The Cosgroves from Buckinghamshire are heading to Argentina as part of six-strong GB team competing at the World Under-17s Waterski Championships.

For the first time, all three siblings - James (16), Isabel (14) and Lara (12) – have earned the honour of representing their country at an international competition. The Championships take place in Villa Dolores, Córdoba, from 1 to 5 April.

The trio, from Chalfont St Peter, are no strangers to international competition. All have taken part in European Championships – at which level Isabel has already won multiple medals. Both James and Isabel also competed at the last World Championships in Canada in 2024.

Isabel is a pupil at Berkhamsted Girls’ School in Hertfordshire and has proved herself to be one of GB’s most talented young waterskiers. She first achieved success at the 2024 European Youth Waterski Championships when she won bronze in the Under-14 girls’ slalom event. At the 2025 Euros last summer she won three U14 golds - in slalom, tricks and overall - as well as a silver medal in jump.

Lara, who also goes to Berkhamsted Girls’ School, made the final of the Under-14 girls’ slalom at last year’s European Championships when she was just 11. She finished an impressive eighth.

James, a Berkhamsted Boys’ student, was injured and unable to compete last year. The World Championships in Argentina will be his first major event since returning to the water.

James and Isabel are entered in all three waterski events – slalom, tricks and jump – and will compete for the overall title. Lara will go in slalom and tricks.

Mum Kate Cosgrove says: “We’re so proud of all three of them. It’s great they’re all in the team together to support each other.”

Dad Alex Cosgrove, who will be Team Captain in Argentina, says: “It’s their sibling fun competitiveness that drives them all on to be better skiers and none of them would be as good as they are without each other.”

The rest of the GB Team for the World Championships includes two more European medallists. At the 2024 Euros, Harley Coster (15) from Camberley in Surrey won gold in the Under-14 boys’ jump, bronze in both slalom and tricks and silver overall. At the 2023 Euros, Charlie Fearn (16) from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, won bronze in the Under-14 boys’ jump.

The sixth member of the GB team going to Argentina is Willow Skipsey (16) from Chichester, West Sussex. A student at Chichester College, she has progressed quickly since being introduced to waterskiing just three years ago through an after-school club.

Harley, Charlie and Willow will compete in slalom, tricks and jump and contest the overall.

The individual scores of the squad will also contribute towards a Team score.

All six athletes are currently training in Florida, USA, and will fly to Argentina on Thursday 26th 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 in the captions.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r4fdnhjqar44jm9bomxke/AFmqcAzKmbmDPjnMoYqwYPM?rlkey=1w19h4tso6piqoi61dw2el3c3&dl=0

You can find the full schedule and follow the results here https://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/26IWWF02

WATER SKIING EXPLAINED

Jumping

Waterski 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 the matters is 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 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.

Tricks

The skier is given two 20-second passes to complete as many different tricks as possible. These can vary from a simple 180-degree turn to complex somersaults with twists. 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 waterskiing and wakeboarding across the UK from the grassroots to our top athletes. 2026 is BWSW’s 75th anniversary.

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