Chris Bowers is a canoeing scholar for University of East London who is studying accounting and finance as a part-time student.
He spoke to Rising East to discuss how he got into the unusual sport as well as discussing the competitive element of the sport and coming back from the most recent world championships.
Where It All Began
The GB athlete found his passion for the sport through his scout group.
“I got into canoeing originally a bit through my scout group and a bit through my brother. I did it with my local scouts and my brother as well who is six years older, he started and I wanted to follow him I started off as a recreational then just sort of progressed from there to competitive.”
Bowers said he never really struggled when learning to paddle and building the skill set needed.
“I think to start with I didn’t find it that difficult I just got on with it. I was 10, 11 years old at this point but then as I progressed further, I started doing more and more white water to the point where I got completely used to it.
“One of the biggest challenges was learning to read the water, looking at where the water is going to put my boat and if it will go into that place and being able to use the water to the best of my ability.”
World Championships
After recently returning from the world championships Bowers expressed the disappointment and lessons he’s taken away from it.
“It wasn’t a great one for me, that’s just how our sport works; [it] is a bit unpredictable at times so I went there… it’s such a cutthroat sport and I just missed out of the semi’s which is a very poor performance from me but it’s more I can take it as learning.”
Bowers explained the different divisions and levels he’s competed in at the world championships.
“In Britain I’m in the Premier division which is the top division. I’ve completed the last six years of my life in internationals so for the first three years it was at junior level. In the past three years it’s been under 23’s and senior level so that’s against the best in the world.”
Life At UEL
The university does a great deal in supporting the scholars and high performance athletes as Bowers explained.
“It’s an amazing university, it has been super flexible for me and I appreciate I’m in a bit of a different situation, it’s not like other sports where you can train anywhere I can only train at Lea Valley and travelling to the University is quite difficult it means I don’t ask as much as long as I’m still on track with my grades… being with the University has really helped my skills.”
Looking To The Future
Lastly Bowers talked of his aspirations and looking forward to the immediate and long-term future.
“We’ve just finished our season; the next goal is aiming for the Olympics, unfortunately I didn’t have a very good year of racing that just pushed me out of the set boat for the Olympics which meant I won’t be going, unfortunately. The long-term goal is very much 2024 but that’s long-term. Next year I’d like to get a medal internationally like getting a medal at the Europeans which is our major race and then doing the World Cup series and finishing top 10. It’s like a series of five races throughout the year and aiming to finish at the top from there”.
