A talented squad of Britain’s youngest waterski talent is returning home from the European Youth Championships in Spain with two medals and some great results against strong international competition. The event, at Botaski in Seseña near Madrid concluded on Sunday 13th August.

There was a bronze medal for 13-year-old Charlie Fearn from Sheffield in the Under-14 Boys Jump and bronze for the Under-14 Team made up of Charlie, Raphael Dautigny (13) from London, Harley Coster (13) from Mytchett in Surrey and Isabel Cosgrove (11) from Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire.

Charlie, who also finished 9th overall said: “It's fantastic to have come away with a medal with this being my last year in the Under 14s. You can never take anything for granted, I'm super happy!”

Charlie’s parents, Adele and Andrew were watching on from the lakeside.

“It’s amazing. We are so very proud of Charlie,” Adele Fearn said. “The time he has spent training at the Performance Waterski Training Centre in Lincoln and all his hard work and effort has finally paid off. It's been a fantastic experience at Botaski and the support of the GB Team here and from all those watching at home has just been brilliant.”

The medals were the icing on the cake of an impressive performance by both the Under-14 and the Under-17 GB Teams. All nine athletes who competed made it through to at least one final in their category. Unfortunately, the tenth skier in the squad – Alfie Godfrey-Fletcher (16) from Worcester – was unable to take part after suffering an injury in training the evening before he was due on the water.

GB’s youngest squad member, 11-year-old Isabel Cosgrove, had an outstanding tournament in the Under-14 Girls, competing against older and more experienced waterskiers.

She made it through to the final round in all three events, finishing 5th in Tricks, 6th in Jump, 10th in Slalom and claiming 5th place overall.

Isabel’s older brother, James (13), who competed in Under-14 Boys Slalom but whose score did not count towards the team result, made it through to his final and finished 10th.

Other results of note include: -

Harley Coster (U14 Boys) 4th in Jump, 7th in Tricks

Harrison Crossland (U17 Boys) 6th in Tricks, 7th in Slalom

Seb Turp (U17 Boys) 6th in Slalom, 11th in Tricks, 8th Overall

Oscar Withers (U17 Boys) 9th in Slalom

Raphael Dautigny (U14) 10th in Tricks, 7th Overall

Stella Gamski (U17 Girls) 11th in Slalom

The GB Under-17 Team finished in 7th place, despite being one skier down after losing Alfie Godfrey-Fletcher to injury before the competition began.

The combined U14/U17 GB Team ended the Championships in a creditable 4th place.

The GB Team Captain, Vince Turp, said he was proud of the whole squad in Spain.

“All the skiers showed great maturity, huge focus and determination against amazing competitors. I am very proud to be a small part of their team. It’s been emotional,” he said.

SQUAD SKIER DETAILS

Charlie Fearn (U14) is a pupil at Bradfield Secondary School in Sheffield. He trains at Hazelwood Ski World in Lincoln (Performance Waterski Training Centre) and is a former Under 12 Boys British Jump Champion. He also represented GB at the European Youth Championships in 2022 in Greece.

Raphael Dautigny (U14) is a pupil at Highgate Senior School in North London. He trains at South Lake in St Neots, Cambridgeshire and at Lacanau Ski Club near Bordeaux in France. He has two British titles in the Under 10 and Under 12 categories. He also represented GB at the European Youth Championships in 2022 in Greece.

Harley Coster (U14) is a pupil at Collingwood College in Camberley, Surrey. He trains at Hazelwood Ski World in Lincoln, JB Ski at Thorpe Lakes in Surrey, Hi5 in Reading, Berkshire and at South Lake in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. He is the reigning U14 Boys British Slalom Champion and broke the U14 British Boys Slalom record six times in 2022. He also represented GB at the European Youth Championships in 2022 in Greece.

Isabel Cosgrove (U14) goes to Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire. She trains at Gosfield Lake in Essex, at Denham Waterski Club in Buckinghamshire and Xtreme Gene in Spain. She is the reigning British Under 12 Girls Slalom, Tricks, Jump and Overall Champion and the U12 Girls British Slalom record holder. She also represented GB at the European Youth Championships in 2022 in Greece.

James Cosgrove (U14) also goes to Berkhamsted School and trains at the same locations as sister Issy. He has been on the podium at the British Nationals multiple times. He was selected for the 2022 European Youth Championships but could not compete as he was injured. James is also a rugby player, competing for his school and for Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Club.

Seb Turp (U17) is a pupil at the Ramsey Academy, Halstead, Essex. He is a member of a large waterski family which includes his parents, grandparents and other relatives. His older brother Ben and sister Tilly also compete. Ben (22) recently competed at the European Open Championships in Italy. Seb’s dad, Vince, is an international driver for waterski competitions and was Team Captain for these Championships in Spain. Seb trains at the family’s base, Gosfield Lake in Essex. This was his third European Youth Championships for GB.

Stella Gamski (U17) attends Tormead School in Guildford, Surrey and trains at JB Ski at Thorpe Lakes, Surrey. She has previously represented GB at the World U17 Waterski Championships in Chile in January 2023.

Harrison Crossland (U17) is a student at Rendcomb College in Cirencester. He trains at Oxford Wakeboard & Ski Cub, Fairford Waterski Club in Gloucestershire and in Florida, USA. He is a 5 x National Champion. This was his second time at a European Championship for GB. He also represented GB at the World U17 Waterski Championships in Chile in January 2023. Harrison’s dad, Richard, is a 4 x British Barefoot Waterski Champion. Harrison plays hockey for Cirencester Hockey Club.

Alfie Godfrey-Fletcher (U17) goes to Nunnery Wood High School, Worcester. He trains at Cirencester Waterski Club and Hazelwood Ski World in Lincoln. He was the U14 Boys British Slalom Champion in 2021. He also represented GB at the 2022 European Youth Championships in 2022.

Oscar Withers (U17) is a pupil at Hill House School in Doncaster. He trains at Hazelwood Ski World in Lincoln and at Lound Waterski Club at Retford, Nottinghamshire. This was his first international appearance representing GB.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The 2023 IWWF Europe and Africa Youth Waterski Championships ran from 9th to 13th August. The full results and scores can be found at http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/2023EURO06

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/ek3o4lglapacfcit1zhsa/h?rlkey=oi45l6xaqdmdj38k50uaw6p8b&dl=0

WATER SKIING EXPLAINED

Jumping

Water ski jumping is a spectacular high-adrenaline event which involves skiing on two skis over a ramp before taking off and landing on the water to ski away. There are no style points. All the matters are 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. The boat speed for U17 boys is 58kph (36mph) and for U14 boys 55kph (34mph). The boat speed for U17 girls is 55kph and for U14 girls 52kph (32mph). 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 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.

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.

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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