.”
“The waterfront at CNIB Lake Joe is a magical place, and it’s going to be a very exciting welcome back to the camp for our guests,” says Daryl. “I’m looking forward to revitalizing the waterfront so we can continue to make a difference. And we very much appreciate the continued support of the community.”
Come Join the Celebration on August 13!
CNIB Lake Joe’s Dock-to-Dock: Taste of Muskoka annual summer fundraiser started in the midst of the pandemic back in 2020, as a way of safely bringing supporters together to celebrate and raise funds for CNIB Lake Joe. It was such a success that it’s now entering its third year, bigger and better than ever. And this year, local restaurants are helping give 2022’s edition a delicious twist, with A Taste of Muskoka!
Participants who raise a minimum $1000 pledge will receive a specially curated Dock Box, filled with goodies from some of Muskoka’s finest eateries. And on the big day, there’ll be prizes, entertainment, party pontoons, celebrity sightings, and a whole lot more!
CNIB Lake Joe Dock-to-Dock: Taste of Muskoka promises to be the event of the summer, all for a great cause. And you don’t even have to have a dock to join in the fun! To become a dock host, go to cnib.ca/DockToDock to register and receive your Welcome package. Create a fundraising page, name your dock, and start spreading the word!
And on August 13, get ready to have fun and make a real difference for kids living with sight loss. See you on the dock!
