Daredevil 14-year-old becomes youngest ever national jet-ski freestyle champion



He looks as if he is clinging on for dear life. But Jack Moule is in total control.



Leaping 6ft in the air is just one of the spectacular stunts that saw the 14-year-old become the UK Jetski Freestyle Champion, the youngest winner of the title, beating competitors more than three times his age in both the professional and amateur classes.

He was only allowed to start riding a jetski on his own 18 months ago, but since then has perfected a string of spectacular stunts.

Teenage sensation: Jack performs one of his moves as the jet-ski completely leaves the water in a 6ft vertical jump

His signature moves include the nose stab - in which the jet ski leaps out of the water before landing nose-first vertically - and the incredible barrel-roll, where he forward loops the entire machine in mid-air.

Jack spent his summer touring the country with parents Suzan, 39, and Ian, 46, competing in all six rounds of the tour and beat more than 90 competitors.

Weighing in at eight-and-a-half stone and standing just 5'4", Jack wowed judges with top-class flips, spins and rolls on his 22 stone jet-ski.

Champion: Jack Moule is the youngest ever winner of the UK Jet-Ski Freestyle National Tour at the tender age of 14



He clinched double victory at the final round in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, winning the amateur competition by an amazing 41 points, and the professional class by 13.

In the freestyle competition riders have two minutes to impress five judges with their jet-skiing skills.

They are marked on the number on quality of tricks they can fit in, and the fluency with which they link them together.



Making waves: The teenager beat people three times his age with moves like this one during six rounds of competition



Up and over: Jack toured the country winning 117 out of 120 points in the amateur competition and 107 in the professional class



Riders are awarded 20 points for a first-place performance, 17 for second and 15 for third.

Jack swept to victory with 117 points out of a possible 120 in the amateur competition - meaning he won all rounds bar one on the tour - and 107 in the professional class.

His older fellow competitors, many of who are also trying to break into the British team, range in age from 17 to 45.

Jack, from Markyate, Hertfordshire, has only been freestyling for 18-months since he was deemed old enough to ride his own jet-ski.

The Jet-Ski Freestyle National Tour, billed as a stepping stone to the British championships, is the first competition he has entered.

On top: Jack about to perform a submarine manoeuvre, above, and below prepares to land after completing a 360 degree barrel roll





Jack said: 'I love jet-skiing - it's just an absolutely brilliant sport and even the training is good fun.

'What I really want to do is go all the way and become world champion.

'Sport is all about football for most of my friends at school but I wanted to try something different and more extreme.'

Jack hopes to compete in the World Championships at Lake Havasu, in Arizona, USA, in 2010.

Founder of the Jet-Ski Freestyle National Tour and five times British champion Keith Rimmer, 44, thinks Jack has the potential to go all the way and become World Champion.

He said: 'He's a lovely lad and has got the nerve and the natural talent to win big.

'I am very confident that Jack will end up as world number one, although I have warned him not to burn out too young.

'Because he's young and he's active he heals a lot better than us oldies if he gets hurt at all.

The youngster has only been freestyle jet-skiing for 18 months



'Jack's had an incredible first season. He was so far ahead in the amateur competition he didn't even need to compete in the final round to win.'

Keith, a construction training assessor, set up the Jet-Ski Freestyle National Tour five years ago to encourage more youngsters to take up the sport, and has been delighted to see its popularity rocket.

He said: 'It's not just a competition, it's a community. The camaraderie is excellent.'

Jack's parents are both keen jet-skiers and father Ian, a car mechanic, helps fix and maintain his son's machine.

Proud Suzan, a housewife, said: 'He makes the ski look as light as a feather and he's just such talent.

'He's already made history as the youngest ever winner of the freestyle national tour and I think he'll go far because he's such a natural.

'Jet-skiing is a really fantastic hobby. Hopefully Jack can help put it on the map and get other kids interested.'