Freddie Winter from Wandsworth in London is on his way to his first competition since triumphing at the World Waterski Championships last October.

The 34-year-old is one of four British waterskiers travelling to Melbourne in Australia for the traditional season opener, the prestigious Moomba Masters.

The slalom specialist has won all the waterski ‘majors’ except Moomba and he’s keen to tick this one off his list. In 2023 he won silver there for the second consecutive year.

Winter is a two-time Men’s Slalom World Champion. He won his first world title in France in 2017 and had to wait until last autumn for his second. Men’s slalom is the most competitive of the sport’s disciplines and Winter is one of an elite few to win the Worlds more than once.

He took an extended break after the 2023 World Championships and returned to his training in Florida in January to prepare for the season ahead.

“It hasn’t been the easiest start to the year with my body not cooperating in the way I’d like after a needed physical and mental rest,” Winter said.

“However, the lighter training I’ve managed has been positive and I’m in good enough shape now. We can expect probably the toughest conditions of the year down there, as usual, but I’m excited to get back on it for 2024 and, hopefully, get hold of the last big title that’s evaded me so far.”

Winter will be joined in the slalom at Moomba by the reigning British National Men’s Slalom Champion, Arron Davies (25) from Bolton in Greater Manchester. Davies had a successful comeback season in 2023 after suffering an horrific arm injury while training in July 2022 which put him out of action for 9 months. This will be his first time at Moomba, competing on the notoriously washy, tidal waters of the Yarra River.

“It’s gonna be one hell of an experience,” Davies said. “There’s a few tournaments you grow up watching: US Masters, World Championships and the Moomba Masters. It looks like one of the most fun tournaments of the year so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Davies added: “I have zero expectations going in and I’m just hoping that I put on a good show.”

Jack Critchley (27) from Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire will compete in jump. He is among the world’s best jumpers and finished 5th in the event at the 2023 World Championships. He is one of the few waterskiers in history to have jumped more than 70 metres. As well as the main jump event, Critchley will compete in the dark in the spectacular Moomba Night Jump competition on Sunday 10th March.

The only woman among the British competitors is Sanchia Outram (26) from Worksop in Nottinghamshire. She competes in all three events: slalom, jump and tricks and will eligible for the Women’s Overall title. She finished 11th Overall at the 2023 World Championships.

The Moomba Masters is one of the world’s classic annual water ski competitions. The 63rd edition will take place on the Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne from Saturday 9th to Monday 11th March. It is part of the Moomba Festival which draws tens of thousands of people to the riverfront over 5 days.

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.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/v7pf8z5xuedcyx8b9c128/h?rlkey=19dtacpe7s0k1lt4d1u0w2kge&dl=0

WATER SKIING EXPLAINED

Slalom

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

Jumping

Water ski 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 that matters is the distance travelled and a successful landing.

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 correctly 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.

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