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" :P
Pretty 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 work
Kirtsen 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
Today was this year's British Youth Open event held at none other than the best climbing wall in the UK (and what I proudly call my home), the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena. The British Open is an event unlike many of the other National competitions, it's not classed in the same league as the British Championships (BLCC) which means the pressure on the athletes is probably slightly less although it is still used as a selection event for entry onto the team. All those who enter the Youth Open are diligantly watched by the team coaches and management and from there they can spot future talents for entry onto the team as well as selecting for upcoming international events.
Today's Youth Open was being used to help select for the upcoming European Championships in Gemozac, France. Pretty much all of the current British Team members attended today alongside youth climbers from all over the country fighting for a spot on the team and a chance at competing internationally. In each category the British Team Members held basically every top spot, however there were a few examples of super motivated kids that have worked incredibly hard over the last year or two and hence, training coming to fruition has given them some awesome climbing abilities. These kids shone today and I am happy to say have been recognised as new GB Team Talent - I won't give away names but I will say that those who deserved a place got it :D
The category I am totally in awe of right now is the Youth B Boys (born 1997-1998). There are around six boys in this category all as strong as each other and better in in different styles of climbing. They all deserve a place in the European Competitions but unfortunately with only 4 spaces available it is impossible. I am rather biased towards the kids I coach of course, William Bosi climbing in the qualifiers was poetry in motion. I have never been so proud watching him climbing than in the competitions this year - he is truly at European standards and being the youngest in the category, it's really impressive! Saying that, another young lad which I have always had a lot of admiration for is the young and very small Jim Pope. Despite being so much smaller than the other kids he manages time and time again to prove he has what it takes - he's a genuine British Ramon! And of course Alex Waterhouse today won the finals for that category in an awesome display of pure grit and determination.
In the youngest boys and girls category I had several kids I coach competing. In Youth C Boys I had Rory Cargill and David Miedzybrosdki. Rory is now a seasoned competitor and is quickly making a name for himself as one of the top Youth climbers in the country. Rory placed an incredible 1st place in the qualifiers and missed out on 1st place by a hold coming 2nd. For David this was his first big event, he missed out narrowly getting into the YCS Finals, so for him this competition was his day to shine. David reminds me a lot of myself in many respects - I don't think being a good climber came natural to either of us, we both worked very hard to get where we are. Also, he is very methodical in his approach to training, climbing and competitions, a trait that I am proud to say I share with him. David is also the school chess champion and has an amazing capacity to remember sequences of moves and replay sequences in his head very easily, again something I have found I am also very good at. We are neither the strongest or the fittest naturally, but our hard work and refusal to give up pays dividends in the long run. I feel that David has achieved a great deal today and this is thanks largely to his dedication to climbing and training - Well done dude!
In Youth C Girls, Rebecca Kinghorn and Amy Ryan were both climbing their hearts out. Amy climbed fantastically placing 12th place in a hard category whilst Rebecca continuing from her recent run of success (winning YCS Finals) dominated the category once again with another 1st place - BEAST!
I am really happy to see so many inspiring and motivated climbers coming to these events. It's not just about the kids that win or place podium but about the whole event and every single participant. These events are fun days where kids get to meet up with others kids who share a passion for the sport, these can then blossom into long term friendships which can then take them climbing around the world not just to competitions but outdoors to the crags.
Anyway, the day was a great success and I hope everyone who attended had a fun time. To finish of I'd like to do a favour for Ailsa Graham by asking everyone who reads this to help her out by doing her survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
Ailsa is a 17 year old climber who has been injured for a large part of her climbing career. She is developing an amazing tool to try and help climbers who are suffering from injuries or who have been in the past. Check it out and support her awesome project!
ROBZ OUT]]>