Buz, Jessica and I headed down on the Friday night, stopping off in the Lakes before driving the rest of the way to Sheffield at 6:30am on Saturday morning because Buz was too lazy to go the full way the night before… typical! We did have a good time staying at the “Climber’s Club Hut” in Borrowdale which involved a bit of Monopoly action and an epic to get the fire started. Thankfully I am an expert in the lore of fire-craft and speedily sorted out the mess that Jess had created – Answer: a lot of firelighters!!!Chilling out at Borrowdale Climbers Club Hut

On Saturday morning we were a bit late (nobody’s fault Neil “we need to stop for an hour for coffee” Busby…) but we didn’t miss much thankfully. William Bosi and David Miedzybrodski had already climbed but they had both done well. William’s hand slipped off an awkward move on the first route (a techy blue 7c), which I was told by one of the setters for the event, Mike Langley, that it could have happened to anybody, as that particular hold was really greasy. In fact it did happen to other climbers and proved to be a bit of a stopper move with only two others making it through that sequence both of whom got to the top. William was competing in Youth B with another Scot Angus Davidson. Angus managed to get to the same spot as William but fell off in a similar fashion. On their second qualifier, a much easier looking pink route, both boys topped pretty quickly but with a thankful “Phew!!!” from Angus as he clipped the chain from a slightly bent elbow!!! I was super impressed as always watching Jim Pope run up both routes – he really does have a talent for climbing walls :P

Not forgetting Ian Bownes who this was his first National Lead competition. Ian was rather nervous for this but gave it his all and made us all very proud with an 11th place – his forte is Speed but unfortunately I never got to watch them on the Sunday. I heard it went well for the whole Speed Team and a big congratulations to Alexander Bosi who is the 2013 British Junior Speed Champion!

Good Effort Lads!

In Youth C boys, David Miedzybrodski did really well to make it high on his first qualifier and this pushed him far up the chain in the strong Youth C category for his first climb. The youth C category is probably one of the most competitive categories with seven boys who are almost all as good as each other or not far of it. Also from Scotland, Rory Cargill managed an impressive top of the same route and then another top on his second qualifier. David unfortunately got a little stuck in the final few moves off his second route, struggling to clip and then deciding after three attempts at it, just to move on to the next hold. A good thing that he went for it, as it was this that got him in joint 6^th place for the final! David was placed 7^th but we appealed to the judges and managed to get him bumped up when it was made apparent that he had scored the same as the climber in 6^th place on both routes – good thing we appealed!

In Youth C girls we only had Rhiannon Freirich representing Scotland. Rhiannon climbed well achieving a top on her first route and making 8th place overall! I will be climbing with Rhiannon in Kalymnos for the next 2 weeks so stay tuned to hear of what she gets up to out there :)

In Youth B Girls we had Keira Farmer, Kirsten Gray, Rebecca Kinghorn and Eilidh Vas Payne from Scotland. All of them are very experienced competition climbers with Rebecca Kinghorn currently the newest member of the GB Team and who made finals in her last European Cup. I know how hard all these girls have been training so it was exciting to see them all put it to the test in the competitive arena. The first route looked OK with most of the girls not find it too bad with quite a few tops and the rest all getting quite high. The second qualifier however was shared with the Youth C boys (the blue that was their first qualifier) and this wasn’t so straightforward. Everyone found this second route a huge challenge with nobody making it look easy whatsoever. The route was vertical with one small overhang lip to pull at the start that spat off a lot of climbers in all categories climbing it. All the way to the top there was hideously sustained sequences on small crimpy holds and bad feet – to get high on this route you needed rock solid determination and unwavering focus. I was immensely proud of Kirsten Gray’s performance on this – she never looked like she lost her focus on any part of the route and she found good body positions on practically every move, in short I think it was one of her finest moments out of her whole competitive career. She has been training hard for this competition… I’d say all the hard work has paid of… Both Kirsten and Rebecca made it through to finals. Although Eilidh and Keira never quite made finals, I think they both climbed well and have hopefully learned a lot from their experience – competitions are tough, not everyone can stand on the podium or make the finals each time, but everyone can give it their all… I think they all did that. Keira and Eilidh came home with 13th and 7th place respectively and there is definite room to improve for the next big competition!Viewing time after isolation...

Alone in Youth A Girls we had Rebekka Drummond who has come back with vengeance after dealing with injury for the last year. I have been coaching Rebekka recently to build up her overall endurance and to mentally be able to fight harder on on-sights of routes in competition that she might deem too hard for her to on-sight. This has obviously worked as she cruised her first qualifier and placed 3^rd on her second qualifier matching a number of the GB Team Members in the category above her! The fight she put in on her second qualifier was amazing and I feel that she has come a long way since being injured – I’d even say she has come back stronger than before! It was obvious that this route was going to be hard and in fact too hard for everyone in the category, but it didn’t matter, what was important was being able to go for it and give 110% despite how hard it might feel.

So that was that for the Qualifiers, most of the Scottish contingent made it through to finals and those that didn’t climbed their socks off and are psyched for the next big competition.

On to the finals then…

The Youth C boys and Youth A Girls had the same route, an Orange 8a on the right hand-side of the comp wall. David was the first up and climbed the start really well until getting to one move where he probably should have forced a clip before moving on, but instead got a bit flustered and made an admirable attempt at making the following move, but unfortunately fell. Rory Cargill managed to make it to the same move but he grabbed the hold and took a wild swing off when his feet cut. Those two boys are not far off each other and it will be exciting stuff to watch them head to head in the Scottish Youth Climbing Championships (SYCC) in November. When David was off the wall he sat with me, Jess and Buz as we watched the final competitors. David and I were routing for young Alex Norton (the smallest Youth C competitor) as he is an amazing climber and fantastic to watch.

The route chosen as the Youth C boys final was quite thuggy and between slopey big holds, but despite this Alex climbed really well and made it to the same point as David before falling. Severin Domela was also on the cards as one of the top climbers but fell at the same point as David and Alex. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time coaching Severin at the recent National Academy in Sheffield - watch out for this guy, lots of potential!

Then Aiden Dunn and Kieran Forest made it a couple of moves further than the others and tied for first place with Aiden getting 1^st on count back. Good effort to Kieran though as I know how hard he has been training, 2^nd place is a fantastic achievement – I should know as I was 2^nd in the same event last year! :P 

Youth B girls was another show stopper with the first competitor blitzing her way from 6^th place to 1^st place in an awesome performance that made the whole Centre erupt in applause for her. Rebecca Kinghorn made a route reading error and got stuck mid-way through the crux. She wasn’t the only girl to do this but it just goes to show that route reading still affects the very best competitors. It was a true display of just how strong and fit Rebecca is though when she hung around the crux for longer than anyonelse, attempted to use the same foothold multiple times and even pulled on it before losing her grip and falling off - this still kept her at a solid 4th place. Kirsten Gray made it to 5th place in yet another gripping performance and unfortunately lost potentially a higher placed position due to misreading the sequence. I think though that for sure the best climber of the day won the Youth B girls with a flawless climb by Emily Allen. 

In Youth B boys William came out as one of the first climbers having dropped his 2^nd qualifier lower than expected, however, he totally dominated the route making it look easier than everyone including the Canadian who won the Junior Boys Category and finished with the highest position in the Youth B category – another 1^st place for Bosi. Angus Davidson who is climbing really strong at the moment did very well making it just shy of Bosi’s high point but got confused in the roof and pumped out for taking too long to make a decision… more roof sequence reading for you mister! Angus finished in a well-deserved 4^th place.

And finally, in Youth A girls, Rebekah Drummond gave a strong performance on her final maintaining her 3rd place position behind Tara Hayes and Molly Thompson-Smith.

Stanage – Grit for a day…

On the Sunday we decided to make the best of the good weather and we headed to Stanage to climb on the grit. I was keen to have a good day out with friends so I spoke to Chris Forest (father of Kieran in Youth C) and his family and we arranged to meet up with them at Stanage for a days trad climbing and bouldering. Stanage is such an awe inspiring crag and I have never spent more than an hour there before, I felt it was really worth it to go and experience the crag that has dominated the lives of so many Peak District climbers. Kieran, David, Chris and I all climbed the mega classic “Overhanging Buttress Direct” HVS, a classic roof climb on mega slopey jugs as well as another easier crack climb. David, Kieran and I also spent much of the day finding little boulders to climb about on and come the end of the day we made it along to Stanage Plantation to have play on the Deliverance boulder. We all tried the 5+ and 6b arête, I did both of them, Kieran did the 6b but felt the 5+ was a bit too reachy and David got to the final move of both of them but wasn’t quite confident enough to go for that last committing move… I felt pretty much the same but had an extra couple of feet at my disposal so making the final move was a little less scary :P

At the end of the day we were all satisfied with a good weekends worth of climbing. I am now sitting on the train writing this blog and looking forward to tomorrow when I will be boarding a plane flying off to Kalymnos – excited doesn’t do it justice!

It was a bit of a last minute decision to compete as I was supposed to be missing the event to go to Kalymnos for coaching work but unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I had to cancel the trip :( So there I was at home with nothing to do! I was previously down for setting the BLCC's but had to cancel that as well because of Kalymnos so in a last minute ditch attempt to get some work I phoned Rob Adie (BMC Competitions Co-ordinator) to see if I could get put back on for setting. Unfortunately (although now I would say fortunately) he had already replaced me with a fantastic route setter from London, Yann genoux, who I had the pleasure of meeting in the week prior to the event.

The only option left was to compete myself or drift lazily into the crowd and avoid it entirely. Of course, as I am always up for a challenge I opted for the former and made sure I was up extra early on the day of the event so I could register myself.

Turns out if you register late, as a punishment they put you at the front of the startlist! So I was due to go straight up and climb the first route very early on before everyonelse. I tell you I wasn't looking forward to this... fortunately another guy registered late and took with it my first place in the startlist so I was second. Unfortunately I wouldn't have wished it happened to this particular guy as it was Eoin Acton of Ireland and at only 15 years old was the youngest and smallest in the Senior Mens category.Eoin Acton on the Mens Q1

The first route was an Orange line of mini-jugs and crimps going through the double roofs of the Old Competition Wall up until a pockety finale! It was set by Yann Genoux and looked to be a fun route. As everyone route read the climb together, Jonny White spotted a cheeky "clock" sequence at the top which he was more than happy to share with me, once again showing the very unique style of person that climbing attracts - only in climbing would you get competitors trying to help each other :P 

After a good warm up, Eoin and myself stepped into the arena and sat down in front of the route. We both tied in and Eoin stepped forward to climb. Before he started he looked nervous so I told him just to relax, enjoy the climbing and that he had nothing to prove seeing as he had competed in the Youth A the day before, so this is just a bonus... He didn't seem to relax anyway :P But regardless he did fantastic being the first climber on and managed to make it high into the final stretch qualifying in 14th!

It was my turn now, as I stepped up to the climb I remember a tingly warm sensation in my fingertips. I had warmed up well and had made sure to keep my shoes and fingers warm in my down jacket whilst sitting down - I was perfectly prepped for the route and nothing could go wrong. As I climbed the first half of the route I remember thinking:

"Wow! This is easy for a first qualifier!"

I was climbing quite quickly between each section and managing to get rests in all the right places. As I pulled over the second roof I remember a wierd sequence that Eoin had done but being a lot taller I stuck to my own memorised sequence and calmy made it through. The last stint looked tricky from the ground but when I reached it everything was pretty straight-forward. 

Ed Hamer cruising the Mens Q1

The clock sequence was upon me, I had thought that this would be the tricky bit... On the contrary, I could rest at this point! The last move was there, I could see the final hold, I locked off the positive 2 finger pocket, stretched higher... higher... higher... and at the last minute popped for the final jug... HELD!!!

PHWOAAAARRRRR!!! Deep breathes, pressure is off :P

I was really happy to top the first route but at the same time a little worried... If I could top it surely everybody else would. All the strong climbers in the category where sure to make it easily... But it didn't happen... A lot of climbers fell off the last move with only 6 out of 18 (1/3) making a top! 

From a route setters view point, I do think that the climb should have been made more difficult from the end of the second roof instead of having such a hard last move. 6 climbers all fell off going to the last hold which really isn't the best splitter for a competition. It would be difficult for any climbers who didn't top the first route to make finals now seeing as only 6 would be going into the finals and 6 topped the first route leaving all those who fell off the last move in 7th place.

Anyway, moving on! The second qualifier was a techy fluro yellow route on the left hand side of the old competition wall. To be honest, this didn't scare me that much but I was wary of the roof towards the end of the route as this is always my most hated part of climbing that particular wall! Luckily I was further down the startlist now so got to view others on the route first. From the spectators view, it looked as though climbers where breezing mostly the first half and failing either going into a large volume before the roof or around the lip. I knew from watching that if I could make the final volume (second last hold) over the lip, then I would be roughly top 4 in the comp.Me in the upper regions of the Mens Q2

Dave Barrans made an impressive flash (with a cheeky knee bar), Ed Hamer did the same but timed out as he clipped the chain (he made it look about 5+) and Luke Tilley did very well and managed to grapple with the final volume but fell before the chains. 

As I climbed the final route I heard everybody below shouting for me. It gave me confidence to keep pressing on but I managed to get a lot of rest all the way up the climb. When I reached the roof I made a silly mistake with my feet which cost me a lot of energy - I pulled through the roof and decided that I would use my height to my advantage by leaving my feet low and move my hands as high as I could which I knew would put me onto the final volume and in 4th place. As I grabbed the small crimp over the lip I could feel my body extended and in a state of unreliability so jumped to touch the volume!

At the end of the qualifiers I was joint 4th place and qualified for the finals alongside:

1. Dave Barrans
2. Ed Hamer
3. Luke Tilley
4. Robbie Phillips
5. Chris Webb Parsons (Joint 4th)
6. Jonny White

It was an exciting experience to make finals in 4th place but at the same time I felt bad for others who hadn't made it who I actually feel are better climbers than me. Guys like Jonathan Stocking and Alan Cassidy had just missed out on finals by literally holding one hold - I could easily have been in the same situation as them.

Isolation in the bouldering room was interesting from the perspective of both a coach and competitor. I know what isolation is like in the youth competitions but I had never experienced as a Senior. It's not too different, but there is a lot less mucking about and the competitors defintiely seem to have more of a routine than youth climbers. I was the only climber in the final not in a team i.e. GB Team, Aussie Team or USA Team. Everyone had their team kit on whereas I was sporting my blue Evolv Tee with Edelrid Troosers and a big bag of Stoats just in case I get peckish :P

We all ran out to view the route after around 30mins in Isolation. Mens final was a fantatsic looking Blue line going straight up one of the steepest sections of the New Competition Wall. It looked hard but do-able, I wasn't too worried about it but felt that to focus on the top would be a mistake. I was expecting to make it 3/4 height at most as it looked hard entering the roof. I read it a bit with Jonny White and discussed a few sections with Luke Tilley and Ed Hamer. Everyone seemed to be on similar tracks regarding the sequence, but when the climbing started, it would turn out to be very different.

Jonny White was first on followed by me. I was taken through with him to wait behind the wall in the second stage of Isolation. This stage of isolation is a tough mental experience as you can hear the roar of the crowd and the commentator behind the wall. You have a rough idea of when the climber starts thanks to the this but you also know judging on how long the climber has been out for just how good or badly they have done. I did notice that Jonny was out only a very short time so expected that the climb must have some really hard climbing low down.

When I walked out to climb, I stayed focussed on what I was doing and avoided looking at the spectators. The route from isolation to the climbing wall felt like a dark tunnel in which you can hear only faintly the crowd outside the tunnel, but at the end all you can see is the starting hand holds of your climb.

As I started the climb, the movements flowed from one to the next. It was incredible to feel so at ease on the final route. There was no actual moment on the whole route when I felt uncomfortable or like I was going to fall. There was one move when my feet cut at the 3/4 mark but I was still very much energised and hadn't felt the fatigue of pump as yet. 

What can I say - I like a crowd :P

Heading into the roof the intensity stepped up again, I found that I could reach through what might have been a harder move for a smaller climber and gained a slight rest in the centre of the roof. The coming moves looked hard but I was adrenalised and ready for anything! I powered on and made a few quick decisions that may have been slightly in haste... I fell off the 4th last move of the route before the chains, the closest I've come to topping a final route in a competition.

When I was lowered I looked to the routesetters, Geek, Yann, Lisandro and Gaz, all of whom were nodding with thumbs up in aproval of what was obviously a very high point on the route. Jonny White met me on the walk out of the main area with the words,

"You DESTROYED me on that one!"

Jonny had fallen off at about half-way, so at the moment I was in 1st place! Angus, William, Connor and David all ran up to to congratulate me on a good climb - it was great having them here to encourage me as I do for them at their competitions.

Chris Webb was up next, looking very static and controlled all the way up to the final roof section but seemed to have some difficulty with making a dynamic move where my feet had cut - he was off!

Luke Tilley fought hard through the same section and only just made that difficult move, then seemed to recover a bit before the roof. He got lost in the roof sequence and pumped out a few moves short of my high point.

Luke making the tricky dynamic move - It was a nail biting moment this!

Ed Hamer was up next and in true Hamer style crushed his way up the climb with those meathooks he calls fingers. He didn't get any of the cheeky heel hooks I got but still he pressed on with relentless power endurance and equalled me but with a more static style. I think he held the hold as opposed to touching it like me but can't quite figure out the way the point system has worked out. I got 36+ and he got 38, but we fell off the same move from the same handholds... maybe I am missing something here? 

Ed on the deciding move...

Regardless of what the score in the final is, Ed would still win regardless so I was going to be 2nd at most and 3rd more likely as Dave Barrans was up next.

Dave looked strongest so far with a very bouldersque style. He was impressive to watch and being last years British Champion I was expecting him to blow my performance away with a top - but he made the same mistake as Luke in the roof and fell on the same move! 

Dave Barrans displaying awesome feats of strength and power in the roof!

Suddenly I realised I had placed 2nd in Britain in the Senior Mens Category! This was something that I never thought would be possible for me at my current ability, especially seeing as the level of some of these beasts is so high. Getting through the qualifiers was miracle enough but to finish in 2nd was like a dream.

That night I couldn't sleep thinking if only I had held that damn hold and made a move I would be champ, but I was so happy to just make it as far as I did. Nat will agree with me on this, I can be pretty hard on myself at times. I still think I fluked it and that I will never be able to make it that far again... but hey, it's all good fun :D I would tell the kids I coach the same thing - I do need to take some of my own advice and focus not on how I might have fluked the comp this time... 

But how I can fluke it again next time as well!

Unfortunately, both days I forgot my camera (D'oh) but no worries, Facebook is a great place to pilfer photos from. Saturday was an Epic day, with excitment and adrenaline seen from practically every corner of EICA. I had friends and coached kids in every category of the competition and was very happy to see everyone enjoying themselves, no tears from what I saw (something that I have seen less and less of in recent years) and in general, a great vibe from those competing, spectating and volunteering.

The kids that I coach competing where:

• William Bosi
• Angus Davidson
• David Miedzybrodski
• Rebecca Kinghorn
• Rory Cargil
• Scott Keir
• Jack Gomersall
• Scott Donaldson
• Amy Ryan

All of them did fantastically well and achieved some outstanding results.

Youth C Boys

David Miedzybrodski was competing in his first year of Youth C in his first ever BLCC. This was only ment to be an experience for him, so that he knows what to expect for the next year. 

David is one of the most impressive kids I coach. His discipline to training and focus for learning is rivaled by few and yet he is only 12 years old. Although this is great for a developing climber, experience and competition practice is necessary for success in these events. As William Bosi told me:

"It's not the strongest climber who wins the competition, it's he/she who make the least mistakes!"

David started of shakily with a difficult move low down on his first qualifier, a reachy dynamic throw for a positive granite style pinch. Unfortunately, David was a little short on this move and needed to move a lot more dynamically to make the move. This is an area he needs to work on and because he didn't commit, he fell. This was distressing for David, but a good lesson learned!Alex Puccio in the Senior Womans Category - The same route as the Youth C Boys first qualifier. Photo from BMC Facebook

The second qualifier was a lot better! He made it all the way to the final move but upon reaching a similarly dynamic move as on the last climb, he got stuck in his tracks. He froze and couldn't do much apart from hang on. Eventually he lost power and fell. 

David was disapointed with his competition day but I know it did him good. You can't  go throughout life without failing, otherwise you would never succeed. David will come back with avengance next year!

Rory Cargil was also competing in the Youth C boys category and in my opinion had a very good competition even if he thinks it wasn't, but hey, when you expect to win it's sometimes difficult to swallow when you don't.

Rory was first up on the first qualifier and got very high up before falling due to numb fingers (it was very cold). It was all god though because he had done enough to make 2nd place on the first route with only one guy getting higher (and only just). On the second route he topped with ease and was straight into the final in 2nd place!

The final was a tough route and it's definitely a harder job going into final in 2nd place with everything to lose! Easier if you scrape into the final and just have to climb all out - but thats part of the deal with competitions...

Rory Cargil on his final route - Photo from BMC Facebook

The competition was won by Jack Graham with a phenomenal attack on the final route which got him much higher than everybody else. I must say though that a big shout out has to go to Aiden Dunne for what I thought was an immensly impressive performance for someone so small. Like Rory and David, Aiden is in his first year at Youth C and has an amazing career in climbing to look forward to I am positive.

Youth C Girls

Rebecca Kinghorn was competing in the Youth C Girls category. She was YCS Champion in this category earlier in the year and missed out on Scottish Champion to fellow competitor and all-round beast Emma Powell. 

Rebecca had a fantastic day competing. Qualifier one she topped alongside everyonelse in the category. You could argue that maybe this route was a bit easy for the competition, but as long as the next route splits the field it doesn't really matter. Having an easy first qualifier puts the pressure on for the second qualifier, so it is good experience for these kids regardless.

The second qualifier was a lot harder! A green route moving up the middle groove of the old competition wall. It was set by Lisandro Defays and he told me it was probably around 7a+/b in terms of the grade. It looked pretty techy all the way on big round slopers and pinches, but as the wall steepened towards the end, the climbing intensified and became a lot more dynamic between crimps. The last move was a hard lock (or jump depending on height) from two very small edges to a big toilet seat jug! Rebecca fell of on this move, only a little bit higher than Hannah Slaney who was ranked second at then end of Qualifiers.

Rebecca qualifying in 1st place on her second route - Photo from BMC Facebook

Rebecca went into Finals in 1st position and was looking very much in a league of her own when it came to the final route. She cruised up the entire climb with very little seeming to stop her continual progression. A slight hesitation as she was heading into the final head wall before the roof seemed to put everyone watching on edge (but at this point she had already won), then she just sorted it out and continued to climb :P She made it all the way into the roof and unfortunately messed a clip up which if she had made she wouldn't have been forced to let go. 

Rebecca Kinghorn about to let go, she should have clipped earlier - Photo from BMC Facebook

Rebecca won in her last year of Youth C and next year she will be going to international competitions competing for Great Britain!

Youth B Boys

The toughest category in my opinion with at least 8 boys capable of making a podium. Angus Davidson was coming back for a hat trick having already been British Champion twice before in the last two years. It was going to be hard this year as William Bosi has made some fantatsic progress and has already achieved 4th in the World, 6th in Europe and is Scottish Champion this year!

Other competitors such as Jim Pope, Pete Dawson, Alex Waterhous and Billy Ridal all had high hopes for grabbing the title as well. Not forgetting our Irish brothers Dom Burns and Jamie Rankin too who were eager to show us all up with their impressive climbing skills.

Billy Ridal climbing exceptionally well in the final - Photo from BMC Facebook

Angus and William both impressed everyone with how far they have come this last year. After the first qualifier, William and Angus where in 1st and 2nd already (angus equal with Dom). The second qualifier looked a lot harder but amazingly got topped compared with no tops for the first qualifier. William, Angus, Dom, Alex and Billy all topped that second qualifier graded at 7b+ and set by the master of crimps and vert climbing, Neil Mcgeachy.

The final was incredible with the top 6 from the qualifiers all competing:

1. William Bosi
2. Angus Davidson
3. Peter Dawson
4. Dominic Burns
5. Alex Waterhouse
6. Billy Ridal

The final route was an incredible climb going up the middle of the new comp wall. Graded at around 8a+ and set by Yann Genoux, it looked perfect for both the finalists and the spectators with some wild moves on crazy overhangng terrain. In the end, it was a battle between the two top positions from qualifiers, William and Angus. Both of them made it into the final roof, a lot further than the previous high point which was Pete Dawson who fell just going for the hold before the roof. Angus was in the roof making it look pretty steady when his foot popped before making the move that would have retained his title. William made another legendary performance and snatched it from him with the margin of only 1+ point (a hold and a slap).

William Bosi is the new British Champion!

                             William Bosi                                  Angus Davidson

Youth B Girls

The Youth B girls is yet another competetive category with the top position being fought between two girls who are both world class, Molly Thompson-Smith and Tara Hayes. In the end, Tara was triumphant over Molly in a spectacular performance on their final route.

Molly beasting it - Photo from BMC Facebook

Also in the category was Eilidh Vas Payne and Jodie Brown, both locals at EICA who climbed well and who I hope are using the comp for motivation and experience for next years competitions :D

Youth A Boys

The Youth A boys is a big category with a lot of guys with a lot of competition experience. Amongst them was Scott Keirr, Jack Gomersall and Scott Donaldson from Aberdeen, all of which I coach through GCRS and Scott who is also doing coaching experience work with me. 

Scott is a tough guy to beat as he is also the YCS Youth A Boys Champion for 2012 and is one of the best boulderers in the UK. 

Buster Martin on the Final - Photo from BMC Facebook

The competition in the end though was won by the British Team kids mostly with podiums 1st, 2nd and 3rd achieved by Byrne Connor, Luke Dawson and Buster Martin respectively. Byrne was was also Scottish Champion a few weeks ago nabbing the title from Scott who placed 2nd.

Jack Gomersall and Scott Donaldson also did well in the event with 13th and 17th place respectively. Also, not forgetting Edinburgh local Fraser Macilwraith who placed 12th, not bad for a boulderer :P If he had crimped any harder on his first quali on which he looked utterly confused, the holds would have ripped of the wall :P

Youth A Girls

The Youth A Girls is yet another fight for the top 3 positions between a number of very talented and ambitious climbers. Rachel Carr, Eleanor Hopkins, Rebekka Drummond, Sarah Pashley, Ellie Rymer, Christie Macelod, Naomi Tilley and Sophi Fitchett. All of them have achieved a lot in the years they have been climbing and in some respects all of them have the ability to do very well in this competition.

Rachel Carr taking a whipper! - Photo from BMC Facebook

During the day though it was definitelty a battle for podium places between Eleanor, Rachel, Rebekka and Sarah. In the end it was Rachel who came out on top fresh after a victory at the Scottish Open. Sarah was a close 2nd followd by Eleanor and then Rebekka.

Great effort everyone!

Junior Boys

Junior Boys is a group that has continued to show world class status time and time again and so was always going to be a difficult decider. Jonathan Stocking and Luke Tilley where the two top contendors both at World Elite in the Junior category. Following on from them is local wad Calum Forsyth who has over the last few years made some amazing competition performances. Jonathan Field (formerly Local) was also a strong contendor for podium and his experience in competition is invaluable and certainly not to be taken lightly. There is also Tom Bonnert from Sheffield and newcomer Will Smith not forgetting screamer.

In the end, with two tops Luke and Jonny where gunning for 1st and 2nd place with Jonny Field and Calum on their heels in 3rd and 4th place before finals. The final route was the same as for the Youth A and B Boys. Jonny took the Championship though with a spectacularly strong performance. Luke was 2nd, Calum was 3rd and Jonny Field 4th.

Luke Tilley competing in the Senior Category of the BLCC - Photo from BMC Facebook

Interesting to note that if Youth B had been combined with Juniors and Youth A on the same route, William Bosi would have been second overall beating everyone but Jonny Stocking with only one slap to a hold difference separating them!

Junior Girls

The Junior Girls is always a bit disapointing in terms of numbers attending unfortunately, though this doesn't rule out their awesome talent. This year we were lucky to have Swiss beast Amanda Rohner taking part also which definitely adds a bit more competition to the British Girls. Amanda is a friend of Natalie's from her years competing internationally and I had met her a number of times before at comps and whilst abroad climbing on rock.

It was a tough event and the girls gave all they had on every route. Charlotte Garden was the favourite to win on the GB side but nobody was quite sure whether Amanda could snatch it from her to bring it home to Switzerland.

Come the final, Charlotte was leading in 1st place with Amanda on her heels in second, then Jenny Wood and Jess Mcaskey in 3rd and 4th. Without a doubt though, when the finals were held, Amanda looked stronger on the steep relentless comp wall and simply crushed! Charlotte did fantastic on the route but was a few holds lower with Jenny only a + point lower again!

 Amanda Rohner on the Qualifier during Junior Girls - Photo from BMC Facebook

Conclusion

And that concludes the Youth BLCC's. Definitely an exciting day and one that I hope can be repeated and improved upon during next years event. I am going to review the Senior event next but would like to add more personal experience from that as I was competing in it, so stay tuned for more very soon!

With the BLCC's approaching so soon after my trip to Verdon, I was finding myself less psyched to compete and more so to just continue training for Kalymnos later in the month. This was of course my ego getting the better of me here - its easy to dingy off competing for just another stress free days training. If I had done this, it would have been a massive mistake and shown a huge weakness in my own strength of character. Competitions are an amazing way to train your mind to deal with pressure in a number of forms, whether it's the fear of failing (either against a certain route or competitor) or performing in front of a crowd/peers? Even being forced to warm up properly within a time limit, then climb a route with all the pressure of getting to the top on this one attempt (I've had days at the crag like this). Regardless of any training benefit, competitions like this one only come round once a year and I think it's a shame not to participate - I recommend anyone to enter them as they really are good fun, social events.

Day 1 - "The Coach" (Junior/Veteran BLCC's)

On the Saturday was the Junior and Veteran Category of the BLCC's. My two young padawans, Angus (Davidson) and William (Bosi) where competing for the title of Youth C Male Champion. Angus had won last years event and William was second. Both of them are in the form of their lives climbing at a level that I don't think has been seen in British Climbers at such a young age. William had won the Scottish Bouldering Championships and Scottish Nationals earlier in the year ahead of Angus, but Angus has always had a flare for winning British Nationals, could he keep his track record in tact?

Both of their training over the past few months has been focussed almost entirely on bouldering - the idea behind this is more to prepare them for internationals next year (their training for that involves lots of different cycles). After seeing them for a session a couple of weeks before the event (after returning from Verdon) it was clear that the training had been paying off. William was going about flashing V7's at the wall, something he has never been capable of doing before. Not only this, but both of them where tanking the circuits i made for them on the Ratho circuit board - circuits that probably weigh up at around f8a-8a+! 12/13 year olds climbing this hard blows my mind!

It was not a surprise during the comp when both of them walked the qualifying routes. When the final came round, William climbed phenomenally, outperforming all previous competitors by a massive margin and failing only slapping for the last hold to clip the chain from! Angus was last up - with an equally impressive performance as William before him, he tore his way up through the final route (f7c+)! Eyeing up the final sequence from the last rest, i could sense Angus's determination and will to succeed on this - he blasted on through the final crux, snatched the same final hold that William had failed to make the move from, pulled hard and latched the final hold! He clipped and it was over... Angus was once again the unbeaten British Youth C Champion!

It's great to see hard training and motivation pay off for Angus and William, but it was also evident from watching young Jim Pope that he's someone we need to watch out for : ) Jim was looking stronger than I've ever seen before and I'm guessing that that's not from just popping into the wall a few days a week. He looks like he's been training hard this last year and I'm eager to see his continued progression in next years comps. It's great to have a strong field of young climbers in each category, it certainly keeps everyone on their feet (or should i say fingers?).

Day 2 "The Competitor/Spectator" (Senior Lead and Senior/Junior Speed)

It was my time to compete now! Two years since my last lead event, it was great to be back in the competitive arena, I can't deny though I was nervous... After seeing the demonstration, I found out I was second up after Ross Kirkland. Ross fought hard on the climb, sustaining his efforts all the way into the start of the final section (the roof) before he fell.

I hadn't had much to go on for the roof sequence as I had only seen the demonstration by Gary Vincent. On my attempt I managed to climb into the roof fairly easily. As I climbed through it I remember placing my foot on an odd part of the handhold shared with my left hand that I had seen Gary emulate on the demonstration. As I pulled through the next move my foot popped and I was hanging on with one hand, the next moment I was off! I was disappointed with this as I know I could have topped it if only I had gone with gut instinct instead of replicating the demonstration, but that's just another side to competing I guess. This set me back quite a bit as around 6 other competitors topped the route and at least one got further than me, others on the same hold.

The second route was Neil Mcgeachy's creation. A lot of the competition dreaded this as it looked (from the ground) like utter filth! After watching Geek demonstrate the route, most where of the opinion that it was going to be a technical nightmare but in actual fact, I thought the route climbed really well and wasn't actually that hard. I felt that I had loads left, I wasn't remotely pumped or tired upon reaching the section many had peeled of. I pinched the large sloping hold by the arête and attempted to cross through into the good pocket, nothing happened, the pinch was so greasy, It was practically wet - I just couldn't hold onto it. I touched the next hand hold to confirm to judges that I get the points for holding it despite having it with the wrong hand. I then re-adjusted my hands, still fresh as daisy, and attempted to cross through... It was over in a heartbeat... My hand greased off the pinch on the cross through and there was nothing I could do about it... This was such a disappointing climb for me as I felt way too good to be falling. After coming off I looked up and noticed a foothold round the corner that I could have potentially lanked my way to, but until I get back on it, I won't know for sure.

In the end of the day, I placed 8th overall. The most important thing for me was beating Eddie Barbour (9th), my main goal for the day - with that accomplished, I was happy : P

The finals where great to watch! The final route was set by Neill Busby and Gary Vincent and weighed in at a healthy f8b. All the competitors fought hard on it. It was noticeable at the beginning a rather reachy move that caught out the two smallest competitors, Jonathan Stocking and Nick Moulden. After that, the route seemed to even itself out becoming a lot more sustained. James Garden climbed well until he failed to hold a sideways dyno, Luke Tilley managed to hang it gaining him 3rd place. The shocker was when Ed Hamer totally missed a hold around the arête which would have settled him nicely for a fight for 1st place if he had but noticed it. Which left Dave Barrans with a dominating performance in 1st place, the new British Champion!

Speed Climbing!

Well... I was forced to compete in this against my will : P I have never had any inclination to partake in the speed, in all honesty, I think it's a bit crap. However I must admit that I'm glad I participated (thanks Ryan for convincing me), it was good fun if only a novelty event. At Ratho we have a proper dedicated speed wall and there is a good number of the kids such as Rachel Carr, Callum Forsyth and Alex Bosi that do train on the wall regularly , eager to beat personal bests as well as unofficial centre records. The only time before the comp that I had climbed the speed wall was about a year ago when I did 3 second locks on it in a mock comp event... It goes without saying that my time wasnt very impressive. Calum and Alex had earlier in the week made an impressive 14 seconds, but I was eager to see how they would transfer their times outside the event to their performance on the day.

Well... Alex was probably the most impressive Junior I saw on the day, breaking his old record at 14.something-high to 14.something-low. He won male juniors of course. As did Rachel Carr in the female juniors with very quick times
In the senior event I didnt expect to do very well, however was pleasantly surprised when I nabbed a cheeky 4th place overall! By the time I was competing for 3rd place with Dave Barrans I was mentally and physically destroyed, despite beating Dave on previous runs of the speed comp I was obliterated by him in the knockout : P

The best part of the comp though was watching Calum and Jonny (Stocking) head to head for 1st. Calum missed out narrowly with a time of 15s against Jonny's new GB record of 13s!

All in all the weekend was a great success. Everyone had a lot of fun, there where no tears (although maybe a small one from Nick Moulden when he realised he would have to jump to catch the first hold on our second qualifier) and Scotland contributed a large number of podium places to the rankings - well done everybody!

Im currently on a plane flying to Amsterdam from which I will be hitting another to Athens, then again to Kos and then a ferry to Kalymnos!!!

PSYCHED!!!

ROBZ OUT!!!