Great Britain’s three top waterskiers will compete at the prestigious Masters in Georgia, USA, this coming weekend.

The three are world-beaters with an impressive list of titles between them. All have previously won at the Masters. They are: reigning World Champion and two-time winner at the Masters in men’s slalom, Freddie Winter (34) from Wandsworth in London; five-time Masters Champion and two-time World Champion in men’s slalom, Will Asher (41) from Lincoln; and the current Overall World Record Holder, Joel Poland (25) from Clapham in London.

Winter, Asher and Poland will all compete in slalom while Poland also competes in the tricks and jump events. Invitations to compete at the Masters are highly sought after. To earn a place, skiers must either have won a major qualifying competition in the past 12 months or come through a tough process of ‘last-chance-qualification’ competitions in the build-up to the event.

Winter qualified automatically by virtue of being a current World Champion and winning two more qualifiers in 2023 – in Spain and Australia. Both Asher and Poland came through last-chance qualifiers.

Poland’s achievement in making it through in slalom, tricks and jump is outstanding. He is the first man in 24 years to qualify in all three events and is widely recognised as the world’s best Overall waterskier currently competing. While still only 25-years-old, he has broken the Overall World Record four times and, in April this year, broke it again, though this latest one has yet to be officially ratified by the world governing body, the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation. If it is approved, Poland will earn the distinction of being the only man to have broken the record five times.

The Masters Waterski & Wakeboard Tournament will take place at Robin Lake, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia, USA. The competition begins with the Junior Masters on Friday 24th May. The preliminary rounds of the Masters take place on Saturday 25th with the finals on Sunday 26th.

The competition will be livestreamed on the Masters Website at https://masterswaterski.com where you can also find the full schedule and follow the results.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For more information, please contact Jane Peel, British Water Ski & Wakeboard Head of Communications on jane@bwsf.co.uk or by phone on 07802 496927. Please note that Jane is currently on the west coast of the USA (BST -8hrs).

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

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/g05vfydx0ajnwe4ovnh2c/AAg24Pl2q3u-ur6auuOnXfE?rlkey=99ie6gvcix0i8gsli1ite8dzb&dl=0

ABOUT THE COMPETITORS

Freddie Winter - was born in Tooting in south London and lives in Florida, USA. He studied business management at the University of London’s Royal Holloway College in Egham, Surrey and has an MBA from the University of Louisiana. When in the UK, he trains at Oxford Wakeboard & Ski Club, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. He is a two-time Men’s Slalom World Champion (2017, 2023).

Will Asher - was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, and currently lives in Florida, USA. When in the UK, he trains at the family site, Hazelwood Ski World in Lincoln. He was the Men’s Slalom World Champion in 2005 and 2009. He is one of an elite few to have won professional waterski competitions over the age of 40.

Joel Poland - was born and has his UK base in London. He went to school in Reigate, Surrey, and is now lives largely in Florida, USA. He also trains at JB Ski (Thorpe) in Chertsey, Surrey and at Xtreme Gene near Cordoba in Spain. He is the overall world record holder and was the 2021 Overall World Champion. He was runner-up at the most recent World Championships in October 2023. He won the Men’s Jump title at the 2022 Masters.

THE SPORT EXPLAINED

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 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 them. The winner is the skier who completes the most turn buoys at the shortest rope length.

Jumping - This dramatic spectator event involves skiing over a ramp at speeds of up to 70mph, taking off and landing on the water to ski away. Each skier has three attempts at the ramp. There are no style points. All that matters is the distance achieved.

Tricks - The skier is given two 20-second passes to complete as many different tricks as possible. These can vary from a simple 180 turn to a somersault with a twist. 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.

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 waterskiing and wakeboarding across the UK from the grassroots to our top athletes.

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