A team of 11 barefoot waterskiers is heading to the Netherlands to represent Great Britain at the IWWF Europe & Africa Championships next week.

The squad is made up of nine male and two female athletes aged between 15 and 61, among them medallists at previous European and World Championships. Several of them were in the GB teams that won silver at the 2023 European Championships and bronze in 2022.

The GB barefooters will compete across a range of age categories - Junior, Open and Senior – at the Championships which will take place at Maurik from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 August.

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. He was part of the GB team that won silver at the European Championships in 2023. He trains at White Cross Ski Club in Selby, North Yorkshire.

Jasper Poulton-Stowe (15), from Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire. He is a pupil at Cirencester Kingshill School and won two silver medals at the 2024 British Barefoot Nationals. He trains at Cotswold Water Ski Club in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.

Junior Girls:

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 at last year’s European Championships as well as being part of the GB team that won silver. She has won medals at the British Barefoot Nationals in both the Junior Girls and Open Women categories. She will also compete in Open Women at this year’s Europeans.

Open Men:

Adam Chalk (31) from Dartford, Kent. Adam is a GP and trains at Lydd Water Ski Club in Kent. Adam won gold in slalom, tricks and overall at the 2024 British Barefoot Nationals and has won medals at World and European Championships in previous years.

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, including being in the GB team that won silver at last year’s Europeans.

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 and won three gold medals in Open Men at the 2022 European Championships. He is a former Junior Boys’ World Champion and world record holder in Barefoot Jump.

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.

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

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. (Robbie is the first reserve in the squad and will be representing GB at the World Barefoot Championships later this year).

Open Women:

Arwen Entract (23) from Woking, Surrey. Arwen is the 2024 British Barefoot Nationals Open Women’s slalom champion and trains at Cotswold Water Ski Club, South Cerney, Gloucestershire. This is her first international competition representing GB.

Matilda Mulcahy (see Junior Women above). Although still a junior, Matilda will also compete in Open Women.

Senior Men:

Simon Raine (61) from Lydd, Kent. Simon is the owner and director of Action Watersports in Lydd where he trains. He won two gold medals at the 2024 British Barefoot Nationals and two silvers in the 2022 Europeans.

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 where shown.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rlchvze4pr1kpby6qby68/ADTim5u5g1flUD43CUSbUsI?rlkey=y9c9gkbgqu431o1uwxvkbyq1y&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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