#BCSportMakesMe: Sport helped me connect with relationships, identity and value system

The following #BCSportMakesMe story captures the unique sport-related experiences of one of our viaSport staff members. Read on to learn more about Kevin Bowie, the Sport Development Manager at viaSport BC. 

Sport has had a significant impact on my life. It shaped my career, my relationships with friends and family, my identity as a young person, and my value system. Sport is a great way to form connections and forge relationships with those who share a similar passion or those looking to get better at anything. 

I participated in a very wide range of sports throughout my life including organized sport, pick up sport, and also as a coach (provincial level) and official (international and world levels). My father was a PE Teacher and a high-performance volleyball coach (AAAA High School Champs, Canada Games 1982, Assistant Coach U Winnipeg), and my mother and grandfather were huge sports fans (baseball, curling, hockey, football). Sport teaches you how to handle defeat, pivot, adapt, and refocus quickly. Focusing on the process and not always the result allows you to celebrate little milestones because you appreciate all the time and effort you’ve put into it. Celebrations and successes built with teammates and coaches create lasting friendships that sustain you long past your sport career. Officiating shaped my ability to build relationships and rapport, often quickly. That has helped me understand how to manage people at work successfully.

The first memory I have from sports is creating friendships: It turns out my brother-in-law and I are both strong competitive skiers. The ability to get out there and charge the mountain together has helped us build a connection. When we first met, I’m not sure either of us felt we’d have a lot in common. The fun we have skiing together has given us the common ground to develop a great relationship. Sport has been very powerful in forging that friendship.

To anyone hesitant about trying a new sport, I’d say: go play! Try something new. Try a different role in the sport you play now. You never know how much you’ll like something, and who might connect with, until you try it!

Want to learn more about sport in B.C. and get involved? Explore our BCSportMakesMe campaign page or browse through our 70+ provincial sport organization partners!

About viaSport

viaSport British Columbia is a not-for-profit organization created with the support of the provincial government as a legacy of the 2010 Games. viaSport leads the province’s sport sector to build a stronger, more effective system that brings more families to the field of play and more fans into the stands. viaSport’s work supports amateur sport organizations in delivering safe, inclusive and welcoming sport experiences for all British Columbians while working closely with the Province of B.C. to administer sport funding and grants. Learn more at www.viasport.ca.