Ski for Life supports mental health and suicide prevention
Murray Bridge News' Liana Webster reflects on her journey with the 2025 Ski for Life.
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Over three days, 36 boats have travelled 456 kilometres from Murray Bridge to Renmark, raising awareness for mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention.
Around 400 people showed up for their mates on the March long weekend, which was the theme of the 2025 event.
This included my team, Walkers on the Water, which was lucky enough to have two boats of family and friends completing the journey together.
Although, as was said many times throughout the trip, you’re not only part of your own team but something bigger: the Ski for Life family.
Walkers on the Water have been involved in the event for six years but this was my first time attending and probably fifth time attempting to ski.
I definitely stacked it.
It's quite obvious, though, that being behind the boat isn’t the most important job and skiing isn’t the main objective.
The weekend couldn’t be done without road crew, boat captains, observers, volunteers and river navigators.
Spending 72 hours with nearly 400 new strangers felt like a daunting task at first but there seemed to be a silent thread that connected everyone.
Raising awareness and reducing the stigma for mental health weaved its way through the group and was felt at each stop along the way.
It’s much bigger than just skiing 456km up the river and needs to be thought about more than three days a year.
For many of the participants, it was a time to reflect on the impacts of suicide, each person being affected differently.
These conversations are often hard to have and face on our own, and as sad as it was seeing so many people affected, it was also beautiful to see them have the courage to do something about it.
Ski for Life are still accepting donations to reach their $300,000 goal, with funds being directed towards initiatives tracking regional and rural mental health and suicide prevention.
Most recently Ski for Life supported the Murraylands Mates on a Mission initiative to help tackle tough conversations in regional communities.
- Donate: chuffed.org.
- More information: www.skiforlife.com.au.
- Get help: Contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, TIAC on 0488 846 988, MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or Headspace on 1800 650 890 or, in an emergency, call 000.
