IT'S the sexiest of brand new sports in the world - and this Morecambe lad is the new European champion.
Kent James, 17 of Morecambe, beat competition from across the continent in six stages of of the brand new water sport of waterboarding.
Contestants had to impress judges with their tricks and skills to win the competition in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and the south of England. A stage in Switzerland had to cancelled.
Kent (pictured) himself explained what the sport is about: "It's very exciting but hard. Basically you have to do all sorts of tricks and show off a bit on your board. You also get marks for intensity, continuity, and execution by the judges.
"The youngsters really love it. They usually start on water skis but when they see this that's it. It's what they want to do. I think this is going to become a major sport and it's one I want to do professionally. I would like to devote my life to it.
"I got into it through my dad really. He was really into waterskiing and he alerted me to this. I've never looked back."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article