As the season drew to a close, all eyes were firmly focused on the final two rounds of the JSRA freestyle British Championships. SuzAn Moule reports. Pictures: lisa Barsby

ROUND 5 - NITROJET ACTION LAKES

t was back in August of this year, in hard to remember sunny weather, that the fifth round of the British Championships kicked off at the Nitrojet Action Lakes in Oxfordshire. The penultimate round of the championship, the action was intense as the best of today’s jet skiing talent duelled it out on the water for a place on the podium.

In the Am class, it was Tanvir Hussain who delivered a fantastic plate-to-plate barrel roll, earning him top spot. Second place was awarded to Darren ‘Oggy’ Ogden, with Josh Firmam in third, Paul ‘Busy Bee’ Hewitt in fourth and Paul Smyth close behind in fifth.

Come the Expert Class, and Jack Moule had a problem – he had no ski. Thankfully, Darren Sedge came to the rescue and lent Jack his own ski to compete on. This was actually a bizarre reversal of the previous round where Jack had kindly lent Darren his ski to compete on - aren’t these boys nice to each other?

Despite Jack never having ridden the ski before, his two minute routine got him a very respectable second behind Darren, who’s mastery of his machine saw him put it a fantastic routine, getting great height and rightfully taking first.

Next to compete was the infamous Iceman, Vaclav Zacek. A born skier and entertainer, his routines never fail to please the crowd and his aqua-batics on the day not only earned him third place on the podium, but lots of smiles and cheers as well.

On to Pro and Lee Stone was also missing his ski – where were all these skis going? Darren graciously offered his own ski once again, but too much thrashing about on the water meant his machine was no longer firing on all cylinders. In the end, it was the Iceman who saved the day and gave Lee his own ride. Now with a ski firmly under his feet, Lee was not only able to put in a performance good enough to take first place, but being so far ahead on the scores, was able to take the title of British Pro Champion a round early. Another huge success for the brilliant Lee Stone.

ROUND 6 - THE FINALS

The final round of the championship was held a month later in September at Willen Lakes, Milton Keynes. An excellent venue that always brings in large crowds, the skiers really pulled out all the stops to take it to the next level.

In the Ams, the final round went to Josh Firmam thanks to a neat routine and excellent hood tricks. Tanvir Hussain came in second and Darren Ogden took third. The Busy Bee, Paul Hewitt, busied himself into fourth with Paul Smyth behind in fifth.

Jack Moule took the final Expert Class win, with Josh Firmam beating Darren Sedge down to third place to earn himself the silver podium position.

Without Lee skiing in the Pro Class this round, Jack Moule was also able to take the win in this category thanks to a great routine. Darren Sedge was a very close second.

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

With all the scores on the board it was time to hand out the British Championship titles.

The coveted Ams title went to Darren Ogden. A rider with a number of years on the water, Darren continues to show some of the younger Am riders just what they have to live up to.

Darren’s consistency throughout the season placed him a step above the rest, landing some great tricks with precision and finesse - truly worthy of the British title.Second place went to Tanvir Hussain, who’s skiing always gave Darren a run for his money. Completing the British Am podium was Josh Firmam. This was his first time at the Brit’s and he has walked away with a sensational result. Following behind the top three where Paul Hewitt, Luke Stock and Paul Smyth.

In the Expert Class, it was Jack Moule who was crowned British Champion of the category. Second place was awarded to Darren Sedge with Darren Ogden in third. Josh took 4th with Tanvir with Paul Hewitt in fith.

The Pro Class was quite simply dominated by Lee Stone. With a near perfect season that saw him take the title back in August, Lee is always exciting to watch and is responsible for having raised the bar in professional British jet skiing. Jack Moule fi nished in a very respectable second, Darren Sedge in third and Anthony Burgess in fourth.

The 2010 British Freestyle Competition has not failed to deliver and a huge thanks goes to all the freestylers that have entertained us all season long in spectacular fashion. We can only speculate as to the action and excitement of next year’s competition.