In 2023, Regina’s Wascana Racing Canoe Club received the Sask Sport Adaptive Sport Club Development Grant and paved the way for accessible water sport, reaching even beyond their program. 

Available through Sask Sport from the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund, the grant is designed to provide financial assistance to support new developmental or the expansion of existing sport programs for people with disabilities. 

The funding Wascana received was dedicated to the development of the Paddle-All program, designed for paddlers with intellectual challenges and the ParaCanoe program, available for athletes with physical disabilities. 

“Grants are really important because they help us purchase specialized equipment for these groups and both of these groups require specialized equipment. They don’t use the same equipment that we would have for high-performance athletes or those moving up in the high-performance stream, so that’s why it become particularly important,” said Bob Kary, Vice President of Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan. 

In the three years since first offering the program, Wascana has worked to ensure that developments are made every season to create the most accessible space possible.  

One of the major changes was addressing how Para athletes only having access to the water at the boat launch, where there were barriers due to mud and difficult transitions into the boat. 

“We’ve had a number of Para athletes certainly tryout but they haven’t been consistently part of a program…and part of the issue is that some of the disabilities are to the extent that we did not have the facilities and equipment to make paddling for them as enjoyable as it should be.” 

That changed this season when Wascana received additional grant funding from the City of Regina, which allowed them to prioritize the replacement of their docks, making vital updates to allow for an easier water entry. 

The dock came at a perfect time as the club was also able to utilize Sask Sport’s Adaptive Sport Equipment Grant to purchase their own adaptive boat ahead of 2025 Canoe Kayak Canada Sprint National Championships, which were hosted in Regina. 

“In 2025, we received support for one Para K1 Nelo. It was used primarily by Paddle-All athletes…which was used to achieve third place at nationals,” said Kary.  

That third-place finish belonged to Nolan Weninger, a 15-year-old athlete, who went up against Paddle-All athletes from across Canada, including adults, as the program has no age limit. 

Hosting the national event also left Wascana with an aspiring vison on how they can continue to grow their programming. Canoe Kayak Canada ran a Boats for All campaign that collected donations to purchase more unified boats, which are wider than regular ones. 

Through the donations, Canoe Kayak Canada was able to provide Wascana with six unified boats, which are property of Canoe Kayak Canada, but remain at Wascana Lake. These additional boats have made a major impact even beyond the program.

“Our accessible docks are available to the public and it’s amazing how many older athletes, 60 years or older use the adaptive equipment. It wasn’t something that we anticipated, but they are used constantly for people who feel more comfortable sliding their boat into the water with the accessible equipment,” said Kary. “Whether you are rowing, paddling or an adaptive sailor, all of these athletes have the ability to access the water.”