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 and the Smiths.

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 Nationals at New Forest Wakepark 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.

Jessie Saunders

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

Maxwell Smith

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 (Over 30) Women’s Champion, Stephanie Williams-Caller. Stephanie 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 and some of the British riders will compete in both.

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.

The competition will be streamed live on the IWWF YouTube Channel.

Ade Clayton

Good luck to the Team and our British officials in Thailand.

Under 14s: Maxwell Smith, Marley O’Toole, Samuel Bradbury, Lotte Docherty, Jessie Saunders.

Under 18s: Kieran Smith, Callum Smith, Cav Bull, Ryan Marston, Callum Saunders (injured), Rudy Talboys, Caspar Ahlers-Diver, Darcey-Jane Williams, Leah Morgan, Amanda Neivens, India Laverack, Orla Winn, Sophie De Souza.

Open: Kieran Owens, Kieran Saunders, Luke Carrick, Eve Smith-Lang.

Masters (Over 30): Dale Crossley, Stephanie Williams-Caller.

Veterans (Over 40): David Broadway, Joe Wooding, Ade Clayton.

Officials: Suzi Nightingale (technical delegate), Edward Nightingale (competition manager’s assistant), Alex Koester (scorer), Matt Crowhurst (commentator), Matty Branston (commentator).

Ryan Marston

Photos: Cable Wakeboard UK