Junior British Bouldering Championships 2017

The depot Manchester is always my favourite centre for boulder comps. The massive amount of wall space means less queues and a lot less stress.

Youth B and C qualifying was first as usual. 8 blocs in 2 hours, scramble format. I liked that in this competition all our boulders were in the same room so we could see them all without having to walk between rooms.

My qualification went pretty smoothly and for once I finished before the time was up. After an hour an a half I had topped 7 and only had a really powerful problem left. At first I decided I was going to leave it and save my energy for the final but after a 20 minute break I went back over to it. I was curious to see if I could top it.

My first attempt earlier in qualifying involved a double heel hook which felt alright but I thought there might have been an easier way. 1 heel didn't work, so I tried the double heel again. It worked if I really pulled my toes down. The last part of the problem was easier and it was fun to campus the last move.

I'm glad I went back to do the climb to get 8 tops and to qualify 1st.

The final was very crowded and stuffy and hot! In warm up I could only climb 3 blocs as it was so draining to climb in the heat. I've competed in some very warm conditions but nothing compared to this! Towards the end of qualification you could see all the chalk floating in the air.

Looking at my first bloc, I was slightly disappointed to find a volumes only slab. The first move was a sketchy jump. I didn't realise it was a jump until I had pulled on, I looked around but couldn't find another way so I risked it and jumped. The volume was surprisingly good and it was easy to stand up on the volume and walk across to the top hold which was another volume.

Final 2 was... interesting. It started off well because I topped it on my 3rd attempt. At the top I turned around looked at the judge and he held his hand up to say I had got the top. So I jumped down and was just about to move to the next bloc when one of the route setters stopped me. I was told that I had matched the wrong top hold. The top was 2 slopers touching each other  with a tag at the top of them. The higher of the 2 holds was tagged and I matched the bottom one. They crossed out my top and I had to go again. I had another go and fell off and then ran straight back on with 40 seconds to go. I climbed as fast as I could (without falling off) and got to the bonus with 13 seconds left. I

I was so hot and I spent the whole of my rest time trying to cool down.

The last two boulders weren't too hard. The 3rd bloc was really fun - it was all proper holds, very crimpy and overhanging. I on-sighted it.

Last, we had a problem on the big overhang. All the holds were good and it had a fun swing in the middle. You had to cross over to a jug and then let your body swing out. The rest was core crimps and a large sloppy volume for the last move. I on-sighted this climb too.

This was enough for first place. But I was most psyched about topping problem 2 after getting my initial top taken away from me. I'm ok on volumes but I didn't think I could climb that fast.

Awesome setting as usual! (Except for the last hold on bloc 2 - that was mean!)

Junior British Bouldering Championships (JBBC) 2016

After school on Friday my mum and I drove up to Manchester for the Junior British Boulder Championships 2016 which was being held in the depot. We stayed in a Premier Inn ready for the comp on Saturday. On the way up we realised my Dad had forgotten to register me. But we called Rob and he said we could register on the day.

It was an early start on Saturday. I wanted to be there early so we could register quick and look at the blocs.

I had a Premier Inn breakfast and got to the centre for 7:45. There was already a small queue at the door because the doors weren't open until 8. We shouldn't have arrived so early.

Eventually the doors opened and we went in to register with the wall and the competition. We were due to start climbing at 9 so I started warming up straight away.

The blocs looked really fun and do-able so I felt confident. The last two Boulder comps I have lost to count back so my goal for this comp is to not loose to count back! This means pressures on qualifiers.

The comp was running late so they decided to start it at 9:15 instead of 9:00. After briefing I topped up my warm up and went to the easiest bloc. Here are the qualifiers and how I did them. (Not sure if the numbers correspond to the right bloc though)

Bloc	Description
Qual. 1	In my opinion the hardest bloc and I left it until last. Nobody topped it and the furthest I got was touching the bonus. It had a big first move and then another big move to the arrêt. I am not sure about how the top was meant to be done but the last two holds were blocked!
Qual. 2	This problem was the most overhanging of all the blocs. It looked my style and I was looking forward to it. All the holds looked good and easy to catch. Again I watched a few people first before getting on. The first move was to a good hold, the I jumped to a side pull and held it. The next move was the same and the next hold was a core pinch which was better than it looked. The last two moves were easy and it gave me a lot of confidence topping it.
Qual. 3	I hadn't seen anyone top this bloc. A lot kept missing the top hold. I had a go and the first part was the hardest for me because my foot felt unstable. But I managed to go slowly and keep my balance. The next moves were to an undercut and then to another undercut. The last undercut was a screw-on foot hold and wasn't that good. For the last move I rocked over and popped for the last hold and I held it. I was surprised, I don't usually do well with slabs!
Qual. 4	I didn't watch many people on this, but all I needed to see was someone try the first move. I decided to not use the starting foot hold because it seemed to be stopping people doing the next move. So I did a pull up and chucked my hand out to it. It was decent and I matched it. The next two holds were spaced out and of similar shape. They were slopey holds but good enough. It wasn't as hard as I had expected. I topped it.
Qual. 5	This was just impossible and was one of the problems that if you were taller it was easier. I only heard of one person getting the bonus. I had three attempts but couldn't do get the bonus.
Qual. 6	Definitely the easiest bloc for me. It was the first one I did. I saw many people top it before me. I was confident for it. It took me a bit longer to get the first hold but then the rest was easy.
Qual. 7	A lot of people topped this but lots of people didn't. The starting volume wasn't very good but I moved off it quickly onto a jug. I then rocked over to the bonus (a screw-on foot hold) and stood on the volume. I got ready for the jump and wobbled almost falling but saving it just! I got ready then jumped for the two big volcano shaped holds. They were good and I got the jump just right! I was surprised again because jumps aren't usually my thing. For the last move I put my foot high and pushed up for the top. I got it!
Qual. 8	This was my nightmare climb. First go I completely missed the first move. The second time I got close but fell again. And the last time I went very slow rocking over and I grabbed it. It felt very good because I knew the top was my style. I jumped for the bonus and then to the next hold which was a nice crimp. And finally I grabbed the last hold and went again for the got the finish.

I was happy with my qualifying performance and I got first place meaning I was in the final! And I had completed my goal of not loosing to count back! The last two rounds I lost to count back.

Finals was at 1:00 and Kitty and Holly kindly came to get me because I didn't know we had to be in isolation.

We were only in isolation for 30 mins before we went out for observation. The blocs looked really fun. We had one really hard one and two OK ones.

Bloc	Description	Picture
Final 1	This looked the hardest but really fun as it was a massive overhang with lots of pockets. When I went out I was nervous but excited. I pulled on and found that the holds were a lot worse than I thought. But I went slow and tried to get each one perfect. I got to the hold on the volume and couldn't move off it. I tried jumping and a weird heel hook thing but I couldn't get it. I was disappointed I didn't even get the bonus but ready for the slab.
Final 2	The Slab. I was really excited about. I am not that strong with slabs but that day they seemed easier. I pulled in for my first go and slowly found the right part of the volume to stand up on. I got the big sloper and felt around for the right bit. I reached out for the bonus and got it. I then went back to the sloper though, because I needed to put my foot over first. I then tried a stupid method of holding the volume which resulted in me back on the mats. I went straight back on and topped it easy using the splits move. Again a little disappointed.
Final 3	Finally, the easiest problem. I knew I could flash it and that I was strong enough. But I was still nervous. I pulled on and did the first few moves easy and was just going over the roof when my foot slipped off making me fall and ruin my flash. I was so annoyed but forced myself to have a quick breather. I got back on and was determined not to slip. I found the Boulder ok and did it easily compared to my first attempt.

Overall the comp was really fun and the best part was definitely the final blocs. They were amazing!

Thanks to the BMC team for a great comp.