Last weekend was the British Youth Open - a competition open to anyone fitting the age categories Youth C to Junior (11-19 years old) and is one of the major competitions throughout the year where the GB Team Coaches select new team members.B-E-A-UTIFUL Morning Outside Casa Hamer

This weekends Youth Open was held at "The Foundry Climbing Centre" in Sheffield. "The Foundry" is one of the oldest climbing walls in the country opening in 1991 as the UK's first dedicated indoor climbing wall! So I was 1 year old when "The Foundry" opened :P The Foundry has a massive following of climbers and has stood as a beacon in the Sheffield climbing scene as one of the top facilities to train at. 

I headed down for the competition on the Saturday. Originally I was meant to be going down on the Saturday to support the Scottish kids at the bouldering event, but unfortunately I couldn't make it, so I travelled down by train on Saturday evening and stayed with the bandits of Bakewell, Sam and Ed Hamer. Also staying with them was my good friend Andre Hedger - we had a good night chilling out in front of the fire and catching up - and watched a crazy movie with Liam Neeson called "Unknown" :PPretty awesome looking comp wall at "The Foundry"

The day of the competition, Andre and I drove down in the morning to "The Foundry". Upon arriving we were instantly stopped in our tracks with just how busy the place was - there was hardly any room to move! 

I was down as Scottish rep and coach, so I was generally looking out for all the Scottish kids attending the competition of which there were quite a large number of.BUSY!!!!

When attending these competitions as a coach, I think it's important not to take on the role as a technical advisor as it does give an unfair advantage. It's OK to listen to the kids talking about the sequence and to give them encouragement and support, but obviously I don't go there with an aim to give them the hidden secrets of the routes. I think it's really important for kids to learn to compete on their own, to be self reliant and strong enough mentally to be able to deal with the pressures i.e. the ups, the downs and whatever might come their way... but what I do think is important is that they know the support is there - I am there to help and to give advice and encouragement when they really need it. Sometimes it's a thumbs up before they get on a climb... other times it's a pep talk... and most of the time, it's just a lot of shouting "ALLEZ VENGA A MUERTE GO FOR IT" when they are on the climb :P

Of course all the kids put in a massive amount of effort at the competition. Congratulations to all those who competed and who have been training hard for this event. Connor Moore giving it "A Muerte" on Qualifier 2!!!

In Youth C boys we only had one Scottish competitor, Connor Moore. Connor is one of the most psyched young climbers I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. He reminds me so much of me (not even as a kid, but now!), because he just loves climbing to bits and will do anything and everything to get better. Like me he also puts a lot of pressure on himself, but what I have learned is that pressure can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how you use it. On Connor's first climb of the day he unfortunately fell off at the 2nd clip where there was a really bouldery sequence. Nobodyelse in the category actually made it much further on the climb as it had some really tricky moves. On Connor's second qualifier he had completely chilled out and nerves had been lost. He went "A Muerte" on the climb and did fantastic achieveing 3rd place on the route! This shows just how much potential he has - it's just about being able to relax and give your all on the route when it comes down to it.

In Youth B Boys we had two competitors, David Miedzybrodski and Rory Cargill. Both of these guys are incredibly talented and very strong!Connor getting ready to do battle! David has been training hard all year and didn't get the results he wanted at the weekend unfortunately, but it's yet another good motivational push for him and a lesson to learn that its important to take the bad days as learning curves and not begrudge them too much.

The routes did have some really big moves on them and David is a little smaller than the other kids, this definitely had an effect. I really felt for young Alex Norton, one of the most inspiring climbers I have seen in the British youth scene for many years. He has a height disadvantage but makes up for it with tenacity, technique and a brilliant attitude. Unfortunately the moves were just too big for him in the end and it couldn't be helped... he couldn't make the reaches :( The actual difference between the top 15 competitors was not much... some guys who usually make top 5 where in the bottom 15! It was a mixed bag of results which certainly wasn't a bad thing - I think it just shows that we have a massive number of really talented climbers comng through and all of them have the potential to compete at a very high level in climbing :)Rory Cargill giving it some welly in the finals!

Rory did really well to achieve 5th place in the competition overall :D His final climb was inspiring as he gave it 110%! He fell just short of the high point and no doubt he has the potential to win these competitions in the future!

In Youth A Boys William Bosi did his usual and climbed fantatsically. Peter Dawson just beat him by a + point with an amazing fight on the final route! It was one of the best performances I have seen in a while and Pete wholehartedly deserves his 1st place position :)

In Youth C Girls we had young Emma Davidson competing. Emma is super keen for the competitions and she always comes away with a smile. She has a fantastsic attitude towards them, she just goes in for the fun of it (the best way to be). Emma came away with 12th place, a brilliant result for her :)

In Youth B Girls we had Rebecca Kinghorn, Kirsten Gray and Keira Farmer competing. This category is probably one of the most competetive with 26 competitors in total! Rebecca is on the GB Team and has climbed 8a already this year in Kalymnos. She did her usual and blitzed the comp topping both her qualifiers with ease and winning the finals on countback. Kirsten Gray has been climbing really well recently and qualified for finals in 8th place on the day. She came away in 5th place at the end with a brilliant performance in the final - if only she had seen a cheeky heel hook and maybe she could have gone a bit further? I think we will see a lot more from Kirsten over the 2014 competition season - she is only just getting into her stride :) Kirtsen Gray after a really good climb on Qualifier 2!

Keira was 15th overall and placed 13th on each of her routes in qualifiers. To be honest, there wasn't much between those in the finals and those who didn't make it - Keira was a plus point of Kirsten on qualifier 2 and qualifier 1 if she had topped she would have been in! Keep aiming high guys, you are all stars!

In Youth A Girls we only had one, Eilidh Vas Payne. I haven't seen much of Eilidh recently but she seemed to be climbing well - the Youth A category is always tough and she is still only the bottom end of that category so hopefully over this year she can step it up some more in prep for her 2nd year in the category. She has also been doing more bouldering than routes over the last year which might have left her a little rusty on the ropes :P In the end she came away with 11th :) Good workKirtsen Gray in the finals!

Finally Rebekka Drummond in the Junior girls came 2nd place overall but was qualified in 1st place! This is amazing considering the time she has taken off climbing due to her injuries this year. She has really stepped up to the mark and I was well impressed. It's been fun working with Rebekka this year and I look forward to helping her progress throughout 2014 as well. Next week she is off to Hampi in India for a bouldering holiday with her boyfriend Sean. Hope you guys have a great time :D

So was a good weekend of competing for British kids - well done to everyone! I am now back in Edinburgh and looking forward to my trip to Spain in 8 days time!!! AGHHHHH!!! So Psyched! 

Inspiring Final from Pete Dawson!

Alex Waterhouse falling on the final route

William Bosi on his second qualifier

Rebecca Kinghorn on the final route of Youth B Girls

Rebekka Drummon on her second qualifier

William Bosi higher on his second qualifier

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!

At the moment I am writing from Natalie's flat, situated in the small village of Landeck, 15 minutes drive from one of the world's best climbing walls, Kletterhalle Imst!

A busy day at Kletterhalle Imst

Kletterhalle Imst has been hosting international competitions for many years, and one of the traditions of the wall has been to host a very special competition called the "Youth Colors". This is aimed at kids not yet able to compete internationally for their country due to being too young, so Youth Colors is for Youth D and Youth C kids (or Children and Pupils as it is called in Austria). David Miedzybrodski on the 7c Yellow

I flew over on Wednesday night fom Edinburgh to Frankfurt, where I slept overnight in the airport, then caught a flight from Frankfurt to Innsbruck an then a train to Imst. It was a bit of an exhausting trip but worth every bit of it to see the kids in action at the comp this weekend :D

So today was the first day of the competition. I am here with a number of Scottish kids who I coach as well as a full British Team of 16 kids who are all attending the competition. Talking to Andy Knabl (Imst Team Coach and Organiser of Youth Colors), he said this year is bigger than all the previous years! There are literally hundreds of kids from all over Europe competing and all at a very high standard. The grades of the routes across the board are high, with the easiest in Youth C Boys and Girls (11-12 years old) being about 7a and the hardest probably in the region of 7c+? For the the younger boys and girls in Youth D (9-10 years old) the routes range in difficulty from around 6a+ to 7a!

All the kids climbed out of their skin today and I am happy to say there was about 95% positive vibes the whole day from everyone with only a little bit of disapointment (which never lasted very long anyway) :P

Connor Moore giving it his all on the Blue 7c!

Young Connor Moore and Nathan Whaley (London) are both in the lower end of Youth C and therefore had a very tough competition as they were competing against kids a year older and more developed than them (it's obvious the difference when you see the size of some of the kids :P). Despite this they each gave it their all. Connor climbed exceptionally well on his first three routes (all graded around 7c) making it to around 3/4 height on all of them. It took Nathan a little longer to get the hang of things, but that is only natural when it's your first International competition and especially when your one of the smallest and youngest in the category. Nathan in particular came into his own after the mid-day break on the second set of three routes - it was here he managed his first top of the competition, a tricky green that could be 7a/b? He also gave a great effort on both the Black and Blue routes that had each only a handful of tops.

Nathan Whaley of London crushing

David Miedzybrodski was competing beside them and as usual was dispaying impressive amounts of focus and tactical preparation - he is a machine in mind as well as body :P After the first set of three routes, David was ranked 23rd I believe. It was unfortunate that he dropped some places in the second round when he made some little errors on one of the routes, nothing to worry about, just experience for next time - he can make it up tomorrow I'm positive :D

Rory Cargil before topping his 2nd route (7c)From Aberdeen we also had Rory Cargil, probably Scotlands current strongest hope for a Youth B international contendor after Angus Davidson and William Bosi move up to Youth A. Rory showed us all how hard he has been working since he was dropped from the GB Team end of last year - I think they should re-consider after his epic performance today. Rory was within the last 10 moves of every route he tried bar the ones he onsighted!!! He is seriously working in another league right now, its mega impressive to watch :D Hopefully he makes the Team for Youth B next year and gets to continue to show his amazing progression in the international stage for 2014! At the end of today Rory was placed 12th with 3 points separating him from 10th and that was after messing up his first route by climbing it at the speed of light because he thought he only had 4 minutes :P Tomorrow I think he can make up some more places with a couple more brillaint performances...

Lisa Keane, the youngest of the kids out her with me started today a little shaky. She has only just started her competition career this year, so jumping from small regional rounds to full on Internationals is some step up!!! I don't think there is anyone in the whole competition though I can say has made more progress than her. At the start of the day she was holding back and not going for moves, eventually to the point that she really didn't want to go on the wall anymore. After a chat outside in the sun about not letting the fear of results or competition ruin a good performance and instead, just going for it on every move and trying your hardest, she returned to the climbing with renewed vigour and psyche and went on to really enjoy her climbing! The difference was phenomenol, she even made the hardest route look easier than the girl who is currently placed 1st!

There are of course a much bigger contingent of Brits out here with a strong crew from England and Ireland. Eddie Cooper is out here with two of his kids, Carson and Anna, and Ian Dunne (GB Team Manager) is out here with a number of English kids as well including GB Team Members Aiden Dunne and Alex Norton, both of whom climbed exceptionally well today - Special mention must be made to Alex who timed out on two different routes, both of which he would have topped (one of which he did actually top out on but failed to do so in the 5 minute time limit).

Anyway, it has been a fantastic day and I am so psyched to see such a well organised kids competition - the day has literally flown by without so much as a hiccup or time delay throughout the whole day! Probably the best organised competition I have ever been to...

Props to Andy Knabl :D

GCC

TCA

Alien Rock

Avertical World

Stirling Spiders

Wow! The 3rd and final round of the YCS has come and gone already... Time surely does fly. This years Youth Climbing Series in Scotland has certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions for a lot of kids! I can talk from experience in the South Scotland as I have been coaching many of the kids entering these competitions and all I can say is that all these kids deserve medals for the dedication, training and continual pressure they put themselves under. 

As much as the YCS is meant to be a relaxed kids competition, it gets beefed up by the fact that only the top 3 in each category can make it through to the finals! This years regional rounds have witnessed the most competetive categories ever seen in Scotland. In Youth D and above, to make finals, you actually have to be at the top of your game! This is only a good thing for improving the standard to which our young climbers can achieve - it's survival of the fittest at work.

Anyway, the night before the final round, Iain Sneddon, Mike Mullins and myself were hard at work setting boulders and routes at "The Pleasance" climbing gym at the Edinburgh University Centre for Sporting Excellence. We set a variety of styles across a range of grades that would hopefully challenge the best of the bunch the following day. It ended up being the latest I have ever had to set for a YCS. We were there until 21:30 (closing time), something I had never thought would happen and also hope never to repeat again. 

On the day of the competition the centre was packed to breaking point! It was quite unbelievable that 75 kids and their parents/family members could all fit into such a small space, but somehow we managed it. The climbing I saw that day was nothing short of inspiring. Across ten categories, I don't think I saw one kid in any of them not giving it their all!

Youth E and D girls where the smallest category with only 3 entrants in each, but despite this the fight for 1st place was fierce. In Youth E, Katie Moore and Stephanie Millar have been neck on neck throughout every round, with Katie tipping Stephanie in the two previous. Round 3 proved no different, but with only 1 point separating them! I am proud to say I coach Katie, but she'll have to watch her back if she wants to keep ahead of the very inspiring Stephanie.

Youth D had a similar fight between some very talented climbers, Lisa Kean and Caitlin Storie. In the end Lisa came out on top by what was only 1 point (a slap and touch of a hold) - it must be pay back for Glasgow when Caitlin had tipped Lisa to 1st place :D

Youth E Boys on the other hand was a bigger category. The winner was the crowd favourite, Leo Harland-Sendra, last years podium 2nd in the Series Finals! Young Thomas Miedzybrodski came 2nd with Caitlin's (from Youth D) brother Andrew coming a close 3rd!

Youth D Boys had another strong bunch of climbers with Matthew Fall, Rory Whyte and Evan Davis battling it for top positions. Their finalist positions had more or less been secured as they where all consistent podium placed in every round, but the question on everyones minds was who would take the final round first place. Matthew had been unstoppable the last two rounds but Rory was determined to take his place. Rory's determination was apparent after a phenomenol climb in a super final against Matthew for first place! Matthew had fallen from the last move, but Rory had only just held the second last hold before making a wild jump and catching (not dropping) the final hold! I think George (Rory's Dad) might have had a mild seizure...

The competition is only getting hotter as we move up the categories. Entering into the Youth C's the number of participants increases as does the standard of all those competing. Youth C Girls was Rhiannon Freireich's for the taking, before she went and broke her arm during training the folowing week! So stepping up to the pedestal was Emma Davidson and Holly Davis who would go onto a super final to see who would take the South Scotland Series Crown... Emma was victorious!

Youth C Boys was in fact the most competetive category so far with 6 boys all with a chance at making finals. David Miedzybrodski had been an unstoppable force in the two previous rounds with flawless perfromances and an almost pristine score card with practically all tops across each round. Round 3 was no different, once again he demolished routes and boulders in his very focussed, quick and strong style. 2nd and 3rd was up for grabs with Sam Harland-Sendra, Rory Schoehuys, Connor Moore, Euan Farmer and Robert Davidson all with an equal opportunity to get that podium. There was impressive performances from all - but in the end it was Sam and Rory who ended up taking the places. I would like to say though that Euan Farmer and Connor Moore were both the youngest and still managed to get 5th and 4th place respectively... Effort!

The Youth B Girls was probably the next most competetive category. Eilidh Vass Payne had pretty much got this sowed up with a string of 1st places in the rounds previous and she made a hat trick of it with a third 1st place at the Pleasance. Kirsten Gray was favourite for 2nd but surprisingly dropped the last route a bit lower than expected, though she still managed to retain her 2nd place in the overall rankings. The real competition was for 3rd place with Gabriella Stewart and Keira Farmer eager for a chance to prove themselves worthy for the finals. In the end, Keira only just nabbed 3rd place with an epic performance on the final route that got her 2nd place in the 3rd round! A special mention as well to Jodie Brown (5th) and Claudia Charlwood (4th) who both did amazing across the whole competition.

Youth B Boys was a surprisingly big category overall and with some very strong contendors as well. Euan McFadyen, Ivan Bialy and Ian Bownes all represented themselves well across each round, but in the final it was Euan that took gold in a strong super final performance - the super final was a traverse I had to make up last minute when Ivan and Euan cruised up their final with apparent ease...

Finally, the Youth A categories! The oldest category in the competition was well represented in both the males and females. In the girls, it was Eleanor Hopkins who took first place overall with a hat trick of 1st places across all the rounds - not surprising from a current Irish Team member. 2nd was Beth Scott who was biting at Eleanors heels and missed out on a joint 1st placing by only 1 point!!! And in third was Megan Saunders.

The boys category was pretty big with 12 competitors in total. The top 3 contendors were Alexander Bosi, Fraser Mcllwraith and Euan King. All of these lads are long time competitors in the YCS. Alexander tipped Fraser to 1st place overall but was 2nd in the final round to the boulder beast. Euan King was 3rd place overall and 4th in the final round.

And that pretty much sums up the 2013 Regional Series of the YCS in South Scotland. It has been a fantastic set of rounds this year with an amazing glimpse into the developing and very promising talent coming out of Scotlands Climbing walls. Speaking as a very proud coach representing EICA, two thirds of the podium places belonged to kids training at EICA! That is a pretty good result :D 

Nice on guys! Looking forward to our Scottish Team in the finals and seeing everyone giving it their all - CRUSH!

Last Saturday was the first round of the YCS for many regions round the country including both North and South Scotland. In the North it was held at Inverness Leisure Centre and in the South it was at Stirling's "The Peak"!A host of competitors and coaches checking out myself and Jonny's creations (Photo By Rachel Carr)

This year was set to be the biggest one yet with 75 kids participating in total! This is massive for our regional rounds and it really shows just how Climbing as a sport is growing year after year. Rock Climbing is now considered to be the fastest growing sport in the world taking over from Skateboarding which has been number one for the last 20 years. I believe that the growth of the sport relies heavily on the regional work put into getting more kids into the sport such as events like this - if we can keep up the hard work going into these events, then the future for Climbing is going to be getting brighter for sure!

Our leader, Area Youth Co-ordinator Scott Forsyth (Photo by Rachel Carr)This years YCS is not only the biggest it's ever been, but its probably also looking at being the most competetive in each category we've ever had. There are so many kids in our Southern region that deserve a podium place and thus an opportunity to go to the YCS Finals in June, but the categories are so dense with strong climbers all operating at a high level that it becomes a real fight for the opportunity to go. This of course makes my job as setter and coach very tough indeed.

The day before I have to set the boulders and routes to a level that wil:

1. Split the field of strong candidates in a fair unbiased way (i.e. no big reachy moves and in a variety of styles and technical skills so that the most developed don't have advantages i.e.only the most skilled will get through)
2. Be enjoyable for the majority of the groups and not just acting as a splitter for the top guys and girls.
3. Hopefully split everyone without a need for a superfinal as it becomes a long day if this happens.

These are my main parameters as a Routesetter for the YCS Rounds.

This of course becomes very difficult when you set 3 x Routes and 3 x Boulders and in order for the meat of the climbers to enjoy it, they have to top the first 2 of each! This makes things harder as the pressure is all put on one route and one boulder which if not set perfectly, could lead to a lot of joint 1st places in the more competetive categories.A YCS Competitor cranking it out on one of Stockings yaldi test pieces! (Photo by Rachel Carr)

Saturday's competition in Stirling was set by myself and a good friend of mine, Jonny Stocking (Junior British Champion). We arrived at "The Peak" around 8am and got together a plan of where the routes and boulders would be set. Because I am the Scottish Coach and heavily involved with the top climbers in each category either through 1:1 coaching or training events, I know pretty well the right grade to set the routes at and what will hopefully split each category... saying that... it is still hard work getting it right and we all make mistakes :P

Working with Jonny was great fun, we have a good laugh together and he is as hard a worker as any so the job gets done quickly and efficiently. By the end of the day, i felt that we had set together a quality selection of routes and boulder problems that the kids would both enjoy and be challenged on. 

On the day, I was nervous for the kids I coach, but also nervous for myself and Jonny as I knew we had set to split the competition and if we had not done our job well enough, the competition could have been a flop! 

Ian of the Stirling Spiders starting out on the gnarly V6 I set for Youth C, B and A Boys! (Photo by Rachel Carr)As the day progressed, we saw some amazing climbing skills, fantatsic displays of courage, fight, determinataion and effort on all fronts! It was good to see as well the comraderie amongst our young climbers, working together as if in a team but also against each other at the same time. This is something I don't think you see in other sports... yet another reason why climbing is the greatest sport on earth! :D

By the end of the day, there was of course a few tears amongst the crowds of children... but mostly they where happy faces with smiles. And the tears never last long because children always bounce back higher after they have fallen. I was proud of every single kid I saw climb that day - from those who have been training a year for another chance to make finals to those who had only been climbing 3 weeks and had come along just to see what a competition is like. 

I am happy to say that we didn't require a superfinal and each category was split despite a few close calls in the more competetive categories :D

Looking forward to Glasgow Round 2 in a week and a halfs time! 

PSYCHED!

I had a pretty full on day at the TCA in Glasgow where I competed in the second round of their Winter Bouldering Series.

In the morning I headed over to pick up friends of mine who were also competing, Neill Busby, Eddie Barbour and Lisandro Defays. Eddie is probably for lack of a better term (and possibly the most accurate one that comes to mind right now) my rival :P In a friendly way, but he is a good guy for me to try and beat as we both tend to climb at a fairly similar level, in quite a similar style and Eddie always tries really really hard, so you know it’s going to be a good challenge!

When we arrived at TCA, I went for a quick mosey around the problems to check what the setters had prepared for us. The competition format allows for everybody to try the same problems but with each successively higher hold gaining you more points than the previous. It’s like a route competition more or less but on boulders :PChris Everett on the campus move of one of the hardest qualifier problems - Photo by Jonathan Bean

I really like the format, especially on the Onsight days when you are only allowed one attempt for each problem. This basically means that you can’t screw up on your first attempt, as it’s the only one you are going to get. The best thing about this format - because you only try 20 x problems, 15 of which for the top 3 competitors shouldn’t be too hard, everybody is fresh for the finals allowing for a proper fun final battle to see who comes out on top.

The problems looked excellent and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in – so much so that I totally ignored the first 13 and just did 14, 15 and 16 straight away! I then went about some of the easier problems, getting a total shocker at No.8 which was totally sandbag for one of the first 10!

Once I felt up to it, I headed over to the top 3 problems to finally give them a good attempt. It was really funny though, all the strong guys were just looking at the problems and not trying them… Most of them were waiting on somebody to step forward and try first. Some of them were being attempted but nobody was getting really high, so for the guys who were aiming for finals it wasn’t giving a lot away as to the sequence. Eventually, I stepped up to try the middle of the top 3, in doing so, the boys behind me started to shout in jest - an possibly also to put me off a little :P

“Mr Phillips is getting on it now! EVERYBODY! ROBBIE IS GETTING ON THE HARD ONE!”

This definitely set the pressure as I was one of the first to try this and now I had a good crowd behind me watching intently to see what I did. It was a really cool problem actually and I didn’t do too badly on it.Edwardo Barbour on that damn heel hook problem! - Photo by Jonathan Bean The first 5 moves where very easy after which you had a tricky sequence coming out onto the volume and then a slap around it to reach a really positive sloper. The next section caught me a bit by surprise as I didn’t expect the lock off to be as hard as it was, but luckily my fingerboard training has been paying off and I managed the lock all the way to the crimp. It was here I got a bit stumped and made quite an out of control catch to the next pinch and came off. Not a bad attempt really, and well enough that nobody managed to get any higher during the rest of the day.

At the end of the qualifiers I had racked up a good score, dropping only 2 out of 20 problems and still scoring very high on them. This was more than enough to make the finals alongside Eddie Barbour and Mikey Bleausard.

After watching the juniors compete and seeing some impressively strong performances by the next generation, it was time for Seniors to step up to compete in the finals. We all walked out to view our problems, a fun looking black set. The left hand one was techy on small crimps and volumes, the middle was a horror fest on snake-like lapis crimps and the final on the right was a totally bewildering sloper test-piece on volumes.Me on the middle snake crimper problem in the finals! - Photo by Jonathan Bean

I had unfortunately suffered a very bad split on my left middle finger directly on the pad! This was really painful throughout the whole competition and by the time finals came along, it was starting to bleed slightly.

My first problem was the snake holds, this was really sharp and crimpy and it took all my effort not to let go in pain as I pulled. Luckily I topped it quickly, this gave me time to rest. If my finger had not been in so much pain, I am positive I would have flashed this quite easily, the power screams I made as I climbed were not due to the difficulty of the moves, more just trying not to think about my sore finger…

The second problem was the horrendous sloper on the right side. I got a little shut down on this, more to the point though, I had to quit early on it too. As I was climbing, I heard a loud crack come from my right knee as I rocked over on my heel. Following the crack was a sudden rush of pain and instead of pulling any further, I just dropped off. I lay on the ground in agony for what felt like ages… Everyone was asking how I was, I knew that I could walk but the pain was so bad that I didn’t want to. Eventually I just got up and walked out of sight so I could stretch and test what my knee would take.

Me again on that snaky crimps problem - Photo by Jonathan BeanBasically, any heel hook felt like my knee was going to explode… the next problem required a really hard pull on my right heel which of course was not ideal for my current situation. In the end, I had a decision to make, either give up and place 3^rd in the finals, or take a risk and see if my knee holds up on the climbing. What I did was stupid and not in any way reflective of what I would advise as a coach, but as a competitor, I wanted to win. I decided that one attempt would be all that it takes to top this and if my knee was too sore then I could just drop off…

I pulled on the first two holds, a couple of tiny slopey screw on crimps. The fact that my finger was now also gushing blood from the pad wasn’t helping and  the crimps felt like daggers in my finger! The second I pushed on my right foot I felt the pain rise up through my leg… I withstood it though… The next move required a high heel hook and a lock to reach a big sloper. I crimped down on the slopey crimp and felt the blood run out and slide along my finger, the heel was causing my knee to burn and I felt sick from the pain but I just locked harder on my arms and tried to pull as little on the heel as possible. Thankfully, I got a seat on the volume and this took the weight of my heel – thank god!

The next moves were all very easy and I could more or less leave my right leg hanging completely limp as my left leg did all the work. I crimped down on some more slopey crimps and yet more blood ran down my finger… It was pretty grim but I topped it regardless.

After I had topped, I jumped off and landed in a heap on the ground… down climbing was too much like hard work. I crawled away to sit down and didn’t even look at how Eddie or Mikey where getting on with the other problems, I just needed to rest and focus on stopping my leg from pulsating. I came back 10 minutes later to find out that somehow I had won? I was confused with this (and still am to a certain extent) as I was positive that Mikey had climbed better than me. Both of us topped 2 problems but because I had made it higher on the first attempt on problem 3, I won… Eddie was 3^rd and Mikey was 2^nd. Dave Macleod himself gave me my prize and I got to shake his hand… covered in blood :P

Anyway, massive big up to the setters of the fab problems throughout the competition. The qualifiers were great and the finals superb, can’t wait until the next competition in January. I hope I am fully recovered for the final competition – a 1^st and 2^nd place in this years winter series is not too bad for a route climber and it’s looking good for a series win if I can pull out another top 3 position. Just need to make sure Eddie doesn’t win another :P

Sunday

So, I awoke in Aberdeen around an hour after I went to sleep unable to move my leg without a shot of pain from my knee to my big toe. It seems the adrenaline of the competition and travel has worn out and the knee crack which at the time was very sore but afterwards had dulled down to a minor ache was now a deep throb and sore with only the slightest of movement.

Regretfully but unavoidably I had to cancel my coaching plans in Aberdeen and get the next train home so I could get to Hospital for a doctors opinion. Turns out, the doctor thinks it might be a damaged meniscus but there is no sign of any damage on the bone after an X-Ray. Theresa Tait at EICA has a few ideas and she gave me a good little massage to ease some of the tightness which already has given me a lot more freedom of movement without pain. 

I have a physio tomorrow at 3, so we will see what he/she thinks and hopefully an ultrasound will show up anything more sinister deeper within the knee if it's there... Hope not though...

Ewan Davidson cranking it at the comp

With the exception of a few tears from a few Ratho boulderers (and myself), the EICA Winter Bouldering Competition and Bonfire went exceedingly well. The day before the competition it was myself, Buz, Geek and Lisandro setting in the bouldering room. Although I never felt that my setting head was screwed on quite as tight as usual, I somehow managed to turn out a few good problems that caught the attention of those competing the following day. 

I set a funky White V6 right up the 45 board manoevering through the huge triangular volume from right to left. In my mind I wanted to set something that wasn't immediately obvious what to do and which would catch those out who wring handed or moved out of sequence. Watching climbers on the day, it did the right job with those who took the wrong sequence being either spat off early or forced into much more energy sapping moves which affected them on the final move (mantling the lip and undecutting the pinch to reach the final jug).

I also set a Fluro Yellow problem graded at around V7. This stopped most in their tracks but was techy enough and not simply brute force that meant those that took the time to work it out and plan their strategy actually managed to get high rather than just getting stuck on one move. Angus Davidson came close to a flash but had to settle for a 2nd go whilst Alan Cassidy flashed it whilst crimping the broken corner of the volume that everyonelse was pinching (it just looked painful!).

Alan Cassidy (TCA Coach) making awkward work of my Yellow V7 Volume weirdness!

What was great to see on the day was a good selection of Youth Teams from around the Scotland South region showing up to compete. We had our local youth team competing obviously, all of them doing well. From Glasgow the TCA Squad came through as well as a bunch of the Sterling climbers.Connor getting high on the Pink V-Board Bloc It is impressive to see how far Youth Climbing in Scotland has come since I started climbing, not only in the standards but also in the volume of kids taking part in the sport and enjoying the competetive element to it. I hope this continues in years to come as it is really a fantastic thing to see.Rory Whyte competing for TCA at EICA Although competitions can be stressful, they can also be great fun and provide valuable lessons to all those taking part. I know that Competitions have taught me a lot over the years and I know from watching the kids growing up in the comp scene now that they are too.

After the competition, we all headed outside into the darkness of night where the Ratho garden was lit up in flames by our Bonfire and fireworks. As I said before, the fuel for the bonfire was the much loved and missed volumes :( Gilles better get building some more soon :P Although it was cold, the bonfire and fireworks made up for it not to mention the tasty (though slightly raw) hamburgers cooked by Lisandro and Christian.

Thanks Guys for the food poisoning - only joking!

This year, TCA are hosting 4 bouldering competitions across the winter months. I am going to use these as personal goals to focus my strength and power training over the winter. I did well in the last two events held earlier this year and late last year - placing 1st in the Onsight and 2nd in the Redpoint event.

Today I took part in the first of the four events. This one being a Redpoint event allows for the climber to have as many goes on the problems during the qualifying round as they want with the number of goes not affecting the overall score, only the height you achieve when starting from the bottom.

I was climbing well in the qualifying round despite noticing that my skin was peeling off in copious amounts. I think this was from doing a lot less climbing than I'm used to recently, so skin built up into callice on the pads and began to peel off in waxy flakes! 

EURGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The qualifiers were set by Paul Twomey and Joe Day. The problems were really well set, with interesting funky sequences and a good selection of hard problems to split the field. I find that I always do well in the qualifiers thanks to the length of some of the harder blocs. If the hardest problems where shorter then no doubt some of the stronger boulderers would cruise them and I'd be scuppered, but I always come through strong when the hard problems are long enduro fests :D In fact, I don't think I have lost a qualifying round yet?

This round I won the qualifiers based on three blocs in my opinion:

TCA Board Red Bloc

This beast of a problem was around 13 moves long in total and where most where just getting tired and falling off, I could keep going. 13 moves doesn't sound like very long, but it was powerful, upside down and very beta intensive! My style basically...

I managed to make it all the way to the last move, sticking the second last hold only just but failing when my feet cut sending me hurtling into the crowd behind me :P Almost killed several kids!

Endurance Board Traverse

There was a tricky bloc to the right of the circuit boards. On this one I managed to make quite a high flash attempt just skimming 48, which we all took as 46 due to ourdynamic slap and sudden dismount. I was lucky on returning about half-way through the comp to almost get a top just missing the last hold three times! At that point I decided to call it a day on this problem... Funnily enough I ended up returning later on and making the last move but not from the start!!!

Cobra Rood Red

I knew I would get high points on this for the pure fact that it was around 20 moves long! I never actually got past my 2nd attempt high point which was on the crux moves about 15 moves into the problem. I made this high point but other competitors I saw where only making a few moves lower than mine.

These three problem secured me a strong 1st place lead in the quali's, but I did feel that perhaps my eagerness to place high in the quali's might set me up badly for the finals. The finals was a tussle between me, Eddie Barbour of Ireland and local boy Chris Everett.

To be totally honest, Eddie wiped the floor with us! He topped all 3 problems in awesome style and I'm actually pretty upset with the whole experience :P How can I lose to an Irishman! I'm competing at ILCC's (Irish Lead Climbing Championships) next month so I can't let him beat me again. After the comp we discussed what might have gone wrong with some of our performances and why Eddie did so well. I think Eddie is just going stronger than me at the moment to be fair, although a few things to take note of for future comps that I felt held me back was:

1. On the first Bloc (No.3), I made the silly mistake of doubting my own sequence when it failed first time round. If I hadn't I probably would have topped that one on my 2nd go...
2. In the 2nd Bloc (No.1), I made a very bad route reading error of not noticing a really good heel hook that would have given me the ability to make two moves further and potentially given me another top!
3. The third problem (No.2) by then was totally smeggin' greasy. The sloper at the start was hideosuly greasy. Couple with the fact that my body temp was probably above 40 degrees and I was bucketing sweat didn't help. Realistically, that problem was only do-able if you where: a) strong enough that sweat wasn't an issue b) lacked sweat glands or c) had it as your first problem and therefore not already piping hot!

Basically, what I have discovered from this competition is that I need to sort out my Boulder route reading skillz before the next comp, I need to up my power enduro a bit for the finals, I need to make sure I am recurited to max strength and power and  finally... I need to drug Eddie before the next comp just enough so it looks like he's just weaker than me and not too much that he's having to bail... because that would just feel like a hollow victory now wouldn't it  :P

Also, big well done to the Edinburgh juniors Fraser Mcalwraith, Eilidh Vas Payne, Claudia Charlwood, Kirsten Gray, Keira Farmer and Jodie Brown for a great display of awesome climbing the whole day!

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!