2011 YCS Round 1 Scotland North

At the Inverness climbing wall in the North Region, 21 girls and 21 boys competed, with routes set by MCofS coaches Neil McGeachy and Mark McGowan. British Team members Steven Addison, Nikki Addison and Dylan Mackenzie, along with Ellen MacAskill attended as volunteers to help out on the day along with MCofS Coach (and stand-in AYC for 2011) Ruairidh Mackenzie and Anna Wells and a host of other parent volunteers making it a great day. The Highlander Youth Climbing Club had a stand at the event selling various goodies to raise funds. It was good to see some new climbers in the 8-10 age category but it was Keri MacLennan again who won the girls competition. The boys 8-10 was a harder fought competition and the top 4 had to be separated by a superfinal to determine the first place witch went to Thomas Ryan. In the 11-13 category, Emily Eadie showed she has come on a lot in a year to take first for the girls, whilst Stephen Dent took first for the boys against Rory Cargill who has moved up from the 8-10 category this year, but still managed second place. Reuben Green and Henry Kerr had to be separated by count-back to determine third place (to Reuben). In the girls 14-16 cetagory, Amy Anderson was joined by Sophie Harper and Sofie Hvide who moved up from the younger age catagory this year. Sophie took the win. In the boys, Ruairidh MacAskill, who moved up a category this year, did well against some seasoned climbers and took second place after count-back frm Scott Donaldson, but Malcolm Bradley took a clear win. Well done to everyone who took part, and a big thanks has to go to Inverness leisure and their staff for hosting the event this year and to all the volunteers for making it possible.




The new routes set for the competition will remain available for a while - why not go along and try them - see how well you can do?

2011 YCS Round 1 Scotland South

Scotland South YCS Round 1- The Peak Stirling


We had 45 climbers turn out at The Peak Wall in Stirling on Saturday 5th March with many new faces particularly in the 8-10 boys group. The route setters had been hard at work the previous day and had set some interesting routes that even tested our demonstrators - GB team members Angus Davidson and Rachel Carr. In most groups it was down to the wire before we could write the winners' certificates.

Top marks of the day go to Rory Whyte for a perfect 480 in the Boys 8-10. Newcomers Matthew Fall and Declan Currie took second and third place in that category. In the Girls 8-10 Rhiannon Freireich just missed out on a similar score due to a ‘feet on features only’ route which caught out a number of the competitors. She was joined on the podium by Holly Davis and Emma Davidson, second and third respectively.

The 11-13 categories were the busiest and hard fought to the end with only 10 points separating the top three spots in both boys and girls.

In the Girls Gabriella Stewart triumphed with an excellent final route climb marginally beating Eilidh Vass Payne into second place by 2 points. Elle Hogarth's first time success on the final boulder problem put her in third place on count back over Claudia Charlwood in fourth.

In the Boys 11-13 William Bosi held his cool to take first place just ahead of Robert Davidson and Sam Harland-Sendra both in their first year of this category.

The 14 - 16 Boys and Girls all climbed as a group and had to contend with some very tricky routes and ‘features only’ boulder problems. Down two points going into the final route Rebekah Drummond put in a spirited climb to gain an extra hold and take first place over Abigail Blunt in second and Christie MacLeod in third. Euan King fought hard for his extra hold that gave him first place ahead of Jamie Drummond second and Alexander Bosi in third. With only 3 points separating these three future rounds are going to be exciting.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make it a smooth operation and an enjoyable event for everyone involved. Bring on Round 2.

2011 GB Team Inaugural Meet, Sheffield

The GB Team 2011 Inaugural Meet at Sheffield on 12/13 February brought together 19 of the team selected following the Open Youth Competition in Liverpool in November.


With an uncharacteristically respectable start time of 10am we were able to have a leisurely breakfast before pitching up at Climbing Works for a day of bouldering. With only one new member added to the team following Liverpool, it was a bit of a family reunion and the climbers settled into their groups really quickly. Youth B and C worked alongside one another, as did Juniors and Youth A. While they started off around the various CW circuits, the parents had a quick meeting and got a peak at the new Mountain Hardware shell top the team will be issued in March. We then settled down on the comfy leather chairs to drink coffee and talk climbing. After lunch came the fitness tests – pat downs, push ups, sit ups, lock-offs, typewriters, pull ups, etc. Some excelled, others went away realising they needed to do a bit more work away from the wall. The results were all logged and improvements will be expected at future team training days.

Some of us were able to get together to share a meal in the evening. Despite the best attempts of the Sheffield one way system to keep us away a superb time was had by all and the food and staff at Wagamama were excellent. Wonder if they’d like to sponsor the team?

The Sunday morning schedule started with a 9.30 run. Only Ian Dunn could be described as enthusiastic as the climbers gathered in the rain outside The Foundry comparing aching muscles from the day before. Thirty minutes later some very red-faced and slightly soggy runners returned. With a short pause to catch breath and gather up kit it was then into the Foundry for more training on the boulders, 45o board and some routes. After a quick lunch, which tested the Foundry’s toastie machine to its limit, it was back into the cars to try and find the location for the Nutrition talk Sheffield Hallam University. Despite careful programming of Satellite Navigation systems, fate once again stepped in and put a road repair crew right outside the entrance for which we were looking. Several hurried phone calls ensued, that resulted in John Ellison standing on a street corner waving us down and sending us through the gap with the ‘no entry’ signs. Like a perfect tag team he then handed over to Ian to lead us through the corridors to the meeting rooms.

Youth B & C, with parents in tow, then sat through an interesting talk from Audry Morrison primarily on the need to hydrate and the best sources. The climbers were pleased when she didn’t ban chocolate, merely said that eating directly before a climb would have no beneficial result – a sports drink was a better option but only if supplemented by eating a healthy diet and getting lots of sleep. Her promotion of milk as an ideal nutrition and hydration source is sure to raise the prevalence of smoothies at climbing walls in the future. Unfortunately time meant that the workshop had to be cut short, but after giving out her email address and offering to analyse climbers’ food diaries there will no doubt be further opportunities to investigate this area of performance support in the future.

To round up the day Ian then took Youth B and C through a range of simple exercises they could do at home with a yoga mat and light weights before it was back into the cars for the long journeys home. All-in-all a very worthwhile weekend. Thanks to everyone involved in pulling it together.

2011 BBC's

 


British Bouldering Championships 2011


The BBCs 2010 took place in the middle of a leafy Sheffield park during a sunny day June 2010. The boulder wall was shaded by a circus tent and the spectators sat on their picnic rugs and cooked on barbeques. Six months later the BBCs 2011 were being hosted by the Outdoor Show at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands on a cold and wet January weekend. The Bouldering wall was dwarfed by the huge exhibition space.

The Juniors had been scheduled for the Sunday but we were lucking to arrive in time to see the Senior finals on the Saturday evening turning up to hear that Natalie Berry had made it through. Unfortunately our representatives in the senior male event hadn’t been able to garner the 94 points required to qualify for that final. Calum Forsyth, still not 100% with continuing growth plate problems, achieved a credible 20 points for 46th place, while Robbie Phillips with 60 points was 18th out of a pool of 55. Given that many of the competitors train only on boulders these two predominantly lead climbers could be proud of their achievements.

Natalie, again know for her leading over her bouldering, climbed well among a posse of GB Boulder team members, topping her final problem to secure herself 4th place, but the star of the evening was Shauna Coxsey who made all of the problems with ease demonstrating why she chose to move over from the GB Junior Climbing team to the GB Senior Bouldering team last year.

Sunday dawned wet and foggy. Boys were first and the 40 competitors swarmed the stage to complete the 10 problems in the 2 hours allotted. Tactics varied with some sending the four easiest problems in their first 10 minutes. Other walked around sussing each problem and deciding in which order they should be attempted. Leave a hard problem to the end and you may be too tired. Use up your energy on 3 hard attempts without success and you may not top an easier problem first go and loose points. Friends went round and discussed moves, watched successful tops in the hope that they could replicate the moves and studied falls in the hope of avoiding the same dangers. For spectators there was the occasional hiatus as competitors gathered their remaining strength before the next problem, but it soon became clear which were the tricky problems and cheers would go up when the first top was made. It was impossible to tell who had made the finals until the top 8 were announced. Unfortunately Edinburgher Fraser McIlwraith (14) who had topped 8 with one problem left fell heavily off his first attempt fracturing and dislocating his arm and ending his first championship endeavour. Despite this he finished 9th. Fellow Scot Angus Davidson (12) finished with 70pts (16th) and Jamie Drummond (15) scored 64 pts (25th). As the first foray for each of them they all vowed to return next year.

Rachel Carr (14) was the only Scottish girl to take part and having achieved 12th place last year had her sights set on the final. With Seniors Natalie Berry and Robbie Phillips providing advice and support she topped 6 problems with relative ease before coming a cropper on a nigh impossible pink dyno that only one competitor (Ellie Rymer) topped. Further problems on volume holds saw her finish with 60 points and an agonising wait for the announcement of the finalists. Unlike the closely grouped boys where finals qualification scores ranged from 84 to 90 the girl finalists qualified with a points range 48 to 81.

Whereas the Senior finalists had all come out at once and climbed one at a time, the Junior boys and girls were brought out in reverse order and climbed a problem then rested. With 5 minutes to attempt each problem things ticked over at speed and towards the top of the pack every problem was full. Topping first go meant you had the remaining minutes plus your 5 minute rest period to sit facing the spectators – a nerve wracking prospect which all the youngsters took in their stride. The girls’ first problem posed a problem to a few of the climbers but most topped first go. The second was a reach to a small hold that had even the top qualifiers struggling. From the audience viewpoint dynos are always exciting and the 3rd problem with its two handed grab then tricky balance flummoxed all until Rachel stuck it first go. The final problem saw the first 6 girls fail to reach the bonus hold then Molly Thompson Smith showed that it was possible but unfortunately couldn’t take it all the way to the end. Tara Hayes the first qualifier held her nerve through to the end with a polished final climb to take the title with 4 tops. Rachel with 3 tops finished second with Molly in third with two tops. As these three also form part of the Youth B GB climbing squad they will no doubt continue to share podiums throughout the year.

Liverpool Open Competition 2010

BMC Youth Open Competition - Liverpool Awesome Walls, 27th November 2010




With 114 competitors turning out on a chilly Saturday morning this year’s winter YOC was marginally quieter than last year, but the competition was just as hotly contested. There were only 16 Scots taking part as some of our more experienced climbers were out with injury after an extremely long competitive season. Nevertheless we managed to get 13 climbers into the Finals and bring home two First and two Second places.



As well as an Open competition the event was being used to help GB team management select their squad for 2011. Everyone was competing in their IFSC categories for 2011, so there were some new faces and often a new group of climbers to pitch skills against. Zippy, Tom Randall and Neil Busby had set some exciting routes and they were testing from the start. Even so over a third of competitors (39) managed tops on their easiest qualifier in the 8 groups. This dropped to 12 on the harder qualifier and over the course of the day only 9 competitors went through to the finals with 2 tops.



Youth C (12/13yrs) saw many climbers competing for the first time at this level and while nerves were apparent on qualifying routes, scores were relatively close going into the Finals route for both the boys and girls. A tricky triangular volume proved too much for most girls but Inverness’ Emily Eadie made that all important ‘positive climbing move’ from the volume to gain a + and take 2nd behind Carmel Moran. Gabriella Stewart (Loanhead) was pleased with her 6th placing in her first YOC.



In the boys Angus Davidson (Edinburgh) had an excellent climb on a complex Finals Yellow route that had been used previously by Youth B boys. His final score of 29+ beat most of the older boys and gave him the Youth C title 6pts clear of his nearest rivals. Fort William’s Stephen Dent finished in 7th place in his first YOC.



The largest turnout was in the Youth B (14/15yrs) category which had 42 climbers. This was 10 more than last year demonstrating the level of interest amongst this age group (the youngest category that competes as the GB team on the International circuit). From Scotland there were 5 girls and 2 boys.



While there were many gutsy performances throughout the day, with heart stopping foot slips recovered, determined campus grips held for an inordinate length of time while feet sought a hold and brave lunges for that extra + point, the climb of the day went to London’s Molly Thompson-Smith who, despite having just moved up to Youth B, had an outstanding Final route on a tricky Green to the left of the Barrel Wall. This 7c climb had previously been the 2nd qualifier for the Youth A girls and Elite GB team member Kitty Wallace had achieved a near top 35- score. Molly had the crowd cheering loudly as she achieved 34+ a mere touch away from Kitty’s position and an example to all climbers who claim they aren’t tall enough to make moves. Molly is at least a foot shorter than Kitty. Edinburgh’s Rachel Carr took 2nd with Nikki Addison (Inverness) 4th, Rebekah Drummond (Brechin) 7th, Megan Saunders (Broxburn) 11th and Alexandra Blunt (Edinburgh) 15th.



There were 2 Scots among the 23 competing in Youth B boys and scores were close going into the final route. Dylan Mackenzie (Inverness) clinched first place thanks to his 2 Qualifying route top outs and Alexander Bosi (Edinburgh) finished 16th. It was Dylan’s second win that day as he had already won the Scottish Tooling Series Youth title despite missing the final round in EICA: Ratho that coincided with this competition.



The Youth A boys were also out in force with 20 competitors and with most of the current GB Youth A boys moving up to Junior next year this was perhaps the most unpredictable group. The climbers were warned that they were tacking their hardest route first so that they didn’t get too discouraged. Steven Addison (Inverness) finished in 5th behind winner Sam Brannigan (Newcastle) with Glencoe’s Alasdair Johnstone taking 10th place.



Scotland had no competitors in the girls’ Youth A (16/17) or Junior (18/19yrs) categories which were won by Kitty Wallace and Catherine Whiteman respectively.



The girls’ Junior group had only 3 competitors. By contrast the Male Junior group was 17 strong and sported 3 Scots. Scores were close going into the Final, once again on the Green Barrel route, now altered from a 7c to an 8a. Luke Tilley took the title with Paul Williamson (Glasgow) 4th, Ross Kirkland (Edinburgh) 7th and Calum Forsyth (Ratho) 9th.



The day ran smoothly thanks to Rob Adie and his team of volunteers and it was good to see some of the more experienced climbers, who were out with injury, sharing advice and words of encouragement to those new to the scene. Although some climbers were disappointed with their climbs on the day, many more were pleased with their achievements and the valuable experience they had gained. The next Youth Open Competition is on 30th July in EICA: Ratho. It would be great to see a few more Scots taking part.



Avril Gall

Some Vids of EYS Imst

Heres a few clips and pics of some of the young blades in action on the wall at the EYS Imst Austria.

Stevie On 2nd qualifier

Dylan On 2nd qualifier

Dylan on !st qualifier

johny on 2nd qualifier

IMST Colors Report - Angus Davidson

Angus was recently selected or the 2010 IMST Colors Youth Open Competition. He was joined by fllow Scots - Gabbie Stewart, William Bosi & Niki Addison. Below is a report rom Angus on his ffirst experience of international competition;

Imst was great. It was a great experience right from the start. Exiting all the way through.

It was amazing exploring Imst. Visiting the centre, going to the restaurants and doing lots of walks, but my favourite thing was the Alpine Coaster. Going up in the chair lifts and going down really fast in your own personal vehicle. The scary thing was the speed, you’re in-charge of the brakes and how fast you go and I recommend it to anybody.

You would expect to have a good nights sleep but no, Church bells ring at 6:00am which woke me up early. You had to be up at 7:00 to get your breakfast and get to the wall for 8:15.Tough times. The wall was fantastic, very steep, but flat at some points and all the climbs were set already. You had to switch from different types of climbing as some were powerful, some sustained and some were just ridiculously hard. Demos were there to save us from the nerves of "how are you supposed to do that?". They made it look easy =-(.The routes had a range from 6b+ - 7b+/7c.It was very efficient up to 10 climbers climbing at once. I topped 5 out of my 6 routes and I ended up in 9th position by the end of the day.

It gave me a lot more confidence for the 2nd day which was tough because the routes were a lot harder. The easiest grade was 7a+/7b and the hardest was 7c.It was a challenging day! The good thing was there was a pizza place upstairs. They did great pizzas and it had a great view of the mountains stretching up into the clouds. A great place to go. For most of the day you had to stay focused. I was in the zone and I topped 2-3 of my routes. I was climbing the best that I could. Overall I came 9th in Europe. I am very pleased of what I have done. Finally the nerves where over and I could relax. Later on that day we went to this tiny cafe just outside Austria. My dad told me how to order a coca-cola in German, but when the order came it was a rhubarb crumble. Thanks Dad.

The experience was ended as I arrived back home, and got into my nice warm bed.

Font Trip - Gabbie Stewart

I am so lucky. Neil Gresham asked me to join him and his group for a whole week of coaching in Fontainebleau in France. I went with my mum & dad and we flew to Paris and then drove down to the gite we would be staying in with Neil and the others. We arrived on Saturday night after getting stuck in traffic around Paris, I was also very nervous because the rest of the group were all adults and I only knew Neil. Neil had two other coaches with him, Steve and Shaun. That night Neil introduced us to the group and explained a bit about what we would doing over the next week. Everyone was very excited – especially the adults who couldn’t get to sleep that first night.

On Sunday when we woke up it was raining but that didn’t stop us and we went off to Couvier to tackle our first boulders. I had never seen anything like the huge boulders we found, they were huge... and wet and slippery but we still managed about three hours climbing and it was fantastic, I didn’t know which boulder to try first. We got back to the gite and after we had our evening meal Neil, Steve and Shaun showed us the video of our climbing that day and pointed out our faults. It was a bit embarrassing but everyone learnt something.

The next morning it was sunny and I was even more excited. I ate lots of pain au chocolate and we headed for the forest!! At first the boulders were a little wet and so we looked around and checked them out while they were drying. When we started to boulder it was amazing, it is so different to bouldering indoors, I definitely prefer bouldering outside. The boulders are really technical and have REALLY small footholds so you have to be very balanced when you are on them. Before you get onto a boulder you have to arrange your crash mat into the right place depending on the angle of the problem, clean your crash mat with your towel, clean your shoes with the towel or your feet will slip off REALLY easily. Then you're off!!!!!
My climbing buddy today was Becky, who is a very good adult climber, she really nice and we give each other pointers on each problem and advice on how to tackle it. Shaun, the trainee coach, was great to work with and really helped me on the harder problems in Font. By 5pm my feet were killing me and I had to go back to the gite. I was exhausted by the time we were finished, after 5 hours training. That evening Neil showed us more video footage of the day going over general things we were all doing incorrectly and also individual points to work on.

The following day we went to Franchard Isatis and Franchard Cuisiniere, they were only a 10 minute walk in between and were both amazing!!! The problems are colour graded from white to yellow to orange to red to black to white again. I had a good morning and completed 10 red problems and nearly did a white problem (the hardest level). After about 2 hours it started lightly raining so we walked down the road to Cuisiniere. After warming up on a few slabs and trying a few red problems I asked Neil, if I could try something harder so he showed me an overhanging, reachy and awesome problem!!! I chose a sequence and brushed the holds. I was ready to try it! I had my first go and fell off just after the middle bit, it involved lots of heel hooks and big reaches. After I knew I could do the start of it I tried it from a standing start but I noticed there was a huge dyno to the next hold so I tried different places to put my feet and finally got it from standing start. My fingers were really red and nearly bleeding! Neil said I could have tried to join it all up if my fingers had been undamaged but said I shouldn’t because the skin was so thin. I still tried it because I had worked so hard on it but unfortunately fell off at the huge dyno. After that problem I climbed some reds and blues because my fingers were really sore. Not only me though, all the adults were suffering too.

On Thursday we went to a place near Noisey. It was beautiful, as good as all the other places we have been to. Although everyones fingers were still red raw and some were even cut we still had an amazing time. To warm up we did this really hard crimpy slab, after two goes I got up it, and so did Becky. It was very hard and was even harder if you had finger tape on. I didn't feel very warmed up so I tried another slab but I think I warmed up my throat more than my body because 3/4 of the way up there were two lizards, I screamed when I saw them because they gave me such a fright but I went to the top anyway and climbed as fast as I could on the way down!!! I was warmed up after that so I asked Neil for a harder problem to work on so he took me to this reachy, overhanging, juggy problem. It was a kind of traverse then it went up at the end. I really enjoyed this problem.

Since it was April Fools day, the night before Viv and I planned some tricks that we were going to play on Neil for a joke. The first one was putting flour in his chalk bag, it was really funny when he put his hand in and found out it was flour! The second one was when he was showing us a boulder problem we put big sticks and two pine cones in his chalk bag, he got a fright! The third and final one was placing a very heavy rock at the bottom of his climbing bag so he would be carrying extra weight when he lifted it up!

After all the pranks I got back to climbing and Neil set me another challenge, it was another reachy problem with no footholds! We joined in with some German women and used their crash mats. I had my first go and got to the same place as they did. My second go I got to the same place again, came off and went over on my ankle because the rocks underneath the crash mat were uneven.
I watched Neil do a very technical boulder problem then had to go home. My ankle was really painful!

Every evening Neil, Steve and Shaun would give us feedback on the days climbing, giving us individual comments and more general comments using the video footage. On the Friday it was raining and we couldn’t climb, my ankle was still sore and so I couldn’t climb anyway. Neil gave us a talk on training and diet and then we all had private feedback from the three coaches which was very scary. I was last to go through and so had to wait for about 2 hours. Because my ankle was sore Neil gave me a piggyback, they were very nice and gave me lots of helpful feedback.

I absolutely loved my week in Font and hope I can go back very, very soon. Thanks to Neil, Steve and Shaun I learned so much and would love to do more outdoor bouldering.





Gabs is sponsored by La Spotiva & would like to thank them for helping her with providing shoes for this trip!

News Flash - Scots in Spain

Jonnie & Paul on 2008 MCofS Ceuse Trip

West of Scotland climbing machines - Jonathan Stocking & Paul Williamson have recently been on a sport climbing trip in the North of Spain. They have been receiving the guided tour of Santa Linya cave & Terradets from Ex pats - Alan Cassiday, Tom Bolger & Lynne Malcolm.

Both youngsters have managed to tick some extremely impressive stuff on the trips with Jonathan ticking his first 8b & 8b+ red-points & Paul ticking his first 8b red-point (4th go!) & first 8a flash also. To have achieved grades like these at such a young age is nothing short of phenomenal. Especially when you consider that Jonnie's hardest red point before the trip was 8a+ & Paul's 7c!!!!

Both climbers would like to thank the MCofS for receiving financial support to help with funding this trip!

Run down on the First YCS of 2010 - Avril Carr

YCS Round 1 South Scotland, The Peak Wall, Stirling
The Peak Wall at Stirling was an excellent location, compact but with a great variety of climbs and a superb café. We had 56 climbers taking part, making it the biggest ever round in South Scotland. We had an astounding 20 girls competing in the 11-13 age category and at the end of the day there was only 6 points separating the top five. None of the categories are clear cut making for an exciting series with everything to climb for. Two of the GB team came in to demo the climbs and were just as nervous about that as they are when competing.
The level of support for the climbers from parents and participants alike was terrific. Judges kept things moving and we were amazed to be handing out the certificates by 4.30pm. Thanks to the guys that set the routes, the volunteers that administrated, belayed and judged so ably and all the climbers and their parents for putting so much enthusiasm into the day. Next round at Glasgow Climbing Centre on 20thMarch. See you there.

Well done to all of the climbers and good luck in Round 2!

Result can be seen on MCofS website at http://www.mcofs.org.uk/ycs2010-results.asp

YCS North Sotland Round 1 results

Round 1 of the MCofS Youth Climbing Series

The day hosted by Climb @ Inverness Leisure went well with 34 competitors battling gravity, to get to the top of as many routes and problems as possible.
4 junior British Team members were on hand to demonstrate for the masses.
As allways i was very impressed with the standard of climbing but more impressed with the passion and enthusiasim and great encouragment displayed by all the young climbers.

Heres a link to the scores
http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/getactive/ycs10%20round1%20north.pdf

See you all at Round 2 -- il post some pics when i gets a chance - Happy Cranking

2010 Scottish Youth Bouldering Championships - Saturday 6th March

These are the final details for the 2010 Scottish Youth Bouldering Championships. First of all, thanks for your patience whilst the Championships have been swapped over from Extreme Dream to Transition Extreme.



There will be two DJs playing live all day, commentary from top local climbers, and free individual event photographs available to all.

That’s not to mention prizes for every category, trophies for keeps, and of course a stack of top quality problems.



Email have been sent out to all those invited. If you know of someone who doesn’t have the info they need, please let me know.



Registration 0900

Briefing & Qualifying 1000 – 1300

Semi-Finals & Finals 1400 – 1630

Finish 1700



Registration forms available in advance by emailing – jf01@transition-extreme.com

The entry fee will be at the reduced price of £15 per competitor. Please pre-pay over the phone on 01224 626 279.

Entry on the day will be cash only and cost £20 – thanks for your help.



ð ENQUIRIES

Please feel free to contact the Event Organiser, Johannes Felter, with any questions you have – either 01224 626279 or 07896 823537 or jf01@transition-extreme.com



ð AGE CATEGORIES

Climbers will compete in the age category in which they finished in 2009.

This event is open to the Top 5 finishers from South & North regions in all three age categories, male and female. You know who you are!



ð TROPHIES

If you won one of the official granite trophies last year, could you please bring it along to Aberdeen – thank you!



ð MCofS ENDORSEMENT

Transition Extreme feel duty bound to make competitors and parents aware that this event is not officially endorsed by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. Competitors and parents should be aware that bouldering for younger children can carry an increased risk of injury due to the nature of the moves involved. Transition Extreme will use its wealth of experience and the best available advice to set problems to minimize these risks. Parents and competitors are asked to consider the physical demands of each problem very carefully prior to an attempt and if in any doubt should not attempt some problems.





All best wishes and we look forward to seeing you on the day!



“**NEWSFLASH MONDAY 1ST MARCH 2010**



The Scottish Youth Bouldering Championships is now open to wildcard entries from anyone who qualified outside the top 5 last season, or indeed didn’t qualify at all! Transition Extreme Sports Ltd. is a registered charity which wishes to see all unclaimed places in the competition filled up by budding young athletes. Places are available on a first come first served basis, and can be claimed by calling Transition Extreme on 01224 626 279. We hope this will make the competition even more exciting and offer lots of kids the chance to climb in a major competition. Anyone who did qualify in the top 5 last season should make contact as soon as possible to claim their place.

SYBC POSTPONED FOLLOW UP

Hi All,

Just a wee follow up. Its already been brought to my attention that the BMC Leading Ladder final clashes with the proposed date of SYBC in april. I’ll review and get back to you when i can sort something else out.

Also, a big whoops by me was to state the SYCC date. This was done in assumption as it has always been held last weekend in May. I should however point out that we will not be hosting this event this year so i shouldn’t be confirming the date for it. Ruaridh and team up at Inverness will be taking on the SYCC this year, so best to contact Mr Mackenzie direct for details, although i imagine it will be around a similar date if not the same. Apologies, i’m on local anaesthetic for my eye at the moment and think its effecting my brain.....!

All the best,

Al @ Extreme Dream

SYBC 2010 POSTPONED!

Hi folks,

Regretfully after due consideration and with the continued cold and frequently snowy weather in mind we have decided to postpone the Scottish Youth Bouldering Championship 2010, which was due to take place 16th January. Recently the roads, when open, in Strathspey have been treacherous, with gritters/snow plows few and far between. With the forecast for continued indefinite cold weather and further snow showers on top we feel it would be irresponsible and unfair to expect competitors and their families to travel what are often great distances to the comp in these exceptionally poor conditions. I am disappointed to have to make this decision but feel it is the right one. I hope you understand my reasoning, and i apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you wish to speak to me directly i can be reached on 01479 812466 ext 31 or by email alan@extreme-dream.com.

A provisional date of Saturday 24th April has been put forward for the competition, sliding neatly into the biggest gap in between YCS rounds. I will be contacting Rob Adie at the BMC to ensure this does not clash with any coaching events or otherwise, and would also appreciate any feedback you as parents might have towards this revised date.

The Scottish Youth Climbing Championships 2010 will take place on Saturday 29th May 2010.

Once again my apologies for any inconvenience.

I hope other than this you are all having a great 2010 so far,

Good Climbing!

Al @ Extreme Dream

Local Talent - Eleanor Hopkins

I recently caught up with Callendar based climbing machine Eleanor Hopkins. This extremely talented young athlete is one of the most exciting prospects within British competition climbing at the moment. Even though she is still relatively new to the sport, she has worked hard and is now competing at the highest level. Eleanor recently won the British Team trials in youth c category (which she still has two full years left to compete in), beating an extremely experienced and competitive field on her way to doing so. It is also worth noting here that the final route in her category, which Eleanor came very close to on-sighting, was graded 7c/7c+. This bodes well for competing internationally in the future, as these are the kind of grades she will be coming up against in her category.

Keep an eye out for this talented young lady, as she has all the potential and professional approach to her training required to step up to the international stage. I'm just looking forward to 6 years down the line when she will start doing battle with her idol in the senior category! I think a certain climbing super star will be pretty nervous about that prospect!


How old are you and how long have you been climbing?

I’m 13 years old (14 in April) and have been climbing for 3 years this Christmas.

How did you get involved in climbing?

I first got involved in climbing at an October Kids Camp at Callander (near Stirling), I tried out the wall and I was hooked, So my dad learned to belay and I got my first pair of climbing shoes and harness at Christmas. I started to go about once a week but became a bit more serious when I joined The Young Explorers of Scotland climbing and activity group and then went to my first competition.

What made you want to try competition climbing?

The second round of YCS wall was at my local wall so I went along, not really knowing what to expect and came 2nd, a couple of weeks later I went the third round and overall came 3rd. That meant that I had qualified for the British Final held at Ratho and from then on started to do more and more competitions and got more involved in the sport.

You recently won the British Team Trials/selection Competition, How did this feel?

It is the most amazing feeling when you know you have climbed to the best of your ability and all your hard work has paid of! I am very pleased and happy with my result and would like to thank my coaches for all the help they gave me.

You train more professionally than any climber I have seen. Could you give us a brief run down of how you train?

I train 6 times a week with one rest day:
Monday: At home, strength circuits and rowing machine circuits
Tuesday: Climbing at Ratho
Wednesday: At home, strength circuits
Thursday: Climbing on home board
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Strength and Conditioning Training at Herriot Watt University. Climbing at Ratho
Sunday: Climbing at Ratho

What would you say your strengths are?

Crimps, steep walls and training.

What would you say your weaknesses are?

Very powerful moves, slopers and dynos (but getting better!).

Have you climbed outdoors?

Only a couple times, twice at Malham and once at Benny Begg, on my first trip to Malham I managed to red-point my first route ever, Frankenstein 7a+.

Which competitor inspires you most from the British Junior competition circuit?

Natalie Berry

Which competitor inspires you most from international competition circuit?

Natalie Berry

What are your future ambitions (short term & long term)?

My short term ambitions are to do more outdoor climbing and compete at the EYS and Worlds, and my long term ambition is to qualify for the final in an EYS and on-sight an 8a outside.

What advice would you give to any young climbers reading this, who are thinking of taking up competitive climbing?

Climbing is an amazing sport at any age or level and if you are thinking about taking part in competition definitely go for it! Have a good time and give it your all but don’t be disappointed if you slip or fall, when I went to the British Finals the first time I came 27th and the following year I came 1st equal. Just remember to always stay motivated and set yourself goals that you can achieve and give it everything you’ve got! Always have a good time and enjoy what you’re doing.

Scottish Youth Bouldering Championships 2010

Hi Folks,

Invites are on thier way out shortly by e-mail and snail mail for SYBC10 to all qualified competitors (remember top 5 in each age/sex group from YCS09) but just in case there's any doubt here's the definitive list of competitors, so you know what's coming!

Scotland North


Nikki Addison
Sofie Hvide
Dawn Longworth
Lauren Sandbach
Jessie Smith
Ellen Macaskill
Ellen Barber
Abbey Niven
Sarah Wardrope
Rebecca Kinghorn
Amy Ryan
Keri MacLennan
Rosie Slater
Caera Douglas
Ruairidh Macaskill
Scott Donaldson
Jamie Peden
Joseph MacInnesHall
Dylan MacKenzie
Steven Addison
Calum Irvine
Rhys Maslen
Alasdair Johnstone
Leakey Sam
Stephen Dent
George Kerr
Henry Kerr
Scott Robertson
Rory Cargill

Scotland South


Rebekah Drummond
Eleanor Hopkins
Lyndsey Forsyth
Rachel Carr
Sophie Stanistreet
Jaime Davidson
Abigail Blunt
Christie MacLeod
Abi Beautyman
Ashley Lawne
Claudia Charlwood
Kirsten Taylor
Rachel Tennant
Gabriella Stewart
Elle Hogarth
Alexander Bosi
William Bosi
Euan King
Michael Burrell
Angus Davidson
Gregory Gaughan
Calum Forsyth
Jamie Drummond
Andrew Barr
Alasdair Darroch
Robert Davidson
Jason McDonald
Harry Spence-McCarthy
Jamie Blair

The competition will take place at Extreme Dream Aviemore Saturday 16th January 2010. More details going out with invites and reggy forms etc..

Lets get ready to rumble!!

Al

Crushing Dunkeld

I spent last Thursday Friday at upper cave climbing on remarkably dry rock, considering it was pouring down both days. I was joined for a sports climbing sessions by super strong British Team Kids - Jonny 'always moaning' Field, Natalie 'Fajita Wrapper' Berry and Robbie 'man sized power scream' Philips. Robby had already ticked everything at the crag, so was psyched to just get some training in on the rock. Nat and Jonny, however both had their eyes on ticking some of the local classics.

As always with these two, I was blown away with how easy they made everything look. Nat climbed here briefly when she was about 2 and a half & Jonny had never tried any of the climbs before! They started off by making light work of Hammish Teds, both flashing (Nat Retro)it with ease. Nat had tried the route about 56 years ago, but could remember nothing about it. They then moved on to the crag classic - Marlena. Nat got very close to flashing this route, cruising the technical crack section only to be denied the flash on the last move across to the chains. She then swiftly dispatched it with ease on her 2nd go. Next was Jonny 's go and he didn't disappoint! He made swift work of the crack section and after some aggressive snatching up the presses near the top he found him self clipping the chains. Not bad effort flashing your first 7c at 15. Especially considering the technical nature of the climb!



The 2nd day was spent on Silk Purse with both Nat and Jonny making good progress. Both look like they will tick the route next time they visit. We then finished off with some bouldering action at the base of the crag.



Finally I was treated to some rather unusual chat on the journey home. The 3 youth spent 50minutes (yes that's 50 minutes!) playing a word game that basically consisted of them speaking, but replacing the first letter of each word with a B. I spent 45 minutes testing my will power as I resisted the temptation to drive in to on coming trucks, just to make them stop! I am sure when I was a teenager, I had more interesting things on my mind than word games!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ross Kirkland - Putting EYS fitness to good use

After competing in the Edinburgh round of the European Youth Series (EYS), Edinburgh based climber - Ross Kirkland joined myself and Adam Hughes on a short trad trip to Northumberland and the Peak. Ross Kirkland is 16 years of age and has been performing well on the British Junior Competition circuit for well over 8 years now, achieving some great results along the way like 2nd place in 2008 Team Trials and 8th in his first ever Senior British Lead Climbing Championships. This consistency lead to his selection in 2008 to the British Junior Climbing Team, thus allowing him to go on and represent his country in international climbing competitions.

Away from competition, Ross's other main climbing passion is trad climbing and he had been looking forward to putting some of the fitness gained through training for the EYS to good use on the rock. It has to be said though that bouldering is not one of Ross's strengths and he was curious to see how he would cope on the short powerful styles of climb found in Northumberland and the peak.

He need not have worried, as he took every thing in his stride and ticked his way through a very impressive selection of routes over the three days. The trip started off with a day at Back Bowden climbing with other Ratho instructors Pamela, Martin and Ally. Ross swiftly warmed up on the 'Arches' HVS 5a, then went on to solo the short and crimpy wall of 'Pin-Up' E2 6a. Ross stated that he really enjoyed both of these climbs, but was keen to attempt something a bit more challenging. Time for 'Lost Cause' E4 6b, a safe but brutally powerful and committing County Classic! If I am to be honest I thought Ross would struggle with the powerful nature of this climb! How wrong could I have been, with Ross making swift work of flashing it and even stopping mid route to remove his sweater (poser!). This was Ross's first E4 and was climbed in great style. Adam also had a great day climbing the 'Tube Direct' E5 5c, 'Lost Cause' & 'Uncouth Youth' E4 6a, all of which, Ross seconded. Ross finished off the day seconding me up the crags classics of 'on the Verge' and 'Right to Reply', both of which he cruised.

The second day saw us descend on Frogatt, keen to keep up the momentum of the successful first day. Ross had decided that he wanted to spend the day getting in some lower grade mileage. So he started off with a swift on sight of 'Strapiombante' E1 5b. His ideas for the day soon changed when he sat watching myself and Adam flailing our way up the huber Classic 'Stapadictomy' E5 6b. Realising it was safe, Ross decided to strap it on and give it a go. After a valiant flash attempt Ross dispatched the route ground up in good controlled style. Bearing in mind this is the boys' first real trip to the grit, this is a phenomenal achievement. Especially when you consider that he climbed his first E3 in June earlier this year. Ross basked in his glory and chilled out seconding Adam and myself on routes for the rest of the day.

We were joined on the final day by trad wad Tony Stone. Ross opted on a more chilled out session. Spending the morning bouldering around and climbing easier routes up to a grade of HVS. He rounded off the day with some exciting spotting duties while Tony on sight soloed the classic Pebble Mill E5 6b. Followed by seconding Adam Hughes' impressive lead of the same route. Sadly I didn't enjoy the same pleasure, managing to turn in to a gibbering wreck on the same climb, when I couldn't reach the final break, resulting in a rather feeble opt out for a safety line, much to the amusement of young Rosco! I will never forget looking down in a panic to see young Rosco rolling around on his back in hysterics. Loving how supportive my climbing partners are!!!!!

I was truly humbled by just how well young Ross performed on the trip, to tick E5 ground up on his first real trip to the grit is good going. I am sure there will be more big trad ticks to come from this young lad in the future.

For more Pics check out Adam's Blog

http://www.hughesmountaineering.blogspot.com

Local Talent - Glasgow Paul

I first met young Paul Williamson ('Glasgow Paul') around 4 years ago, when he came along to our Saturday BRYCS club. It was very apparent from day one that he already had 2 of the most important traits required to succeed in climbing – 1. a determination to push himself, and 2. mutant strong fingers!

Paul has progressed through the ranks as a climber over the last few years with some impressive results in regional, national and international competitions. Five years on he is very much established him self as one of the most talented and promising young climbers on the British Competition Circuit.

Paul's talents don't stop at just plastic pulling either. Ever since a very successful first outdoor climbing trip to Orpierre in 2006, he has gone on to tick some very impressive climbs throughout Scotland, Britain and Europe. He is now also very much established as a member of the 'west coast dumby squad' and is well on his way to maintaining the Dumbarton tradition of pushing Scottish bouldering standards forward to new levels. Just a pity he is a Celtic fan!

Achievements to date:
2009 Scottish Lead Climbing Championship
2009 Represented Britain in European Youth Series and the Youth World Cup
4th 2008 British Lead Climbing Championships
2008 Was awarded full team status on the British Climbing Team
Multiple F7c red-points in France and in the UK
7B+ on-sights in France and in the UK
V8 boulders in the UK

Future Ambitions:
to climb in the Buttermilks in California
hopefully do some pretty hard boulder problems
to climb F8c one day (maybe at Dumbuck?)
to climb the Overlee project, (V very hard!?!)




Paul has recently been selected to represent Britain in the up and coming Kranj round of the European Youth Series. Good luck dude and get stuck in!