Demoing at YCS round 1

The first round of the YCS for South Wales this year was held in Dynamic Rock, this centre is only 45 minutes away from my house so we didn’t need to stay in a hotel. Like a normal competition we got up early and had a McDonald’s breakfast before heading over to the centre. I wasn’t allowed to compete as any competitors who are in the GB team and are in category B or above aren’t either. So I was asked to demo the routes for this years Youth Climbing Series. I was nervous but excited for this.

My little Brother Oscar is in Category D so he is still competing. He had been training very hard and I had a strong feeling he could win.

When we arrived at dynamic rock I dumped my kit in a cupboard and had a look at the routes. I felt weird not needing to guess which routes were mine. They all were! Although actually, I wasn’t the only person demoing. Richard my fellow team mate from Boulders Academy was also coming, along with Cai my other team mate -  but he didn’t come until later. 

So as the usual first round of the YCS goes, everyone had a briefing and got split into girls and boys and then further into the age categories. Boys bouldered first and girls lead/top roped. We only demoed the routes because that is what happened last year at the grand final. 

I warmed up with Oscar knowing that my routes would start easy as the first routes for each category are always the easiest. My first route was a pink. It looked good for a first climb. I wasn’t very nervous for this particular route as I felt confident I could top it. When I got on I tried to climb it perfect, precise foot work, slow fluent movements, but ended up just climbing like I usually do - which isn’t too bad. I enjoyed it more than I tried to make it look good. 

As soon as I came down I had a lot of judges ask me to do different demos so I had to go one after the other until all of the first climbs were demoed. This was really fun! And I didn’t fall off which was great.

I had a snack before starting to demo the second routes. I had to do the second hardest climb, blue-yellow. I thought I was on the pink so I kind of winged it! The first section was ok but by the time I was at the last third my arms were so pumped. Finally there was a good hold a couple of moves from the top meaning I could rest before trying to top it. In the end I got it. I was pleased, only to find out a few minutes later I was going to have to get on the final route for the same category. So I went over to have a look at it. 

The small yellow holds looked positive but some were hard to see because the wall colour is yellow. I personally thought it looked a little easier. I was feeing confident about it. Pulling on my Genius climbing shoes takes a bit of time as they have laces and are quite tight so I started getting them on soon after route reading.

When my category was ready I started to demo trying to climb more smoothly than normal to look good! The mini roof wasn’t half as hard as the start of the blue-yellow, it had loads of good holds. The middle of the climb was harder but still ok. Lastly, when I got to the last little part there was a few mean holds (slopers). I used them slowly so I wouldn’t slip off making it past and to the top hold. Another awesome route! Definitely one of my favourites of the day.

After this the boys categories switched with the girls so they were rope climbing and the girls were bouldering.  I then had to do a load of demos for the boys. This time I knew I would have to do the grey so I spent more time reading it. Also, I left a gap from demoing before I had to climb the grey. 

I had to demo the grey for boys A so I was nervous about falling off as demoing people are not meant to fall.

I started the grey doing lots of big pops. The moves were quite big. I then got onto an easier bit on clip 3. Next were a few good crimps. I held them fine and clipped but struggled to go the hold out left. I went for it and almost got it. When I fell down I didn't know what to do. My coach Simon told me to jump back on, which was what I wanted to do. So I pulled on and climbed the rest of the route by going straight upwards instead of left. This was a lot easier. The other half of the route was hard but easier than the first half and I managed to top it! It annoyed me that I failed the middle. If I could have another go I would top it.

That was the end of my day demoing so I put my shoes back on and went bouldering as the boys were finished. A lot of people were in the bouldering room so when it was time for presentations I stayed in there with Rich and we had the whole room to our self. It was much better. I climbed a few things but had to stop as my skin was too sore. 

As soon as the presentations were over we had to go so I gathered my stuff and headed upstairs to the front door. 

I had fun demoing and it wasn't as nerve racking as I had thought, but I guess the grand final will be worse. I think it will still be fun. 

The routes in the comp were really fun and the grey was awesome. Thanks to Simon for letting me help out.

BMC Youth Climbing Series 2015 - Grand Final

After school on Thursday my brother, parents and I traveled up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the BMC youth climbing series final 2015. Me and my brother had previously qualified for the final a month ago at the Beacon climbing centre in North Wales.

It was a long drive to Edinburgh and we were going at a good speed until our car went into limp mode for the last 2hrs. We arrived at 1:00am so we went straight to sleep.

Friday

I woke up late and had breakfast at McDonald's as it was too late to eat in the hotel. My family and I then went to EICA Ratho (the centre where the comp would be held) for a light session before the comp. It wasn’t a very light session because I ended up trying an 8a I got half way up. When I dropped the rope I fell and it got tangled around my leg which spun me around. I expected it to hurt but it didn’t which was good. We went into Edinburgh for lunch and to do a bit of shopping. When we were shopping for hats we found Chris Hoy's golden post box. This is the second one I have found on my travels.

Saturday

I woke up early and got ready. We were planning on eating in the hotel but it was too busy so we went to McDonalds instead.

We went to the centre and registered, the t-shirts this year were yellow and looked nice. I was excited so I went straight to look at my routes. Because the standard of last years competitors was so high all the routes and boulders were set a lot harder.

Each category was split into two groups X and Y I was in X, this meant I had a different timetable to group Y.

At 10:00 the competition started and I started my first boulder problem. I was really nervous for the first time. When I got to the long move I shook my head and gave up without thinking. This made me really upset so I went off until it was my next turn. I managed to complete the problem on my second attempted but I was annoyed that I had given up on my first go.


Next we had the second boulder. This boulder was really difficult and reachy. I was up first and I fell off the first move because I went the wrong way. I got annoyed and sad and went off crying to my coach Simon. He made me feel better and I followed the sequence on my second go. I got to the fourth top hold. On my third go I messed up the start and didn't get any further. I thought I was doing badly in the competition.

There was a long break before the first route. I moped around the centre feeling sorry for myself until it was time for me to climb. The route was easy and I managed to top it. I felt a bit better because not everyone managed to top it.


It was lunch time but I wasn't hungry but managed to eat part of a panini and some fruit flakes due to the nagging of my parents.


There was another long wait until my third bouldering problem. On my third boulder I was nervous because everyone before me had fallen off. I started the problem well and managed to hold each hold slowly so that I wouldn't come off. There were lots of features which made the problem a lot easier and most of the holds were pretty good. The hardest move was the top, but I went for it and got the top jug. I was very pleased and it made me happier.

There was yet another long wait before route 3 (the hardest) which group X had to climb next. I spent the time reading the route and making sure that I was warm. When it was my go I climbed the first part really well and managed to get to the undercut on the second grey panel. But I made a mess of the next move and didn't quite get it. I was annoyed after this and thought my climbing was awful. Even though I was disappointed with my hardest climb I still got the highest out of my group.

After I had recovered from my disappointment I focused on the route 2. I watched group Y climb this route and they did well so I knew I had to top it to win the competition. I read it really well and knew exactly what to do. When it was my turn, I felt a bit nervous but not as much as I did earlier on the bouldering problems. The start of the climb and just over the roof was easy and pretty much everyone  got to that place. The next two clips I did were harder. I came to a big move and didn't know what to do. I saw a really good crimp feature but I didn't use it because I didn't think we were allowed to use features for hands. So I decided to jump for the sloper and got it fairly easily which I was surprised at because I don't usually jump for holds. The next bit wasn't too bad because all the holds were good and there were good clipping positions. But when I came to the crimp section I was a bit pumped so I shook out. I love crimps so this section of the climb was pretty easy. When I got passed all the crimps I clipped the chain from the third top hold still on the flat wall so I could safely top it before doing the last two moved anyway. I don't feel it is a proper top unless you do all the moves.

I felt awesome and relieved and knew that I had won unless someone in group Y did really well on route 3. I watched the other climbers excitedly but I still got the high point.

I was pleased that I had won for the third year running and I thought the competition was run really well. It was very good that the problems and routes were much harder this year.

I have learnt to not beat myself up after every small mistake. So, hopefully, in the European colours festival I will be better at this.

Thanks to my coach Simon for helping me out mentally in the competition and it was largely thanks to him that Wales came second overall as he coaches the whole of the Boulders team and a lot of the welsh team were from Boulders.

Sunday

We went back to Ratho on Sunday and I was climbing much better than I was on Saturday. I got to the third top hold on route 3 and topped some of the other category's climbs.

BMC Youth Climbing Series 2015 - Welsh Final Route Grades

We went back to the centre on Sunday to try out different routes and here are the grades for the competition climbs:

1. purple 5c
2. green 5c
3. orange 6a+
4. red 6b 
5. purple ? (around 6b+)
6. black 6b+ 
7. orange 6c+
8. wood 7a+
9. yellow 7a+
10. green 7b+
11. wood 8a+

BMC Youth Climbing Series 2015 - Welsh Final

On Friday afternoon my parents, my brother and I drove to Caernarfon for the BMC youth climbing series welsh final. It was a long drive and we arrived around half past six. We went straight to the Beacon centre to have a quick look at all the routes. We made an estimate of which ones we would have in the comp before going to the Premier Inn to have some food. It was getting late so we went straight to bed after eating.

On the morning of the competition, I woke up early, had breakfast and drove to the Beacon centre. My brother Oscar and I had a look at the routes and bouldering problems as the route cards were up. I thought that the bouldering problems looked pretty easy (Girls C's problems problems were the same and Boys D). The first two routes looked OK, but the final route looked harder. I didn't like it because it had wooden holds and I am not used to climbing them.

I started to warm up after this to make sure I was ready by the time the competition climbs started. When Chris gave the briefing he let us know that girls were climbing routes first and boys were bouldering. I was happy about this because I like climbing routes first.

We were warmed up and ready by the time we were put into our groups. Our first route was really short and easy. It was also right next to the bouldering area where my brother was bouldering. I was 4th up on the first climb and as I expected everyone topped this climb including me.

There was a half an hour before I climbed the second route so I supported my brother Oscar in the bouldering. The purple was the second route and I was third up. This was a much longer route and was about double the length of first one. When it was my turn I was keen to get started because it was a long wait between the first and second climbs. The start of the climb was really simple and everyone got past it. The second half of the climb was where it got harder because the holds got worse but I managed to top it.

There was a even longer break between the second and third climb and I couldn't wait to get started.  I warmed up while the demoer was demoing. I watched the first climber then tied in straight away so that I could get on the wall quickly.When I started I was a bit nervous but I got less nervous as I climbed higher. There were quite a few jugs but lots of crimps and slopers. Clipping was quite easy because there were obvious clipping positions, it was just a long route and a bit pumpy at the top. The top move was quite big but I managed to do it. I was really happy that I managed to top all the routes in the competition.

Earlier in the day S4C had come up to me and asked if they could do an interview. I said I couldn't speak fluent Welsh so I didn't do it. However, my Welsh teacher from school happened to be at the competition with her daughter Shani who was also competing. Behind my back, my mum spoke to her about helping me out with a few welsh phrases. In the end I did do the interview as they thought it would be a good idea to have a Welsh learner on the programme

It was almost 2 hrs until we started the bouldering.

My first bouldering problem was easy. I had to go first on the problem but I was not nervous at all and I did it. Because I was first I had to wait for everyone else to finish the first climb and then went to the back of the queue for the second problem. So I had to wait for everyone else to climb again. This meant I had time to help Oscar read his routes.

My next problem was yellow and a bit harder than the first. My brother Oscar had topped this and the first one in the morning so I really wanted to top it. I wasn't nervous for this climb either. There was a big move off the volume which I managed okay and made it to the top.

After this problem we went straight upstairs to do the final boulder. The climb looked harder than the second one because it had a big, shouldery, move. The first part was easy and I held the undercut underneath the wall just for the extra points in case I slipped. I then jumped for the afro-hair hold and caught it. I was then able to complete the rest of the climb.

I was really pleased to have topped all routes and boulders in the final and I really enjoyed the day.



We were told we would receive our trophies in Ratho in April because the BMC hadn't send them to the Beacon centre. I got a belay, some stickers and a DMM mug as a prize.

South Wales did really well and we beat North Wales again. Afterwards we (Boulders academy) celebrated our success in the Anglesea Arms.

DMM Climbing Day with James McHaffie

We travelled up to North Wales for my DMM climbing day with James McHaffie which was my prize for winning the BMC Youth Climbing Series. I was really looking forward to this as it was the first time I had been outdoor climbing with ropes.

The night before the climbing day I stayed in the Pizza and Pint hotel with my mum. Then next morning we got up early for breakfast and went to Pete's Eats cafe to meet up with James and the rest of the prizewinners.

James told us we were climbing in a slate quarry in Llanberis first and that we may go bouldering afterwards in Llanberis pass. We got in our cars and followed James to the quarry.

We waited for everyone to arrive and then grabbed our kit and climbed over two styles before walking along a slatey path to some slate cliffs.

We put on our gear and James explained to us about trad and sport climbing. He made it really easy to understand and gave us some nuts to shove into some cracks in the rock. I found a crack for the nuts and managed to get them in properly. Meanwhile, James was putting up top ropes for us to try.

When he was ready we gave them a go. I managed to do both of them because they were easy and just to get our fingers warmed up. James put up another top rope which was harder and more crimpy. I fell off quite a few times, but I managed to complete the route in sections. This was my favourite route so far - a bit tricky but really fun.

While I was climbing James was putting up yet another top rope next to me. This route looked really hard but I was looking forward to it. I couldn't do the start, but I moved onto the middle and that was easier. The top was hard, but not as hard as the start. Apart from one moved at the start I topped it.

I had another attempt at the third climb - but didn't do as well this time. By this time it was 2 o'clock so we moved onto bouldering in Llanberis pass.

We walked to the bouldering area and tried a crimpy problem. I didn't top it because I couldn't see the holds initially. After a few attempts I could see the holds, but still couldn't do the problem. I needed to get my feet to be higher but I couldn't because I couldn't hold onto the other holds.

After this we moved onto the overhang and I managed to do this on the second attempt, only using my right foot for heal hooks. We went along to the next section and tried another overhang. This was much harder than the other overhang because it was more reachy and more overhanging. I had quite a few goes but I only managed a quarter of the climb.

It was getting late and we had run over time slightly so my mum and I decided to head back to the car park.

We had really good fun bouldering and top roping in North Wales even though I wasn't as good as I had hoped to be. If I want to be an outdoor climber I need to practise a lot more.

Thanks to James McHaffie and DMM for a great day. I learnt a lot and look forward to going outdoor climbing again very soon.

Youth Climbing Series 2014 - Super Final

I was really nervous about the super final as I had never been in one before. I had to warm up because I didn't know when I was going to be called. I got my harness and chalk bag on and I put my shoes on my chalk bag belt ready to go to isolation.

Eventually we were called to the front. They said Pippa and me were climbing for first place with Izzy and Kitty climbing for third. As soon as they had explained this to us they shoved us behind the climbing wall into isolation. We sat in a chair behind the wall fidgeting in worry of the climb. The GB team member tossed a coin for who would have the choice of when to climb. I chose heads and won the toss. I chose to go second. I said good luck to Pippa and then watched her walk off to do the climb. After hearing a big thud I knew it was my turn. I walked up to the climb and started reading it as soon as they said I had one minute. I started to read to the top by then I thought that I wouldn't get there so I concentrated on the bottom. Once I started the climb I manged to get to the lip fairly smoothly I then went around the corner and matched the sloper. I tried to clip from it but my arms were too pumped and I didn't want to fall. So I went to the under cut below the sloper. This meant I could go with my left hand to the higher hold. The Welsh crowd cheered so loudly when I got this hold I didn't realise that so many people were supporting me. I still couldn't clip because I was too tired so I decided to forget about the clip and just go as high as I could. I went another hold and the crowd cheered even louder this time - I knew then that I had won but I wanted to make sure so I went one hold higher to a foot hold before leaping off as I knew that if I missed a clip the holds above wouldn't count anyway.

The belayer had too untie my knot because it was so tight. I walked off to the Welsh group and they were all saying congratulations. I can't believe how supportive they were. Loads of people stayed to cheer me on even though they could have gone home. I asked if I had won just in case and everyone said yes and then I started crying because it was over. It must have been devastating for Pippa because I was only three holds higher.

Podium with Pippa and Izzy

My prize for first place was an experience day with DMM. Sometime in the holiday I will get a tour of their factory where they make all of their products and get to go outdoor climbing with some of their sponsored climbers.

I would like to thank all the people who supported me through this competition especially my coach Simon.