Roche's whole world was flipped upside down when he broke his back in 2012 which left him a T8 paraplegic. The countless days he spent skiing and wakeboarding were reduced to a distant memory.

But for the first time in almost nine years, he got back in the water at the NSW Waterski Federation disabled division come and try day, hosted by the ACT Waterski club at the Molonglo River in Canberra on Saturday.

"I've had to reassess everything. It's a big thing. Before my accident, I used to be into everything, motocross, snowboarding, all of it. After it, a lot had been taken away from me," Roche said.

"You've just got to keep going and keep trying new things. Like today, I had a good time skiing so I'll keep doing that.

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"I used to be into everything, and because I live at Yass, I used to regularly ski, barefoot and wakeboard, out at Hume Park, or Burrinjuck.

"I haven't done it for nearly nine years so it was really good to get back into it. It was a reminder, this is what it used to be."

Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy is involved in the program which caters for beginners through to competitors. Capital Region MD chief Rob Oakley says two Canberra skiers have started in the disabled water skiing program before going on to represent Australia.

"We were just trying to demonstrate how accessible we've made the place and how we've made skiing as inclusive as it can be," Oakley said.

"For the ACT, this is the first time we've had a day like this. For the past three or four years we've been working to make the site accessible so we can do this. We've spent quite a bit of money on a new deck that's wheelchair accessible.

"We were going to do a day last year but COVID got in the road, so this is the first time we've been able to do one. There's been a lot of talk about trying to sneak another day in this season, and getting people to come back to ski and decide they might join the club.

"We have worked really hard to make the site accessible and days like today show it can be. Now the only thing we need to make sure of is we can get regular access to the training facilities we've got here.

"We've got to put a course in. That's the sort of thing we need to make sure we get from the government, regular access for the skiers because we are a competition club.

"We had eight skiers, that doesn't sound like much but there's a lot of work in setting each skier up."

Roche was essentially strapped into a seat on a wide single ski for his first stint in almost nine years, with a raft of equipment used to cater for a range of disabilities.

"In the end, after a big mouthful of water from the get go and a few stacks, I kept trying and really enjoyed it," Roche said.

"I was exhausted, and they were like 'do you want to give the single ski a go?' I thought 'well I'm here now, I might as well do it'.

"It was a matter of try and try again. It was hard, but once I was up, it was so much better. That brought a smile to my face."