Great Britain has won two gold medals at the 2026 IWWF World Over 35 Waterski Championships, held in Canada.

The titles went to Jeremy Newby-Ricci and Philippa Shedd, who both triumphed in their age categories in the slalom event. Shedd also won a silver medal in tricks and silver overall.

In a nail-biting finale, Newby-Ricci from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, went into a run-off with the USA’s Tim Henderson, after they had tied in the final of the Over 55 Men’s Slalom.

Newby-Ricci, who trains at Boughton Lodge Water Sports Club in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, was drawn to ski first in the run-off and posted a great score of 4.5 buoys on the 10.75 metre rope length. Henderson could not match him, finishing with 3 buoys on 10.75m, so the gold went to GB and the silver to the USA. Todd Johnson of Canada took the bronze.

“It was more exciting than I planned,” Newby-Ricci said. “I didn’t ski all that well in the preliminary round so didn’t end up where I thought I would be in the starting order. In the final, I put out a score out that I didn’t really think would be enough.

“It was very close, a great final, I’m very glad to have been a part of it and certainly glad to be on the top step.”

Earlier in the day, Philippa Shedd went into her final in the Over 65 Women’s Slalom as the top seed after posting the highest score in the preliminary run. It meant she was last off the dock, knowing what she needed to do to win – exceed the 2 buoys on the 11.25m rope length of the USA’s Joy Kelley. Shedd’s 4.5 buoys gave her victory and the latest of many world titles she’s achieved over the years in different age categories. Carol Brooks of the USA was third.

In the tricks event, the same three women made the podium but the top two spots were reversed with Shedd having to settle for silver behind Kelley. Her scores in the two events also gave her the overall silver medal.

Shedd, who is originally from Wythenshawe in Manchester but now lives in the USA, is a former professional waterskier who competed for GB under her maiden name of Roberts at Open level from 1974 to 1997. In that era, she won five European titles, three World Games and was US Masters Champion. She also has 50 British Open Championships titles. She was made an MBE in recognition of her achievements.

Shedd and Newby-Ricci were members of a small squad of seven GB skiers to compete at the 2026 World Over 35 Championships, across the age categories from the Over 35s to Over 70s and in the three separate events of slalom, tricks and jump.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The 2026 IWWF World Over 35 Waterski Championships were held at Predator Bay, Calgary, Canada, from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 July. The full results can be found at https://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/26IWWF01

Photos can be found in the dropbox link below. Please credit Johnny Hayward.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/a3ik02v0rpabujtkf4622/ALG02jNM0bE6gzc7EnvW48E?rlkey=xsp13ry6916efwvzppxm40u9h&dl=0

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

Waterski Slalom

The boat travels at a constant speed in a straight line down the middle of the slalom course. 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.

Waterski 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 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.

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 our 75th anniversary.

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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