Waterskiers take to the sky
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/08/2020 (2081 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
At sunrise on a calm Tuesday morning John Lepp, his daughter Cassandra Lepp and her husband Casey Mommer headed out on Lake Wahtopanah, also known as the Rivers Reservoir, for some early morning waterskiing along with family friend Braden Kolitar.
They are often found out on the water along with Cassandra’s sister Stefanie and her fiancé Jayson Janzen when not farming or running their other businesses. John Lepp learned how to ski in his late 20s and later taught his daughters.
Cassandra learned as a teenager. For years, the Lepps have been going to Florida to train with two-time world champion Thomas Degasperi. That’s where Cassandra met Mommer, an American professional water ski jumper ranked 16th in the world for waterski jumping and first in the world in the 35-plus age bracket. Lepp and Mommer are now married and live near Rivers and close to the rest of the Lepp family.
In a normal year, Mommer competes in a variety of international events, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the majority of the events have been cancelled and he can’t cross the border for the ones that have gone ahead. Mommer placed third in the over-35 men’s jump event at the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation Senior Worlds in Santiago, Chile, in 2018. He was slated to compete again in the IWWF Over 35 World Waterski Championship this September in France, but the event has been postponed until 2021.
John Lepp has competed nationally in slalom events and Cassandra has competed as well.
Tuesday provided the perfect conditions for waterskiing with nearly no wind and aside from some pelicans, seagulls and the odd fishing boat, the group pretty much had the lake to themselves.
