YCS Finals - EICA: Ratho
Hey Guys!
What a day it’s been. I’ve been at EICA: Ratho all day manning the Evolv boot demo stand whilst simultaneously coaching my kids taking part in the finals of the YCS. It’s been pretty hectic and I can’t quite put into words just how tired I am, it’s a miracle I still have energy to write blogs and post pictures (although I just did down 8 Oreos with a glass of milk, that might have given me something extra ).
So, today is the day that 330 kids around the country have been looking forward to since the regional rounds finished. For Scotland that was earlier in the year (back in February) so for them it has been a longer wait. All the kids that I coach regularly have been training really hard for this day and I can say without a doubt that the rewards have more than certainly been reaped from their hard work.
I got to the wall with Nat early in the morning to set up the stall for the boot demo. Most of the kids had arrived even by then for registration and warm up. I quickly got set up and then began my hunt for as many of my padawans as possible. Everyone seemed fired up and raring to go, there were a few signs of nervous excitement but nothing that posed too much of a worry. Everyone just seemed really happy to be at the final and to be competing with friends in such a fun and motivating environment. The atmosphere of Ratho was exhilarating to say the least, when you bring together so many psyched young climbers the aura of the place really blossoms.
The kids that I coach regularly who were competing today included boys and girls in most of the Youth categories. To save writing a post of epic proportions of every detail from today I will put the end results below followed by a few key moments from the day:
E (2003-2004)
- Leo Harland-Sendra (Boys - 2nd)
- Ben Milne (Boys - 8th)
- Emma Davidson (Girls - 5th)
D (2001-2002)
- Matthew Fall (Boys - 13th)
- Thomas Ryan (Boys - 20th)
- Ben Findlay (Boys - 32nd)
C (1999-2000)
- Sam Harland-Sendra (Boys - 4th)
- Max Milne (Boys - 11th)
- Rory Cargill (Boys - 15th)
- Ewan Davidson (Boys - 21st)
- Rebecca Kinghorn (Girls - 1st)
- Rosie Mackley (Girls - 23rd)
A (1995-1996)
- Scott Keirr (Boys - 1st)
- Jack Gomersall (Boys - 16th)
In Youth E, young Leo was attending his first ever YCS final. I coach Leo and his brother Sam at Ratho most weeks and I can say without a doubt that the pair of them certainly have it in their genes. Their dad is french (which I reckon is where their awesome technique comes from) and they have a brilliant head for comps (apart from when Sam goes in a huff ). Leo did fantastically well placing 2nd and considering this is his first ever YCS Final, it’s some achievement! It was really inspiring watching Leo flash all the boulder problems and do so well in all the routes. His style is very similar to that of top european competition climbers i.e. fast, strong, efficient. He doesn’t waste any time and was probably the fastest of all the competitors on the field.
Sam in Youth C beat his previous result from last year (24th) by coming 4th! He wasn’t just 4th, he was 1 point of 3rd place podium finish which is an excellent improvement from last year. The most impressive part of this was his comeback after fluffing up his second qualifier route, something which he was more than capable of flashing but made some little errors that cost him the top that would have placed him strongly in 3rd position.
I think though that although Scotland South won the team position against Scotland North, it was Scotland North that devastated the competition with three winners which I think might be a record for them?!?!?
Scott Keirr (YA), Rebecca Kinghorn (YB) and Rebekah Drummond (YA) all came away with 1st place podium finishes. Scott has been focussing solely on his bouldering which I gave him a training program to follow for. His next big comp is the BBC’s which he is hoping to crush and show the British Bouldering Team Managers what he is made of. Rebecca Kinghorn in usual style creeped her way to the top in a slow but strong style. Her ability to lock on tiny edges amazes me! And finally Rebekah Drummond has proven that hard work and training pays off as well as an insatiable hunger for success. Winning the YCS was a big goal for Rebekah this year and since she started training, she has been making massive steps to becoming the top female climber in Scotland - lets see where she takes it from here
In the end, there were no tears, maybe a few disappointed faces but everyone improved from previous results which is all we can ask for, that and to have fun I’m now as psyched as ever to see were all these amazing youth climbers are going to take their climbing in the next year - only time will tell…
ROBZ OUT
TOP RESULTS +
SCOTTISH RESULTS
GIRLS E
- Emily
Verry - Emma Futcher
- Robin Casey
- Caitlin Storie (16th)
- Katie Moore (20th)
- Rachel Eadie (26th)
- Stephanie Millar (28th)
BOYS E
- William Wakefield
- Leo Harland-Sendra
- Sam Lavender
- Ben Freireich (7th)
- Ben Mine (8th)
- Louis Langlands (10th)
- Evan Rasmussen (12th)
- Miles Davis (22nd)
GIRLS D
- Sienna Wong
- Rhiannon Freireich
- Lydia Wright
- Keri Maclennan (4th)
- Emma Davidson (5th)
- Holly Davis (22nd)
- Roxana Elgar (26th)
- Emma Halliwell (30th)
BOYS D
- Flynn Thomas
- Rory Whyte
- Elliot Verry
- Rhys Langlands (5th)
- Matthew Fall (13th)
- Thomas Ryan (20th)
- Evan Davis (31st)
- Ben Findlay (32nd)
GIRLS C
- Rebecca Kinghorn
- Grace Fidler
- Isabella Hough
- Kirsten Taylor (4th)
- Keira Farmer (8th)
- Amy Ryan (11th)
- Claudia Charlwood (13th)
- Rosie Mackley (23rd)
BOYS C
- George Morris
- Aiden Dunne
- Cameron Mcloughlin
- Sam Harland-Sendra (4th)
- Max Milne (11th)
- Robert Davidson (14th)
- Rory Cargill (15th)
- Ewan Davidson (21st)
- Dougie Fraser (33rd)
GIRLS B
- Micky Banert-Lucas
- Ellissa Bryant
- Chloe Ross (joint 3rd)
- Kate Seaborne (joint 3rd)
- Emily Eadie (9th)
- Eilidh Vass Payne (9th)
- Megan Saunders (14th)
- Jodie Brown (22nd)
BOYS B
- Peter Dawson
- Jamie Rankin
- Luke O’Dwyer
- Ivan Bialy (21st)
- Jamie Peden (28th)
- Calum Hall (30th)
GIRLS A
- Rebekah Drummond
- Ellie Rymer
- Christie Macleod
- Sophie Fitchett (12th)
- Kaitlyn Garratley (22nd)
BOYS A
- Scott Keir
- Orrin Coley
- Dean Taylor
- Malcolm Bradley (12th)
- Jack Gomersall (16th)
- Fraser Mcilwraith (19th)
- Matthew Harvie (25th)
- Alexander Bosie (29th)