Bolton youngster Jimmy Elliott has been making waves in the right way by becoming the British Waterski overall champion for his age-group.

The 12-year-old, from Harwood, was competing over four days at the Combined British Waterski National Championships in Oxford and was crowned the under-12 overall champion.

He also came away with the u12 British Waterski Trick title, a silver in u12 Slalom and a silver in u12 Jump.

It is just the latest accolade for the youngster who attends Bolton School Boys’ Division and trains every week at the Waterski Academy, in Rochdale, with his coach, Nick McGarry.

And his achievements have certainly made his parents proud.

Dad James told The Bolton News: “Jimmy did amazingly well against some tough competition to become the overall champion this year.

“The thing that has made us proudest is the work that he’s put in, even through the winter months when, as you can imagine, training isn’t much fun.”

The talented youngster got into the sport after he tried waterskiing when on holiday at a lake and was talent-spotted when he was nine years old.

Jimmy was on the winning team for the Cutting Edge Waterski Competition in 2019, was the 2021 u12 British Waterski Trick Champion and was selected for the GB Waterski Squad this year.

His ultimate aim is to represent GB at the European and then World Championships in the future.

It is not only the family who are proud of Jimmy’s achievements, either, with coach McGarry also full or praise for his progress at such a young age.

McGarry said: “It doesn’t seem that long ago I was coaching former Bolton School boy, Arron Davies, when he was in the under-12s, but of course 12 years is a lifetime for young Jimmy.

“Arron is now a professional skier with a string of national and international titles to his name and I’m certainly hopeful Jimmy will do the same.

“Winning national titles at any age is phenomenal and requires dedication to hard work, there5’s no doubt about that.

“I was extremely pleased with Jimmy’s performance at this year’s championships as his skills stood up under the pressure of a major championship.

“That tells me as a coach I’ve done my job well.

“Everyone at the Waterski Academy is very proud of him and we look forward to next year’s challenges as he moves up into the under-14s and skiing in the European Youth Championships.”