A GB Squad of 8 is travelling to Italy this week for the European Open Waterski Championships.  Soon after there's the Barefoot Europeans, then both the Youth and Under 21 Waterski Europeans.

The European Open Waterski Championships are being held over three days, starting on Friday 28th July.  The competition is at Jolly Ski in San Gervasio Bresciano near Milan. It will be contested by more than 70 skiers from 17 European countries.

The GB Squad is made up of three women and four men: Eleanor Benjamin, Jennifer Benjamin, Sanchia Outram, Ben Turp, Tom Poole, Calum Heath, Arron Davies and Charlie Emmett.

Arron (slalom and tricks) and Charlie (slalom) compete as wildcards.  The other six make up scoring members of the GB Team.

Jennifer, Sanchia, Ben, Tom and Calum will compete in all three events.  Eleanor will compete in slalom and tricks. 

It’s the first major Championships back for Arron Davies since he suffered a serious injury almost exactly a year ago. In a fall while slalom training his right arm went through the handle, snapping two bones. The damage was so bad that it was uncertain whether he would be able to ski competitively again or even use his hand properly. However, three operations later – including skin and bone grafts – he was cleared to return to training in April this year and has since been back on the competition circuit. Members can read his full story in the latest edition of the BWSW magazine.

Arron Davies in his first pro competition after injury. Lake 38, Florida, June 2023. Photo: James Timothy

The 2023 IWWF European Open Waterski Championships  will be livestreamed by The Waterski Broadcasting Company. 
The full schedule and live results can be found here.

COMING SOON....

The Barefoot Europeans take place in Austria from 2nd to 5th August. Nine footers will represent GB: Open - Robert Crewe, Hayden Knaggs, Rick Moyes, Matilda Mulcahy, Henry Sullivan, Ben Sullivan; Juniors - Oliver Moore, Matilda Mulcahy, Henry Sullivan; Seniors - Simon Raine, Paul Turner.

Botaski near Madrid in Spain is the venue for the European Youth Waterski Championships on 9th to 13th August. The Under 14s Team:  Charlie Fearn, Raphael Dautigny, Harley Coster, Isabel Cosgrove (with James Cosgrove skiing as an individual qualifer in slalom and a wildcard in tricks).  Under 17s Team: Stella Gamski, Harrison Crossland, Alfie Godfrey-Fletcher, Seb Turp (with Oscar Withers skiing as a wildcard in slalom).

Then the European U21 Waterski Championships take place in Baurech, France from 18th to 20th August. The team is: Emily Newsome, Lucy Roberts, Lilli Deste, Tom Parkin, Noah Pollard, Will Shanahan (with Molly Lee skiing as a wildcard in slalom only).