The cream of British waterski talent is heading to Italy for the world’s biggest and most highly anticipated competition of the year, which takes place next week.

The 2025 World Waterski Championships begin on Tuesday 26 August and GB has high hopes for medals.

The squad is 12-strong and made up of nine men and three women. It includes a reigning World Champion and two past World Champions, one of whom is the current and seven-times overall world record holder.

They are among almost 200 skiers from 32 countries who will be in Recetto, near Milan, for the six-day competition. Individual champions will be crowned in slalom, tricks, jump and overall - and GB has the potential to win or make the podium in each discipline. Medals will also be awarded for the top three teams.

Waterskiing is a spectacular sport involving high levels of skill, strength and endurance, in which Great Britain has traditionally excelled. Anything could happen, but some of the strongest prospects for GB medals include:

Joel Poland (26) from Clapham, London. Poland is widely considered to be the best overall waterskier in the world, capable of winning all three events of slalom, tricks and jump. He has broken the overall world record seven times and is the current holder. He was the Overall World Champion in 2021 and silver medallist in 2023 and will be a favourite to reclaim the title. He is currently ranked number one in the world in both jump and overall.

Freddie Winter (35) from Wandsworth, London. Winter is a two-time Men’s Slalom World Champion (2017, 2023) and the defending champion in the event. Winter has had a phenomenal comeback this season from a career-threatening leg injury last summer, sustained when he crashed at high-speed into a concrete dock during a competition in France. His success in 2025 includes winning the prestigious US Masters for the third time in May.

Will Asher (43) from Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Asher is also a two-time Men’s Slalom World Champion (2005, 2009) and has won an impressive eight World Championships medals in his long career, the most recent of which was bronze in 2021. He is one of the oldest slalom waterskiers still competing – and still winning medals – at elite level.

Rob Hazelwood (26) from Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Hazelwood is Asher’s cousin and, like Asher, is the nephew of the legendary Mike Hazelwood, whose many achievements include winning the overall world title in 1977. Rob Hazelwood has been victorious and made professional podiums several times in the last few years since opting to specialise in slalom. He is, however, also a talented 3-event skier and will compete in slalom, tricks and jump at the World Championships.

Jack Critchley (28) from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. Critchley is one of the world’s best waterski jumpers and one of only a handful to have jumped more than 70 metres. He has won several professional competitions but has yet to win an individual medal at the World Championships. He was fourth in 2021 and fifth in 2023.

Arron Davies (26) from Bolton, Greater Manchester. Davies has finished just off the podium in a handful of professional slalom competitions. His scores this season show he has a chance of a podium at the World Championships if he can find his best form. Last week he became British Men’s Slalom Champion for the third time.

The scores of six of the 12 GB athletes will contribute to the team score.

The full squad is as follows:

GB TEAM - Joel Poland (26) from Clapham, London (slalom, tricks, jump); Sanchia Outram (27) from Worksop, Nottinghamshire (slalom, tricks, jump); Rob Hazelwood (26) from Lincoln, Lincolnshire (slalom, tricks, jump); Amber Butterfield (24) from Lincoln, Lincolnshire (slalom, tricks, jump); Tom Parkin (20), from Scarborough, North Yorkshire (slalom, tricks, jump); Jack Critchley (28*) from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire (slalom & jump).

GB INDIVIDUALLY QUALIFIED SKIERS: Will Asher (43) from Lincoln, Lincolnshire (slalom); Freddie Winter (35) from Wandsworth, London (slalom); Arron Davies (26) from Bolton, Greater Manchester (slalom).

GB WILDCARDS: Charlie Emmett (25) from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (slalom); Ben Turp (24**) from Gosfield, Essex (slalom); Emily Newsome (22) Fulham, London (slalom)

Team Captain, Glenn Campbell, said:

“I am proud and honoured to be representing the British Waterski Team for the first time as team captain. With over 40 years of competing in waterskiing, including World Cup titles, European titles, and a silver medal at the World Championships, I bring a wealth of experience to the role. My goal is to support the team in every way possible, sharing my knowledge and ensuring each member has what they need to perform at their very best.

“I am excited for this new chapter and look forward to leading such a talented group of athletes on the international stage.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

*Jack Critchley will turn 29 on 22 August.

** Ben Turp will turn 25 on 31 August.

Photos of all the GB competitors can be found in the dropbox link below. Please credit the photographers as shown.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/b4cp9q0hc1yqyrhs27fre/AK636uB35x-f45l7h74fHMs?rlkey=1xtqy3h6t9p4h00l3r70yzzih&dl=0

The World Championships take place every two years. The 2025 IWWF (International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation) World Waterski Championships will be held between 26 and 31 August at Recetto, Italy. The full schedule and live results can be found here: https://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/25IWWF04

The competition will be streamed live by The Waterski Broadcasting Company https://www.waterskibroadcasting.com

For more information, please contact Jane Peel, British Water Ski & Wakeboard Head of Communications on 07802 496927 or jane@bwsf.co.uk

WATER SKIING EXPLAINED

Jumping

Water ski jumping is a spectacular high-adrenaline event which involves skiing on two skis over a ramp at speeds of up to 70mph, taking off and landing on the water to ski away. There are no style points. All the matters is the distance travelled and a successful landing.

Slalom

The boat travels at a constant speed in a straight line down the middle of the slalom course. At elite level the speed is 58kph (36mph) for men and 55kph (34mph) for women. The skier, on a single ski, has to go through the entrance gates - a pair of buoys in the middle of the course - then virage from side to side across the boat wakes, successfully rounding six turn buoys before going through the exit gates.

Each successful pass results in the rope being shortened, making it increasingly difficult to reach the turn buoys. Eventually, the rope length becomes less than the distance from the boat to the turn buoys so the skier has to use body length and reach to round the buoys. The winner is the skier who completes the most turn buoys at the shortest rope length.

Tricks

The skier is given two 20-second passes to complete as many different tricks as possible. These can vary from a simple 180 degree turn to complex somersaults with twists. There are also ‘toehold’ tricks where the skier holds the rope with one foot. Each trick is worth a given number of points according to difficulty. Points are awarded only if the tricks are deemed to have been successfully performed.

Overall

The skier competes in the three separate disciplines of slalom, tricks and jump and the combined scores in each contribute to an overall score.

British Water Ski & Wakeboard (BWSW) is the sport’s national governing body and a non-profit making membership organisation. All its income is invested in developing and protecting water skiing and wakeboarding across the UK from the grassroots to our top athletes.

The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the sport’s world governing body to which national organisations such as BWSW are affiliated.

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