Melksham Teenager targets World Championship Gold

Scott Finch, 17, from Melksham, is targetting World Championship success having already been British Wild Water Kayaking twiuce. 

Scott trains 14 times a week in a sport he loves, a sport which has seen him win the title of British Champion for two years running and compete in an international arena.

Scott is the two time British Champion for Wild Water Kayaking at both Junior and Senior level, and this summer he will be travelling across Europe to take part in the European and World Championships in the hope of adding another medal to his already extensive collection.

Scott said, “I started kayaking and canoeing when I was just eight years old, with my uncle, and instantly loved it. I was part of the Wiltshire Youth Canoe Club and a Scout group in Melksham run by my dad, who encouraged me to continue, and which gave my friends and I lots of opportunities to progress in the sport.”

After finishing his GCSEs at George Ward School in Melksham, Scott decided to study for a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport at Wiltshire College, focusing particularly on Outdoor Adventure sports. He said, “We have learnt a lot of theory about outdoor adventure sports during the course, which has complemented my practical training.”

Scott’s discipline is not one for the fainthearted, seeing him race high-tech single person kayaks, made from carbon fibre and Kevlar, down rapids and waterfalls in sprint races. Scott is also a member of the Team GB squad for Wild Water Canoeing, and is part of the Talent ID programme at the University of Bath, so he spends lots of time training in the water and in fitness sessions at the University’s Training Village.

First stop for Scott this summer is the Senior World Championships in Valtellina, northern Italy, in June, which will see him race against competitors from across the globe, almost all of whom will be older than him. In July he then moves onto the Junior European Wild Water Championships on the Vrbas River in Banja Luka, Bosnia, accompanied by his Team GB Junior teammates, most of whom also hail from Wiltshire.

As well as completing his studies at the Wiltshire College Chippenham campus and training twice a day, Scott finds time to work as a coach each weekend at Brokerswood Country Park, near Southwick, which is something he plans to continue when he finishes studying this summer.

Scott said, “My job involves working with and coaching disengaged teenagers and young people, most of whom have been expelled from local schools. I teach them about all different types of Outdoor Adventure sports, including kayaking and canoeing, which I really enjoy.

“I have been offered a permanent position there for when I finish at Wiltshire College, so I am looking forward to working full time as well as training, and putting everything I have learned into practice.”