Fifty years ago, it was just a few enthusiasts in Deep Cove and some water skis.
Now, the Vancouver Water Ski Club is about 250 members strong spanning to Belcarra Park, Port Moody, Cates Park and Rocky Point with many water accessories.
On July 6, the club is celebrating its half-century anniversary of becoming officially recognized as a society.
But the fun and games began much earlier in 1953, when Ken Matheson and his friends met on his mother's porch in Deep Cove to start a water ski club.
"We all liked to water ski, but we didn't have a float or anything like that to ski from," he said. "We had the prospective idea and had a spot in Bedwell Bay just across from Deep Cove."
Matheson said they were encouraged by another water ski club to start their own, get some funds together and build a float.
"When we started, water skiing hadn't been happening for very long," he noted. "It was all experimenting in those days."
In 1958, Deep Cove had a water skiing school where Matheson gained much of his experience working. But in those days, they taught the kids whatever they knew or had seen on film. "Today it's all now very sophisticated," he said.
"We started many of the programs in its early stages," he added, including bringing out the Big Brothers and Big Sisters for day trips. "We also had a social side to the club and a competitive side, and one supported the other and so it did work."
The club is open to all ages and abilities, Matheson said, because they have made it "for everybody" since the beginning.
"In those days, we really were growing as a sport," he added. "The sport was accelerating in the '60s and '70s - more so than now. But we didn't have quite so many diversities, there was no wakeboarding, in those days it was just water skiing."
Since the club's humble beginning, there are currently more than 250 members, with about 55 under the age of 18.
The club not only puts on tournaments and clinics that are open to the public, but also hosts special events to support sport development for youth and people with disabilities.
The anticipated 50-year anniversary event this Sunday for members and supporters includes door prizes, a silent auction and a ski down memory lane, according to Bill Adams, who's been with the club for 48 years.
"It's going to be spectacular," he noted.
Adams joined the club when he was 13 and lived in Deep Cove.
He said the club's programs have sent serious water skiers to compete on national and provincial platforms.
"I still ski, as well," he said. "I slalom and kick and jump. But I'm getting too old for jumping now."
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