Eight barefoot waterskiers will represent Great Britain at the World Championships, which take place in Florida, USA, from 5 to 12 October.

The squad is made up of one female and seven male athletes. It includes four skiers who won medals at the European Championships held in the Netherlands in August and were members of the GB team that came home with the team bronze.

The barefooters will compete in three different categories – Open, Under-23 and Junior.

Tom Heaps (25), from Warrington in Cheshire, goes into the Worlds on a high after winning no fewer than four individual medals at the Europeans, including gold overall. So too does Rick Moyes (34) from Stockport, Greater Manchester, who won gold in the tricks event at the Europeans. They will both compete in Open Men.

The other two European medallists who are heading to Florida for the World Championships are 15-year-olds Matilda Mulcahy and Olly Moore, who each won a bronze. Matilda, from Ashford, Kent, will compete in both Junior Girls and Open Women. Olly, from Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, will compete in Junior Boys.

The team also includes brothers, Ben (21) and Henry (17) Sullivan, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. They both compete in the Under-23s while Ben will also go in Open Men.

Barefoot waterskiing at competitive level is not for the faint-hearted. As the name suggests, the competitors do not use skis but only their bare feet on the water. They are towed by a boat which generally travels faster than for other waterski disciplines, reaching speeds of up to 45mph (72kph).

Like regular – or classic - waterskiing, barefooters compete in the three events of slalom (crossing the boat’s wakes from one side to the other repeatedly), tricks and jump. In jump, all that matters is the distance achieved off the ramp and a successful landing. Medals are awarded in each individual event. There are also overall medals - which combine the competitor’s scores in the three events – and Team medals.

THE GB SQUAD

Junior Boys:

Olly Moore (15) from Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. Olly is a pupil at Goole Academy and is a multiple gold medallist at the 2024 British Barefoot Nationals. At the 2024 European Championships he won bronze in slalom. He trains at White Cross Ski Club in Selby, North Yorkshire.

Junior Girls & Open Women:

Matilda Mulcahy (15) from Ashford, Kent. Matilda is a pupil at Highworth Grammar School in Ashford and trains at Lydd Water Ski Club. She won a bronze medal in tricks at the 2024 European Championships. She has also won medals at the British Barefoot Nationals in both the Junior Girls’ and Open Women categories.

Under 23:

Ben Sullivan (21) from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Ben is studying to be an architect. He trains at Cotswold Water Ski Club, South Cerney in Gloucestershire. He is a three-times overall British Champion in the Junior Boys’ category and is currently ranked number one in Europe in the Under 23 Men’s category.

Henry Sullivan (currently 17 but will be 18 when the competition begins) from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Henry is a pupil at Pate’s Grammar School. He trains at Cotswold Water Ski Club, South Cerney in Gloucestershire. Henry did not compete at the 2024 European Championships but in 2023, when he was in the Junior Boys’ category, he won three gold medals (trick, jump, overall) and a silver (slalom). He is also a two-time British Barefoot Nationals overall champion (2022, 2023).

Open Men:

Tom Heaps (25) from Warrington, Cheshire. He trains at Weaver Sailing and Ski Club in Frodsham, Cheshire. Tom has made the podium many times at National, European and World Championships since 2016. At the 2024 European Championships he won gold overall, silver in jump and bronze in both tricks and slalom. He is a former Junior Boys’ World Champion and world record holder in Barefoot Jump.

Rick Moyes (34) from Stockport, Greater Manchester. Rick trains at Weaver Sailing & Ski Club in Frodsham, Cheshire. He has been a Team GB skier since 2012, is a many-times British Champion and European medallist. He won gold in tricks at the 2024 European Championships.

Robbie Crewe (34) from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. He trains at White Cross Ski Club, Selby, North Yorkshire. He is a former British Champion and was in the silver medal-winning GB Team at the 2023 Europeans. He did not compete at the 2024 Europeans.

Ben Sullivan (see Under 23s above).

Hayden Knaggs (34) from Shadoxhurst, Ashford, Kent.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The IWWF (International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation) World Barefoot Championships will take place in Auburndale, Florida, USA, from 5 to 12 October 2024.

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

Photos can be found in the dropbox link below. Please credit the photographers where shown.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/hkh12yhmw5jc1r7n2icr0/ABNClCxtNIxTH6Ou6_G_x9o?rlkey=279f91y994ppknf02qapjll29&dl=0

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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