A large squad of British riders, aged 11 to 44, has travelled to Thailand to compete at the 2022 IWWF Cable Wakeboard & Wakeskate World Championships, which will get under way on Tuesday 1st November.

The 27 GB wakeboarders are among more than 250 riders from 33 countries. They go into the competition with confidence, after a silver medal for Team GB at the European Championships, held in Denmark in August.

The British contingent includes two trios of siblings: the Saunders from Milton Keynes and the Smiths from Bedford.

It’s the first time the youngest in the two families have been called up to compete for their country. Jessie Saunders (11) and Maxwell Smith (12) were both selected to the team after competing at the British National Championships at the beginning of October. Jessie is the youngest in the GB Team and will also be one of the youngest competitors in her category – Under 14 Girls.

Maxwell competes in Under 14 Boys. His brothers Kieran (15) and Callum (17) will compete in Under 18 Junior Men.

Jessie Saunders is in Thailand with her two older brothers - also called Kieran and Callum. Kieran Saunders (18) will compete in Open Men but Callum (16) is, sadly, out of action.

“I've flown out to Thailand to compete but broke my leg on the first day of training,” he said. “I have never broken a board but have broken two bones! Instead of competing I will be helping out as team support during the competition. Look out for my updates on the @cablewakeboarduk social media pages!”

Also in the GB squad is the reigning World Masters Women Champion, Steph Caller Williams (37) who lives in Chamonix in France. Steph won the Masters title at both the 2016 and 2018 World Championships. Earlier this year she gave birth to a son and has travelled to Thailand with him to defend her title.

Medals are up for grabs in both wakeboarding and wakeskating. The difference between the two is that wakeboarders wear boots that are attached to the board (like snowboarders) while wakeskaters stand directly on the board (like skateboarders).

In cable wakeboarding and wakeskating riders use a cable tow and perform tricks over obstacles or features at a specially designed wake park. They are scored on the difficulty and variety of their tricks and how well they perform them, for example their airtime, height, control and style.

The IWWF World Championships are usually held every two years but this is the first since 2018. They will take place at ESC Thai Wakepark, the venue which was due to host the Championships in 2020 before Covid-19 caused the event to be postponed. They conclude on 6th November.

FULL GB SQUAD IN THAILAND

UNDER 14s

Maxwell Smith (12), from Bedford. Started wakeboarding aged 8. This is his first year with Team GB and his first IWWF World Championships. He rides at Liquid Leisure in Windsor with his brothers Kieran and Callum Smith who are also in the team in Thailand. He is one of the youngest in his category.

Marley O’Toole (12) from Camberley, Surrey - competing in U14 Boys Wakeboard and Open Men Wakeskate. Marley has had a busy 2022 having competed in 5 international competitions, travelling to 4 different countries with both the GB Cable and Boat Wakeboard team.

Samuel Bradbury (14) from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Samuel has been riding for 5 years and splits his time between Box End Cable Park in Bedford and Liquid Leisure in Windsor. This year he made the finals at the IWWF European Championships in Denmark and won the UK Nationals.

Lotte Docherty (14) from Dunbar, East Lothian rides at Spring Lakes in Nottingham. She was selected for Team GB this year and her first competition for GB was the IWWF European Championships in Denmark. At the WWA (World Wake Association) Worlds held in the UK she came 3rd in features and 4th in traditional. She was also first at the UK Cable Wakepark National Championships in October.

Jessie Saunders (11) from Milton Keynes joined the GB team this year and this is her first Worlds. She is in the team alongside her brothers Callum and Kieran Saunders but this is the first time she has been old enough to join them to compete internationally. She will be one of the youngest competitors in her category in Thailand. This year at the UK Cable Wakepark National Championships she won a silver medal. Outside of wakeboarding she enjoys snowboarding, trampolining and singing.

UNDER 18s

Kieran Smith (15) from Bedford. Kieran’s home cable park is Liquid Leisure in Windsor. He started riding aged 10 and has been on Team GB since 2022. At the WWA Worlds he came 3rd in both traditional and features. He is competing in Thailand alongside his two brothers and this is the first time his youngest brother, Max, has joined them. Kieran also plays football and used to play for Leicester.

Callum Smith (17) from Bedford - competing in both Under 18 Junior Men & Open Men. Callum’s home park is Liquid Leisure, Windsor. He has been on Team GB since 2019 where he first competed at the European Championships. He competes with younger brothers Kieran and Max.

Cav Bull (15) from Hayling Island in Hampshire. Cav rides at South Coast Wake Park. He has been wakeboarding for 5 years and joined Team GB this year.

Ryan Marston (17) from Windsor, Berkshire. Ryan’s home cable park is Liquid Leisure, Windsor. He joined Team GB this year and also competed in the European Championships in Denmark.

Callum Saunders (16) from Milton Keynes. Callum rides at Box End Park Bedford and Liquid Leisure Windsor. This year is his first as a GB Team rider. He competed in Denmark at the European Championships. Unfortunately, he broke his leg on the first day of training for the Worlds in Thailand and is out of the competition.

Rudy Talboys (18) from Claygate, Surrey. Rudy began riding in the summer of 2020 at JB Ski in Chertsey, Surrey. He competed at the WWA Worlds this summer and came away with a gold medal.

Caspar Ahlers-Diver (18) from Colchester, Essex - competing in both Under 18 Junior Men Wakeboard and Wakeskate. Caspar has ridden for the GB cable squad since 2019.

Darcey-Jane Williams (15) from Bridgend, South Wales. Darcey, or DJ, rides at Liquid Leisure in Windsor and became a member of Team GB in 2022, competing at the European Championships in Denmark and now the World Championships in Thailand.

Leah Morgan (16) from Raunds, Northamptonshire. Leah has been riding since she was 8 and usually trains at Box End Park in Bedford and Xtreme Wake in Northamptonshire. She was Under 18 National Champion in 2021 and Under 15 National Champion in 2020. This is her first year competing with Team GB.

Amanda Neivens (17) from Abu Dhabi - Amanda has been riding for two years and recently joined the GB team. She lives in Abu Dhabi where her home cable is Al Forsan. She recently competed in the WWA Worlds in the UK and the European Championships in Denmark. She won a silver medal at the UK Cable Wakepark National Championships this year.

India Laverack (18) from Old Stratford, Norhamptonshire. India’s home cable is Box End Park, Bedford. She joined Team GB this year and competed in Denmark for the European Championships. She won bronze in Open Women at the 2022 UK Cable Wakepark National Championships.

Orla Winn (16) from Haddington, East Lothian. Earlier this year Orla won the U18s WWA World title in the UK and shortly after became National Champion – winning at the UK Cable Wakepark National Championships. The European Championships in Denmark this year was her first international IWWF competition but Thailand is her first IWWF World Championships with Team GB.

Sophie De Souza (15) from Ashtead, Surrey. Sophie joined the British wakeboard team this year and competed at the Europeans in Denmark this summer. Her home parks are Liquid Leisure in Windsor and Thorpe Lakes in Chertsey, Surrey.

OPEN

Kieran Owens (20) from Chertsey, Surrey - Kieran’s home cable is Liquid Leisure Windsor. He first joined Team GB in 2014 when he was 12 years old. He has competed in multiple international competitions. This is his first year as Co-Captain for Team GB.

Kieran Saunders (18) from Milton Keynes. Kieran rides at Box End Park, Bedford and Liquid Leisure, Windsor. He became a member of Team GB in June 2021 and the 2022 Europeans was his first time competing for his country. At the UK Wakepark National Championships he came away with a silver medal. In 2023 he is going to university to study biochemistry at Royal Holloway in Egham, Surrey.

Luke Carrick (18) from Phuket, Thailand. Luke has lived in Thailand all his life but has a British passport which entitles him to compete for Team GB. His first even representing GB was in Israel at the age of 12.

Eve Smith-Lang (17) from Dunbar, East Lothian. Eve joined the GB team in 2018 when she was 13. She has since competed in more than 15 international competitions.

MASTERS (OVER 30)

Dale Crossley (39) from Reading, Berkshire. Dale started wakeboarding in Germany around 2009 and has been competing for Team GB for 9 years. He has been the Team Captain for 4 years. He won a gold medal at the WWA Worlds and gold at the UK Nationals this year.

Steph Caller-Williams (37) from Chamonix, France. Steph has been competing for Team GB for 14 years and is a 5 times British National Champion. She has been competing in the Masters category since 2016 and won Gold at both the 2016 and 2018 World Championships. She gave birth to a son earlier this year and is excited to have him in Thailand with her to defend her title.

VETERANS (OVER 40)

David Broadway (44) from Dubai. Originally from the Midlands, he is now based in the UAE and rides at Al Forsan Cable park. He’s been riding for 8 years. He won bronze in the Veteran Men’s category at the European Championships in Denmark this year and silver at the WWA Worlds.

Joe Wooding (44) from Bedford. Joe has been riding for 10 years. His home cable park is Box End, Bedford, which hosted the 2019 Nationals where he entered his first official competition and came 1st in the Veteran Men category. This is his first World Championships.

Ade Clayton (42) from Chertsey, Surrey. Ade has been riding for 7 years. He won silver in the Veteran Men’s category at the 2022 European Championships in Denmark but this will be his first IWWF World Championships.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

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

Photos of all the riders can be found in the dropbox link below. Please credit Cable Wakeboard UK. If you would like to request more photos, please contact Jane.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ibc7tzq27tp3c5l/AABf3auttnlSkx25-cdaWPDca?dl=0

The IWWF is the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, the world governing body for the sport.

The WWA is the World Wake Association. It is a separate organisation not affiliated to the IWWF and holds its own Worlds.

British Water Ski & Wakeboard 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.

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