More than 100 children, women and men from all over the UK have signed up to compete at the 2023 British National Waterski Championships which take place at Oxford Wakeboard & Ski Club from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th August.

The ages of the competitors range from 9 to 77.

It’s the third successive year that the Nationals have been held at Oxford and, once again, the event will be fully inclusive. There is an adaptive category for disabled skiers and a military category which will be contested by representatives of the RAF, as well as Open and Age Category competitions.

This year also sees the return of the spectacular Night Slalom competition to be held under floodlights on Saturday 26th. The cash-prize event is for the top five scorers in the Men’s Open Slalom and the first five in the Women’s Open Slalom and had its debut at the Nationals in 2022.

Oxford Wakeboard & Ski Club

New for 2023 is a National Youth Festival organised by Friends of Tournament on Friday 25th August which will run alongside the Championships.

Youngsters under the age of 18 who have competed in grassroots competitions and/or attended one of this season’s FoT Development Days aimed at coaching and preparing them for the world of competition, have been invited. They will compete in a grassroots slalom event to be run on a handicapped basis to accommodate the different levels of the skiers - including novices, half-course and full course slalom skiers.  It’s hoped that some of these budding athletes will return to compete at National Championships in the future.

Check out who's entered and follow the live results on the IWWF Europe & Africa website or come along and support. There will be food and drink on site throughout all four days.

OWSC is at Queenford Lakes near Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

Lara Cosgrove competing at the 2022 Nationals at Oxford.  Photo: James Elliott