Wakeboard and Wakeskate World Championship: Reading man wins silver

Dale Crossley (39) from Reading, Berkshire, won silver in the Masters Men (Over 30) age category.

Crossley, who has been the GB Team Captain for 4 years, started wakeboarding in Germany around 2009 and has been competing for GB for 9 years.

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His silver medal ends a successful season. He won gold at the World Wake Association (WWA) Worlds, held in the UK in the summer, and gold at the 2022 British Nationals.

It was silver, too, for Stephanie Caller-Williams (37), who lives in Chamonix in France. She was unable to retain to the Masters Women (Over 30) title that she won in both 2016 and 2018 – the last time the World Championships were held – but secured a creditable second place just months after giving birth to son, Kyffin, who was in Thailand with his mum.

Caller-Williams is a veteran in the British team, having competed for her country for 14 years. She is a 5 times British National Champion and has been competing in the Masters category since 2016.

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The third GB medal went to India Laverack (18) from Old Stratford, Northamptonshire. She won bronze in the Under 18 Junior Women Wakeskate.

Laverack, who rides at Box End Park in Bedford, joined Team GB this year and competed in Denmark for the European Championships in the summer. She also won bronze in Open Women at the 2022 British Nationals.

Dale Crossley (Image: Cable Wakeboard UK)

She competed in both wakeboard and wakeskate at the World Championships. The difference between the two is that wakeboarders wear boots that are attached to the board (like snowboarders) while wakeskaters stand directly on the board (like skateboarders).

In cable wakeboarding and wakeskating riders use a cable tow and perform tricks over obstacles or features at a specially designed wake park. They are scored on the difficulty and variety of their tricks and how well they perform them, for example their airtime, height, control and style.

The three medallists were part of a strong team of 27 British riders, aged 11 to 44, who travelled to Thailand. A total of 250 competitors from 33 countries took part in the Championships and the GB had some outstanding success, producing several finalists and 15 top 10 placings, including the three medallists.

GB’s Other Top 10s:

WAKEBOARD

Open Men: Luke Carrick, 18, from Phuket, Thailand (4th), Kieran Owens, aged 20, from Chertsey, Surrey (joint 7th)

Open Women: Eve Smith-Lang, aged 17, from Dunbar, East Lothian (4th)

Veteran Men (Over 40): Ade Clayton, aged 42, from Chertsey, Surrey (4th); David Broadway, aged 44, from Dubai & Joe Wooding, aged 44, from Bedford (joint 7th)

Under 14 Girls: Lotte Docherty, aged 14, from Dunbar, East Lothian (joint 7th)

Under 18 Junior Men: Rudy Talboys, aged 18, from Claygate, Surrey (6th); Callum Smith, aged 17, from Bedford (joint 9th)

Under 18 Junior Women: Amanda Neivens, aged 17, from Abu Dhabi (joint 7th); Orla Winn, aged 16, from Haddington, East Lothian (joint 9th).