England international James Clowes celebrating best boccia result for five  years

Denmead resident James Clowes is celebrating his best result for five years.

The 29-year-old England international claimed a bronze medal in the UK Boccia Championships at the University of Warwick.

Clowes, who has Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, qualified for the event by finishing runner-up at the BE Cup Finals (Nationals) last May.

He qualified for the UK semi-finals by finishing second in his pool, but lost to the person ranked No 41 in the world. In the bronze medal match, Clowes romped to a 7-0 victory.

Clowes, who has always lived in Denmead, was a BC2 national champion in 2013, a silver medallist at the UK Boccia Championships in 2019, and a silver medallist in the BE Cup last year.

He is back in action this month, taking part in the West qualifying round of the BE Cup on January 20.

Clowes told The News: “Given that I'm part of the England squad, I'm hoping for more international competitions and opportunities.

“Last year, I was one of two England athletes to travel to Porto in Portugal to a training camp with the Porto FC Boccia squad.

“This was a brilliant week and I learned a lot, from their on-court sessions to their gym sessions.

“I have been with the England squad for 16 years, where I have been lucky enough to compete in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, The Netherlands and Austria.”

Clowes is also captain of Solent Boccia Club, who play in the Boccia England Super League.

The 2023/24 campaign is the club’s second year in the Super League, having won the National League in 2019.

“This is a great achievement personally, as I helped form Solent Boccia in 2017, together with my head coach Barry Bowden,” recalled Clowes, who studied at Solent University and been part of their High Performance Academy between 2013-2019.