Rotorua kayaker George Snook has eyes on junior world champs

George Snook says minor errors cost him precious time in the men's K1 semifinals at the Oceania Canoe Slalom Championships at the Vector Wero Whitewater Park in Auckland. Photo / Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media

Talking to Rotorua kayaker George Snook you get the feeling he sets pretty high standards for himself.

The 14-year-old Rotorua Lakes High School student finished third in the under-18s at the Oceania Canoe Slalom Championships in January, but felt he could have done better.

"I've been competing in that event for a couple of years now. They were solid runs, but I stuffed up a couple of moves which lost me a couple of seconds. It was only a couple of seconds I needed to keep up with second place.

"I think everyone gets nervous, but you just have to be focused and know your plan," George said.

He is now preparing for the Canoe Slalom Junior World Championships in Italy in July, having made the New Zealand under-18 team.

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"It will be amazing I think, everyone is telling me it's the whole next level of competition, it will be a good experience. I've learned quite a few things in the last few races, for selections, so I know what I need to work on - probably a bit of endurance and doing more runs. You can practise in short sections, but when you put the whole run together it's different, I need to visualise the pressure.

"I'd love to make a semifinal and maybe get close to a final. As long as I do my best and make sure I do the best run that I think I can have, then I'll see where that leaves me on the overall standings."

He said at events such as the Oceania Championships he was always trying to learn from other competitors.

"I usually watch most of the top men compete, I prefer to watch the people with styles I like and learn from them. If you watch everyone you'd get everyone's different styles.

"I've been training with [New Zealand Olympian] Mike Dawson a bit, he helps me out a bit. I get to do a couple of sessions with him when he's in Rotorua, which is cool."

Last year he received support from the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust and his school to travel to Europe.

"I competed in Germany, in an ECA junior slalom race. I didn't race so well, but it was great, I didn't even know there were that many people doing the sport. It was good just to go on all the different courses they have over there and it showed me the level others are at and what I need to work on."

George lives with his father at Okere Falls and was out on the water at every given opportunity. He said he aimed to train twice a day leading up to events.

"It's nice living next to the river, it makes training easier. I was born in Palmerston North, then moved to Rotorua, then Okere Falls. Dad had been kayaking for quite a long time so he got me into it and we were there so it was good.

"I like being on the water, it's heaps of fun and there's heaps of cool people in the sport that you get to meet and hang out with. It's a good community.

"[In the long term] I just want to have fun and do the best I can, maybe Olympics and world champs further down the road."