BLCC/BSCC and half-term visit to Kendal Wall

Angus and I at BLCC

On Saturday 15th October I competed in the BLCC at EICA, Ratho. This was my last time competing in Youth C category. The two qualifiers were ok and both Angus and I topped out. Then it was into isolation and the final. The final route was F7c+ on the comp wall. There were four climbers in the final and I had to climb third. I was nervous coming out of isolation but climbed really well up to the last moves. Unfortunately, I misread the route at the top and tried to toe hook round the edge of the wall. I touched the 2nd last hold but came off. Then Angus came out to climb - he climbed really well and topped out to big cheers from everyone. I was a bit disappointed but pleased for my friend, Angus. I finished in second place - next time .....!

Final Route

On the Podium

Then on the Sunday I competed in the BSCC. This was the first time the BMC had held a speed competition and not many climbers had entered - so it was a Junior under 16 category. This meant I would be competing against lots of older climbers and my brother, Alexander, who is really good at speed. We did our two qualifying times and I was surprised but delighted to get through to the quarter finals. In the quarter finals I fell low down, but then so did the climber I was racing against so it was a re-run. I managed to win this and get through to the semis. Unfortunately, I had to race Alexander in the semi-final and he was climbing really well. Alexander won and went through to the final. I was up against Buster Martin in the small final for 3rd place. I tried my best but slipped near the top and so finished in 4th place overall. The final was really exciting and Alexander won with a personal best of 14.5seconds to become British junior Speed Champion 2011. Well done Alexander!

Alexander on podium

The next day we went on holiday to Centerparcs at Penrith for our half-term. We visited Kendal Wall on the Thursday and Sunday. John Ellison drove up and met us on the Thursday and we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. I was working on a blue 8a and was delighted to redpoint it on the Sunday. This is my first 8a climb!

On blue 8a

White 7b at Kendal

Power Cut!

I was doing my core exercises tonight and we had a power cut.
Here I am doing my crunches by candle light!

Arco Rock Junior 2011

On the weekend of 1st/2nd October I competed at Rock Junior in Arco, Italy. I was the only GB climber there - which was a bit lonely (only my Dad for company!) It was very hot in Arco, which was hard as I am used to climbing at Ratho in the cold!

Rock Junior 2011

I competed in the Under 14 Cup. There were 41 competitors from 11 countries in my category.
The competition includes 5 boulders, a speed climb and 2 lead climbs.

The boulders were very hard. There was an hour and 15 minutes to complete them - so you had to make sure that you kept your place in the queue. I finished in 23rd place and was a bit disappointed.

On one of the Boulder problems

Next came the Speed climb. This was quite difficult as it was a random route so I couldn't practise for it. I finished in 20th place in this event.

The first lead climb was the final event of the first day. I was really psyched for this and climbed well to finish in 5th equal. I was glad to finish the first day well.

On the Sunday we had the 2nd lead trial. We climbed in reverse order so I was one of the last to climb. It was another really hot day so I tried to keep in the shade. I was very nervous as I wanted to do well. It was a tricky route and I gave it my best and managed to finish in 4th place.
After the 2 lead climbs I was in 4th equal place and was delighted with this result.

2nd Lead Climb

Overall I finished in 13th place.

It was hard to avoid the Arco mascot (a fox) as he dived into all the photos at the presentations!
I had a great trip and would love to visit Arco again.