Kurt Oatway has progressed since his introduction to sit-skiing at Mission Ridge
Kurt Oatway has progressed from an introductory sit-ski lesson to a member of Canada's Para-alpine skiing team
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Kurt Oatway’s para-alpine skiing career has been racing downhill since his early days at Mission Ridge Winter Park.
Oatway progressed from his introduction to sit-skiing in 2010 at the ski hill in Fort Qu’Appelle to being named to Canada’s Paralympic team for the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. Oatway continued to impress in January when he finished first in three World Cup races.
“It’s a big step from Mission Ridge’s 301 vertical feet versus Sochi’s very long and bumpy downhill,” said Oatway, who maintains his connection to Mission Ridge even though he lives in Calgary.
Oatway was an active alpine skier from the ages of five through 16. He studied geology at Calgary’s Mount Royal College and later at the University of Saskatchewan.
In 2007, Oatway broke his back while on a U of S field trip in Utah. He suffered a radial compression fracture of the T12 vertebra, which caused an incomplete spinal-cord injury.
Oatway decided he wanted to ski again after watching the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. His physiotherapist contacted the Saskatoon-based Canadian Association for Disabled Skiers and, shortly thereafter, Oatway was introduced to coach Gord Poulton of the Regina Alpine Adaptive Ski Program at Mission Ridge.
It didn’t take long for Oatway to take to sit-skiing, which takes place on a device that features a moulded seat mounted on a metal frame with a hydraulic shock absorber. After three or four assisted runs, he was allowed to ski down the hill on his own.
Within a couple of months, Oatway competed at the 2011 Canada Winter Games as a member of Saskatchewan’s team. He continued to train with Poulton and the Regina Alpine Race Team and the ties to Saskatchewan continued as Oatway became more proficient at sit-skiing.
“Sask Sport provided me with the equipment at the 2011 Canada Winter Games,” Oatway said. “It was the same equipment that I qualified on for the Canadian team and then skied for Canada in the 2014 Paralympics. It was all supplied and arranged for me by the Sask Sport organization.”
Oatway, 31, continues to repay his Saskatchewan supporters. On Saturday, he will be at Mission Ridge to meet with local skiers and sign autographs. On Thursday, he was at the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame for the opening of “Exceptionally-Abled,” a celebration of accomplishments by athletes with disabilities.
“Saskatchewan is where I started so I keep coming back to do awareness and fundraisers,” said Oatway, who now skis with equipment supplied by the national team. “I try to convince more people to get involved with para-sport.”
Oatway feels awareness of para-sports is the first move toward convincing someone to become involved.
“If nobody lets them know this is available, they don’t have an opportunity to say yes or no,” said Oatway, who now walks with the assistance of leg braces and two canes. “The first step is breaking the barrier of the disability of the sport in general.”
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