SKIMMING WHEN SHE’S
Childhood stone throwing at seaside honed mum’s skills to claim
BECOMING a world champion in any sport is hardly a drop in the ocean. Unless, of course, you’re a world champion at skimming stones – in which case that’s almost precisely what it is.
And Christina Bowen Bravery from Abergavenny has won several prestigious trophies in that very pursuit – despite not even realising until recently that it was actually a competitive sport. Her love for skimming, however, actually started decades before.
As a little girl she’d spend every moment she could casting pebbles into the sea. Travelling with her family on holiday to Cornwall, where her dad had a sailing boat moored, she’d head instantly for the shore to find the flattest stones with which to master the perfect skim.
“I’ll admit being a world champion stone-skimmer is all very random,” said Christina, a 43-year-old mother of two.
“Back then I’d never thought about it in terms of being a sport. I was way more into things like swimming and rounders in those days – throwing stones just felt like mucking about.”
It wasn’t until much later, in 2017, that she saw an ad pop up on the National Trust’s Facebook page for the All England Open Stone-Skimming Championships on Windermere. By that point she’d been living in the Lake District for several years and had started stone-skimming once again on a nearby beach with her children Ethan and Imogen.
“Even then I wasn’t thinking anything other than ‘that might make a fun day out’. But I ended up taking part and paid the couple of quid entry fee for a handful of stones to skim.
“I tried 10 times, spent £20 in total, and ended with third place having skimmed a distance of 28m. And that was it – I was hooked.”
Christina returned to the competition in 2018 and 2019 and came first on both occasions. And it was during her second visit that she discovered there was also a World Stone-Skimming Championships.
“I saw it being advertised on a jumper someone was wearing and found out it was being held on a remote and tiny Scottish island called Easdale,” said the former art teacher.
“Not only that but the next one was just months away.
“So one day, after work, I left the kids with my other half and drove six hours to get there. There were a couple of hundred of us taking part – almost as many as an island that small allows at any one time. We got ferried across in groups to compete in this old flooded slate quarry. It was very surreal.”
Nevertheless her 44m attempt would end up bagging her the first place trophy in the women’s championship. Along with that she was presented with a medal made from slate and a necklace featuring a dragonfly – an insect aptly referred to locally as a skimmer.
She was also crowned number one female open stone-skimmer at the Welsh championships held at Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys last June. In addition her son and daughter also took part and won their own categories of the under-12s and under-16s respectively.
“That Welsh contest was a very small affair and ridiculously underpublicised. It was held at a lake round the back of an outdoor pursuits centre. But I was still very proud to win it,” said Christina.
Next up for her consideration are the Euro championships in May – “in Denmark I think” – as well as the American version where “they go by how many times you can get the stone to skip upon the water as opposed to the distance you can get it to travel”.
Christina added: “I’d love to see the sport get more recognition because it’s great fun. But maybe I shouldn’t talk too loudly – I don’t want to attract too much competition!”