Freddie Winter from Wandsworth in London has won gold at one of the world’s most prestigious professional waterski competitions, the 2024 Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia. His victory in the Men’s Slalom is his first at the event, which is held in March each year on the Yarra River in the heart of the city.
Winter’s was not the only podium for GB. Jack Critchley (27), from Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, finished second in Men’s Jump.
For 34-year-old Winter, winning Moomba is the best possible start to the new season. It’s his first competition since he became Men’s Slalom World Champion for the second time in Florida, USA in October 2023 and marks the start of a busy year on the water in which he’s hoping to build on the form that took him to his most successful ever season last year.
“I’m so very happy to have managed to take a very tough win here at one of the few events where the water is as difficult to beat as your opponents,” Winter said.
“It feels wonderful to start a long season on the Waterski Pro Tour this way.”
Winter has now won all the waterski ‘majors’ which include Moomba, the US Masters - which he has won twice - and the World Championships (2017, 2023). He is a slalom specialist and is among the elite few to win the world title in the discipline more than once.
GB’s other competitor in the Men’s Slalom at Moomba, Arron Davies (25) from Bolton in Greater Manchester, did well to make it to the final alongside Winter. The reigning British National Men’s Slalom Champion finished 10th. Davies was competing at Moomba for the first time and went into the event with no expectations.
Jack Critchley leapt 63.1 metres to take the silver medal in Men’s Jump, finishing behind the World Champion and world record holder from Canada, Ryan Dodd. He went on to finish third in the spectacular Monday Night Jump Final, a separate competition held in the dark.
The only woman among the British competitors, Sanchia Outram (26) from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, competed in Women’s Slalom, Jump and Tricks with her scores combining to give an Overall result. She finished 11th in Slalom, 13th in Tricks, 7th in Jump and 6th Overall.
The Moomba Masters also included a Wakeboard invitational competition. Great Britain’s Luca Kidd (22), from Weybridge in Surrey, made the final and finished 6th.
“Had a couple unfortunate falls, only landed 5 tricks,” Kidd said. “Was stoked to just be riding today!”
The Moomba Masters is one of the world’s classic annual water ski and wakeboard competitions. The 63rd edition took place from Saturday 9th to Monday 11th March.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
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 as shown.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/j112t7vugr9ies03kkpsm/h?rlkey=06n5vnlfhnn1xujrzrtpb8eqj&dl=0
Full results can be found at: https://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/24AUS022
WATER SKIING 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 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.
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 that matters is the distance travelled and a successful landing.
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 correctly performed.
Overall
In overall competitions, the skier competes in the three separate disciplines of slalom, tricks and jump and the combined scores in each contribute to an overall score.
BOAT WAKEBOARDING
A bit like a combination of snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. The rider performs tricks over two runs while being towed by a boat. Judges watching from the boat determine the score, which is based on a number of criteria including height, style and difficulty of the tricks successfully performed. The highest score wins.
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.
