Fourteen wakeboarders from the UK are heading off to represent their country at the IWWF (International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation) World Championships, which take place in Rieti, central Italy, from Monday 25th to Saturday 30th July.

They include veterans of the sport and young rising stars for whom this will be their first appearance at a major international competition.

The first timers include the youngest of the GB contingent, 10-year-old Ollie Phillips, son of Team GB Captain, Ross Phillips, from Digby in Lincolnshire. The pupil at Leasingham St Andrews Primary School is a two-time UK National Champion (Groms). He will compete in the Boys category, as will Marley O’Toole (11) from Camberley in Surrey. The pupil at Ravenscote Junior School trains at Quays Wake & Ski near his home and is a hugely talented wakeboarder who is already a two-time National Boys Champion. Just a little older than Marley is Isabelle Lloyd from Burntwood in Staffordshire, who will mark her 12th birthday during the Championships. She will compete alongside her older brother, Charlie (13). The siblings have seven UK National titles between them.

The oldest competitor is 56-year-old Mark Osmond from Elstead in Surrey, who trains at Quays Wake & Ski. He goes in the Masters Men (40 & Over) category.

In Open Men, one of the GB Team medal prospects is 21-year-old Luca Kidd from Weybridge in Surrey. Kidd is a former World Junior Champion and is now a professional wakeboarder. In May this year he won bronze at the most world’s prestigious professional wakeboard and water ski competition, the Masters in Georgia, USA. (See below for details of all the UK riders).

There are two types of wakeboard competition: cable wakeboarding is where riders use a cable tow and perform tricks over obstacles or features at a specially designed wake park; boat wakeboarding is where the riders are towed behind a boat on a rope and use the large wake created by the boat to perform spectacular tricks. Next week’s World Championships are for boat wakeboarders and will be held on a large reservoir, the Lago del Salto. You will see inverts (flips), spins, and combinations of those. Riders are scored on their execution, intensity and composition. Style counts and if the rider grabs their board mid-trick that will help increase their scoring.

The wakeboarders will compete for world titles in 10 age categories - 5 for men and 5 for women - and for the team overall title. There is a $50,000 cash purse for those competing in Open Men and Open Women.

The World Championships, which are usually held every two years, last took place in 2019. The 2021 Championships were postponed due to Covid-19 and rescheduled to 2022. It means the event will be run based on 2021 International & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) age groups.

Ross Phillips, UK Team Captain said:

“We’re so excited to be heading out to the Lago del Salto, Rieti, Italy for the IWWF World Wakeboard Championships. We haven’t been able to compete internationally since the 2019 Worlds in Abu Dhabi because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this event was originally scheduled for last year. We know the venue well as it hosted the 2018 Euros. It’s a magical location in the Italian hills and the Italians are amazing hosts. We came fourth in that event and took an individual gold medal and three bronzes. With competition from further afield it's going to be tough, but it's good to be battling it out again with all our friends from around the world.”

GB SQUAD

LUCA KIDD, 21, (Open Men) was born in Maidstone, Kent and went to St Michael’s School in Sevenoaks until the age of 13. His family moved to Weybridge in Surrey and he attended Box Hill School at Mickleham near Dorking. He now lives in Florida during the summer and Mallorca in winter. He has competed at two World Championships, winning the Junior Men category in 2017 in Argentina. He is the 2018 European Junior Men Champion and is a 5 x UK National Champion.

CHARLOTTE MILLWARD, 26, (Open Women) was born in Walsall in the West Midlands and now lives in Stafford. She trains at Chasewater Watersports Centre in Burntwood, Staffordshire. This will be her fourth World Championships. In 2011, she won the European Junior Women title and she is the 2022 UK National Women’s Champion.

MELISSA LOCK, 21, (Open Women) was born in Leicester and lives in Thurmaston, Leicestershire. She trains at Charnwood Waterski & Wakeboard Club, Leicester. She is a 2 x European bronze medallist in Junior Women and an 8 x UK National Champion is the Groms/Girls and Junior Women categories.

CHARLIE LLOYD, 13, (Boys 14 & Under), was born in Walsall in the West Midlands and lives in Burntwood, Staffordshire. He is a pupil at the Erasmus Darwin Academy in Burntwood and trains at Cliff Lakes in Tamworth. He is a 3 x UK National Champion (twice in Groms and once in Boys).

ISABELLE LLOYD, 11, (Girls 14 & Under), was born in Walsall in the West Midlands and lives in Burntwood, Staffordshire. Like her brother, Charlie, she is a pupil at Erasmus Darwin Academy in Burntwood and trains at Cliff Lakes in Tamworth. She is a 4 x UK National Champion (twice in Groms and twice in Girls).

MARLEY O’TOOLE, 11, (Boys 14 & Under), was born in Frimley, Surrey and lives in Camberley, Surrey. He is a pupil at Ravenscote Junior School and trains at Quays Wake & Ski in Frimley, Surrey. He won the UK National Boys title in both 2021 and 2022.

JOE HUMPHRIES, 18, (Junior Men 18 & Under), was born in Kettering in Northamptonshire and lives in Geddington near Kettering. He trains at Baston Waterski Club in Lincolnshire. He has just finished his A levels at Kettering Buccleuch Academy and will be going to Lincoln University in September. He competed at the 2019 World Championships in Abu Dhabi and this will be second appearance at a Worlds.

OLLI LODER, 17, (Junior Men 18 & Under), was born and lives in Bournemouth in Dorset. He trains at Ellingham Water Ski & Wakeboard Club in Ringwood, Hampshire, at LDB Wake School at Thorpe Park, Surrey and also at Xtreme Gene in Spain. This is his first World Championships.

SARAH PARTRIDGE, 38, (Masters Women 30 & Over), was born in Swindon in Wiltshire and lives in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. She trains at Quays Wake & Ski in Frimley, Surrey. She is the 2017 World Masters Women Champion and is the 2022 UK National Masters Women Champion.

OLLIE PHILLIPS, 10, (Boys 14 & Under), son of Team GB captain Ross, was born in Oxford and lives in Digby, Lincolnshire. He trains at Tattershall Lake in Lincolnshire and at Xtreme Wake in Northampton. This is his first World Championships. He won the UK Nationals Groms title in 2021 and 2022.

ROSS PHILLIPS, 38, (Masters Men 30 & Over), was born in Wakefield in West Yorkshire and lives in Lincoln. He trains at Tattershall Lake in Lincolnshire and at Xtreme Wake in Northampton. He is a former UK National Masters Men Champion.

KATE WALDRON, (Masters Women 40 & Over), was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and lives in Ascot, Berkshire. She trains at LDB Wake School at Thorpe Park, Surrey and at Tallington Lakes in Stamford, Lincolnshire. She is the 2022 Masters Women 40 & Over UK National Champion.

MARK GOLDSMITH, 49, (Masters Men 40 & Over), was born and lives in Paignton, Devon. He trains at Quays Wake & Ski in Frimley, Surrey. He has been on the podium at the UK Nationals six times since 2014, winning on two occasions, and was third in his category in 2022.

MARK OSMOND, 56, (Masters Men 40 & Over), was born in London and lives in Elstead, Surrey. He trains at Quays Wake & Ski in Frimley, Surrey. He has twice been on the podium at the UK National Championships, in 2014 (2nd) and 2018 (3rd).

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Photos can be found in the dropbox link below. Please credit the photographers, as shown.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hmebrnnn3guzv8g/AAATSAxhC_9Br2mt_oI2e8jVa?dl=0

For further information and more photos of the competitors, please contact Team GB manager, Jeremy Nevill by e-mail at jeremy@wakeboard.co.uk or by phone on +44 (0) 7957 467060

Boat wakeboarding is like a combination of snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. The rider performs tricks over two runs while being towed by a boat. Judges watching from the boat determine the score, which is based on a number of criteria including height, style and difficulty of the tricks successfully performed. The highest score wins.

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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