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!)

First bouldering EYC of the year Soure, Portugal (2017)

My first European Youth Cup of this year was in Soure, Portugal and it was also my first international podium. This is my second year in category B and seeing as I made finals in both the bouldering EYC's I entered last year I was hoping for a really good result.

We travelled out on the Thursday afternoon, flying from Luton airport to Lisbon, Portugal. There was a slight complication with the hire car so we arrived at the hotel a little bit later than expected. Despite this, the Universal Boutique Hotel was really nice and each room included a mini fridge which meant we could buy foods like cheese and ham for the competition.


I got up really late on Friday and had breakfast in the hotel. It's always nice to have a day to relax before competing. For most of the day we relaxed in our rooms but in the morning we walked on the beach where there was a large training/exercise frame and 200m running track! We went over for a go. There were rings and monkey bars on it too. Later, as per usual we went to the super market and ate out in a nearby restaurant for dinner while Lucinda (one of our team coaches) went to the technical meeting to register us for the competition. The only change to the time table was that everything started an hour later which meant we had an extra hour of sleep!

Saturday - Qualifiers

On Saturday we got up a little bit earlier to do our hair in Dutch braids and make some lunch for after the comp. Lucinda drove us to the wall which was 40 mins away and in a Portuguese primary school. I thought the atmosphere was going to be really hot and horrible to climb in but it was actually a really nice temperature and the wall was indoors and shaded from the sun.

The warm up wall was quite large and had a range of different holds. At first glance our qualification blocs looked really hard and to my usual disappointment there were a lot of slabs.

As our category was quite small we only had 1 hr 30 mins to climb. The time was on a large clock above the wall and made a loud buzzer noise when our time had started.

In the first half hour I completed one bloc. The white one FYB1. It was an easy bloc but on my first go I got to the top hold held it with one hand and then fell as I forgot to hold on! When I hit the mats I remembered I was in an EYC and got really annoyed with myself. I topped it on my second attempt.

I had 2 bad attempts on the purple dyno. and moved onto a slab that involved triceps which didn't bode well for me but it had had a lot of tops so I gave it a go. I escaped doing a press up by using my knee to push up then edged my way across getting my first flash of the day!

This lifted my spirits slightly so I braved the second slab. I hadn't seen many tops on it but put my card in anyway. I pulled on a got to the bonus easily then I stayed on the climb for a long time trying to work out how to get to the thin edges that were just out of my reach. Eventually I worked it out and got my second flash.

Hannah had just topped the blue overhang when I decided to put my card in. I messed up my first go but topped it fine on my second. This was pretty annoying but gave me 4 tops which was a good position.

Next I went onto my favourite bloc. The run and jump dyno! I love these kind of problems because they are so satisfying when you top them. My first go I almost held the scoop shaped black volume, which was gripper than it looked. On my second go I completed it easily and felt I had go my flow back.

With only 3 blocs left I went straight over to the black over hang which again I topped on my second attempt. It was one of the hardest blocs in the set. I slipped off on my first go when I tried unnecessarily to swap my feet.

The last blocs were the dyno that I had already failed on twice and the long black roof. I tried the black once and got almost to the bonus but fell because I had wasted too much time.

After this disappointment I tried the dyno twice more getting really close to holding it. I was quite stressed as it all came down to my last attempt. I stood onto the volume grabbed the undercut and leant back as far as I could before jumping out to the holds. I held them and my feet swung back behind me. I was determined to finish it, as it was my final go. The last part was ok just a heel hook and rock over to a side pull and a balanced finish.

Finally, I got back on the black. I used the correct beta this time and got to the bonus from here it was much easier but I was quite tired from the roof section. I got to the last move and pulled to my maximum arm length just reaching the final hold and matching it.

I was pretty happy to get all 8 blocs before the time was up. For the last 5mins I went round with Hannah and helped her out with some beta for the run and jump bloc. After 2 attempts the buzzer sounded and time was up.

I was pretty confident that I was through to the finals but I thought I might have qualified lower down because I had taken so many attempts. The results were correct according to my score card and I had qualified in second place. I was satisfied with the scores as I felt very nervous at the beginning and didn't climb as well as I had hoped but managed to pull it back and get a good result.



Sunday - Finals 

I travelled in the earlier car to the wall even though I didn't start competing until 14:00. I like climbing early and was a little disappointed when the time table was changed so that category B was climbing in the afternoon. So I got up early as if I was climbing in the morning and watched the finals.

Hannah and me were the only finalists from GB and her final was first so we all gathered around and watched. She climbed so well and was only one match of the top hold away from 3rd place.

As soon as Hannah finished her final bloc I went into isolation with Lu. I had the usual nervous/excited feeling but when I started to warm up I felt very stiff and tight especially in my right shoulder. This was annoying but slowly loosened up a little as I got warmer. I used a lacrosse ball on it and Lu K-tapped it for me which helped.

It was time to got out for the introduction next where all the finalists are presented to the crowd. I ran out and almost tripped over the mat but I stayed up and carried on. It was quite nerve-racking just standing there!

Back in isolation I had 25 mins before I climbed so I finished my warm up and sat on the bench and watched the time tick away on the clock. With 30 secs to go until I climbed I was ushered out to my first bloc. I heard a lot of screams from the crowd on this so I knew I needed to top it.

When the final buzzer sounded I spun around and wiped my shoes on my towel. I took a quick look at the slab then pulled on. I found a way up this climb quicker than I thought - I don't have many slabs back home in Wales. I crimped the screw hols and tried my best to remember what I learnt in all the GB boulder training sessions. The moment I matched that hold I climbed a lot better because I was so much more relaxed with one top.

Bloc 2 was a run and jump! I was pretty psyched pulling onto this one. To make the move I kicked my leg back and ran across to the side pull then straight over to the bonus with a big swing. Then it was my worsted nightmare move. I had trained my triceps really hard before coming to Portugal so I could climb these moves. I put my heel up and rocked up as much as I could. So I thought then that the hard bit was over and it was just an easy stand up but no. I had to change the heel I was sitting on to a toe then spin around and finally stand up! At one point when I was almost at the final hold when I heard team GB screaming so loud I had to steady myself on the volume as I knew I was so close and might not have time to do it again. The hold was decent and I held it getting a second flash.

This was the worst route reading I have ever done though out the whole competition. On my first attempt I didn't start right but they didn't notice and I got to the last move but fell off. Second they noticed my wrong start and called me down. Third I was angry that I messed up the first two attempts so I climbed badly and got to the last move but fell off the same way again. It was stupid not to try something else. I had one more go and if I had done it on that go I would have won the competition but I did the same thing again and fell!

I was really annoyed at myself and took a long time to calm down while I sat in the chair but I didn't get too emotional even though that's not what's I was thinking at all.

I fell slightly more angry climbing this bloc as I knew I should top it because it was completely my style and I had to top it to have any chance of winning. On my first attempt I could feel my arms and shoulders were tiring and wouldn't be able to have many more go's. I fell dead-pointing off the bonus hold. I didn't plan my rest tactically but decided to get back on at 03:03 because that's the time I had started to put my shoes on through out the comp. This time I thought my arm was going to give in when I held the bonus but I was so determined to at least get a podium even if it wasn't quite 1st. So I jumped with everything I had and caught the crimp. As I did I felt my skin warring down on the hold. With just 2 moves to go I knew I would make it. I matched the top and looked at the judge. I wasn't too happy at first because of Bloc 3 but then I saw the better side of my climbing.

I was very happy with 3rd place but obviously a little disappointed as well. My first ever international podium!


We had to leave soon so I got my trophy and we all went out to the car and drove to Lisbon airport. About 10mins into the journey when our car went into limp mode and we both had to pull into the hard shoulder. The car was not going to work so half the team went to the airport with Jack and the other half stayed and waited ages for a tow truck. I was with Jack and despite going to the wrong terminal we were fine. However, Lucinda's team just made it in time for the flight! At one point we thought they were going to have to stay the night.

Overall the trip was great fun and I enjoyed being with the team as much as I did climbing. So psyched for France next competition!

Links to recording of live stream:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvlG4aRzRxId35xK1FWITwg

Portuguese Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing

European Youth Cup (Bouldering) L'Argentiere 2016

On Saturday I travelled down to London with my parents. I was dropped off at a Premier Inn near Gatwick Airport where I met Tom (GB bouldering team coach) and some other members of the team. We were flying the following day and needed to get up at 4! I shared a room with Sid and Holly. 

We got up at 4:30 and only just made it downstairs on time. The rest of the team were ready so we all walked to the bus stop and took a bus to the terminal. I checked my bag in and went to get some breakfast. Our plane was delayed by 20 mins but apart from that it was really good. We flew to Marseilles and then drove for 3 hours to L’Argentiere-la-Besse. Our house was massive, it had three floors and a hot tub (we didn’t get a chance to use it though). I shared a room at the bottom with Holly which had a balcony. After unpacking we drove into town and had some food in a restaurant. 

Everyone had a long lie in on Monday before getting up and doing some mobility and get ready for the competition. We did some TRX exercises which I found really helpful and I can use in my training. I also used a foam rolled and lacrosse ball to get rid of any tight muscles. I did a little bit of finger boarding too. Later in the day we went to a lake near the climbing wall. It was really nice and there was a cafe too. I had an ice cream and put my feet in the water.

Before going to see the wall we went shopping to get snacks for the competition. I didn’t bring my own food from home because they sold it in all the shops abroad last time and so I thought it would be the same this time but I was disappointed to find they don’t sell half the stuff I wanted. 

It was very hot at this time of the day so I found it quite nice standing outside reading my problems. The wall had a self standing bloc and a long row of walls. It was much smaller than I thought which made me feel a lot less nervous and really excited about the competition.

For dinner we helped to make a big bolognese and we ate it outside in the garden - I really enjoyed it.

Qualifiers 

 

It was an early start for us Youth B’s as our qualification round was first. The warm up area opened at 7:30 so we went down just before to read the blocs again. I felt a bit nervous but ok. I went straight into the warm up room at 7:30 and started my long warm up. I felt that it went well and I was ready to go. Here are descriptions of all the blocs.

Bloc	Description	Pictures
Qualifier 1	A balancey problem on the self standing bloc. It starts on the big sloper and then goes over to a small crimp on the tip of the volume. I locked off and reached up for another longer crimp which was easy to hold meaning I could stand up on the volume and edge over and bridge between a big and small volume. I couldn’t quite reach the top from this position so I started to get a bit stressed out. I knew I had to move my foot up but I was too nervous to do it as I didn’t want to fall off. Eventually when I was calm I moved my foot up and matched to top with ease. It made me look a bit stupid!
Qualifier 2	One of my favourite blocs because it had lots of crimps and was overhanging. It started on 2 crimps and then went over to a decent gaston I locked off and reached to the top of a volume and then flipped my hand to an undercut, this allowed me to get the next volume. From this position I dropped my left foot and threw my left hand to a side pull and my right hand again up to a volume. The last move I popped for, because it was a good jug. I matched it and jumped down.
Qualifier 3	I think this was the pink overhang. It had many big moves to small sloping crimps - my ideal climb! It started off with a big move to and good crimp followed by another big move to a small slopey hold. For the next move I stood on the black volume and jumped for the same slopey hold as i was already holding and then swapped feet before jumping to a sloper. The sloper was on a volume so it wasn’t so bad. I heeled my hand and went over to the final sloper which I then jumped off to get the finish!
Qualifier 4	I didn’t like this one. It had a massive sloper at the top and lots of people were falling off trying to get it. It starts off matching a good sloper which you lock off on and reach up to a sloping crimp. I then rolled into a mini jug and stood up over to a gaston crimp. I put my foot in the middle of the black volume and rocked over to the sloper. I didn’t quite get around it enough and almost slipped off but I managed to hold on. So I came back to the gaston and shook out quickly before having another go. This time I went a little bit quicker and managed to reach it and swap feet quickly to secure my balance. I reached up for the final hold which was a crimp on the side of a small volume. I got it with one hand a touched the other to it. I closed my eyes holding on really hard mainly so I wouldn’t have to climb that horrible climb again. I heard the judges call and I jumped down.
Qualifier 5	Pinches. This climb started on two crimps with a big cross over to a long pinch and then a quick move out to another pinch on the opposite side. I then bumped up my left hand and stepped though to a good foot hold. I then crimped the top right of the next hold and came into the middle with my left hand. And with my left hand again I jumped for the top jug and got it! It was one of the easier routes.
Qualifier 6	This bloc was half balance and half strength. The start move you balanced three points on the yellow volume and one hand on the white sloper. I then straightened my arm and rolled over to the white crimp blocked by another hold, this allowed me to move my feet up and lean into the side pull underneath my left hand. Once I had this I jumped for the crimp on the volume trusting my route reading, and it paid off! I caught it with one hand and placed my foot onto the blue volume and matched my hands. I rocked up for the almost upside down gaston which was good before kicking my foot out and slowly pushing over for the top crimp. I matched it and jumped down.
Qualifier 7	This bloc looked really fun and is the one I am most proud of. The start was fine and it included a heel hook which I managed to stick which I was really pleased with as I hate them! Next was a long move to the flat sloper followed by a toe hook. I was really nervous about this because I had never done one before ever! I decided to try it because every single person who had been on it used it. I put my toe under the hold and pulled myself up to the ball and got it! I was very surprised! I crossed over and used everything I had to try and get the second top but I was powered out so I fell. I knew all I needed was a rest and to stick to my plan and completely go for it. No hesitation! I kept my card in and waited forever while it went round the other competitors watching them to find any extra tips. Finally it was my go. I chalked up and completely went for it! First heel was perfect and my toe hook worked really well! I went for the second top and got it! The last move I was loosing energy but I jumped and held the top hold. It was an easy match but a rubbish top hold because it was all slopey.
Qualifier 8	This was my least favourite out of the whole competition. I started off on two crimps and a rock over to the top of a volume with a small intermediate. Next you flick out to the crimp on the volume which is good. Up to here is reasonably easy. Then you have to either heel the volume and hold the barn door or use your outside opposites which involves twisting and lock offs. I went for the twisting way first because it felt easier. This almost worked but I didn’t quite get the bonus. I only got to have two more goes because there wasn’t enough time and everyone took forever on each go.

Altogether I thought the qualifying blocs were really fun and I enjoyed them. My ending score was 7 tops in 8 attempts and 7 bonuses. I was happy with this but I feel I need to work on my volumes a lot more. When the results finally came out (I kind of thought I was in anyway from talking the the top girls but) it was official that I had made finals! I was 5th place! That is 3 places better than last qualifying!

For the rest of the day Holly and I watched the rest of the qualifiers. Here is a link to the results:

http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition/calendar#!comp=5750&cat=80

Finals

 

Another early start but not quite as early as the day before. I was there as soon as warm up area / isolation opened and Ellie (GB senior lead team coach) came in with me and helped my warm up. It was weird in isolation because there was only 8 of us whereas yesterday there was over 30. Ellie made me some good blocs to do and I felt ready to go! 

Soon I was called out and I followed the official over to the back of the climbing wall. I sat down on the chair facing away from the wall. 5 minutes until my final started.

Bloc	Description	Pictures
Final 1	Was on the same wall as my first qualifier and was again a balencey climb. I stated matching the blue and then went to the volume which had a hold on the corner. I held the hold and heeled the blue starting hold. I shuffled my hands up to the top of the volume and put my foot on the hold. I then pushed up for the Bonus (a square brick slopy side up) and my foot poped off. I was so disappointed as I knew I would have finished it if I had got that hold. My next go was better and when I went for the bonus my foot stuck. I matched it and rocked over pushing the bonus behind me, I was then just standing knowing that I was going to have to step down onto the starting hold and then ping up for the top hold. The top hold was a massive sloper of a volume so easy to catch. I was nervous about the jump as I wanted it so badly. I messed around with my feet and then went for it. I stepped down wards onto the start hold and launched for the top sloper. I got it and it looked quite smooth as well. You can see the top move of this climb if you look carefully on the video of the competition. You can find the link of my Facebook page.
Final 2	This was a dyno problem. I started on the volume which had a nice crimp on it. I pulled over and got a hand on the flat crimp which was on a sloping black volume and then matched it putting my hand on the crimp below. From this position I jumped for the decent crimp on a triangular volume. I got nowhere near it. On my next go I almost got it. Its a shame I didn’t get my third go on video because I got the hold with one hand and face planted the floor because the swing was too big. After this go I had enough knowledge to get it. I threw double handed for it and held it. The top was my style, I leant away from the side pull volume and reached over to the big round sloper that I matched carefully!
Final 3	The easiest climb. It was almost all volumes. It started as a short move to an undercut volume. I then matched it and went up to a pinch volume, I stepped through and stood on the long flat box and went out to the triangular volume which had two holds on it. I matched it and got the second last hold, I guppied/undercut it and jumped for the the top volume. It was very good and I matched it.
Final 4	I didn’t do very well on this boulder. It was going between volumes with rubbish crimps. I started on two crimps then moved over to a volume with I guppied and then tried to match into the crimp underneath but it was too hard. Over my next 6 go’s I got closer and closer to the bonus which was the move after the match. You come into the match then flick out to the bonus. On my 7th attempt I finally held the bonus. I tried to rock over onto the volumes to a tiny screw on hold but I didn’t quite make it. I was really disappointed and I need to do a lot more work on volumes.

After the competition I chatted to Ellie and Tom about the competition and how they thought I did. I waited for the results with Michelle and when they finally came out I was 5th. I was a bit disappointed because it came down to attempts between me and 4th. But 5th is one place better than my last EYC.

Over I really enjoyed the competition and I want to say a big thank you to all the coaches and team GB for all their support throughout the competition. 

European Youth Cup (Bouldering) Graz 2016

Travel and Friday

Last weekend was my first ever bouldering EYC, held in Graz, Austria. I flew out to Austria with the GB team on Thursday. It was a very small team going to this competition, only 4 competitors. Holly, Martha, Silvia and me. Our two chaperones/coaches were Tom and Michelle. We arrived at Vienna airport in the afternoon and then got our hire car and drove straight to Graz.

On Friday I got up late and after breakfast we drove to The Bloc House wall (the wall where the competition was going to be held) to see how long it would take to get there for Saturday. Then we parked in Graz’s city centre and had a walk around.

Next we went to Graz’s old town which had a big clock tower on the top of a large hill. It had a lot of steps! It was very hot and tiring walking to the top, but the view was amazing! You can see the art gallery or university from up there and it looked like a massive bunch of water bottles, as you can see from the photo. If you look closely at the picture on the ground  you can see the stairs leading up to the clock tower. 

We carried on walking up, and got to a little shop near the very top, where we had Ice cream before finishing the walk to the very to of Graz! The view from there was the best. It also had a metal plate with markings showing which direction different cities were. London was on it, but not Cardiff.

You had to pay to take the lift back down to the bottom so we walked and got the car. After dinner we did some mobility stuff ready for Saturday. 

The Competition

In the bouldering team they have a system at these comps. Everyone competing gets a buddy. The buddy follows them around, carries there stuff, talks to them and gives them tips of how to do the climbs. My buddy was Silvia.

I felt my warm up was good and was ready for the blocs. We had 5 attempts on each bloc and 2 hours to complete as many as possible. Here is how they went:

Bloc	Description	Pictures
Qual. 1	This was the second bloc I tried and it was the easiest of the 8. I wanted a top so I decided to get this one done. The start was fine and all of the holds were crimps on big volumes. I topped it easily and I enjoyed it.
Qual. 2	This climb was a roof. I got on it quick because there wasn't a big queue. The start was a volume and an under cut. I went over to the jug matched and then out to the crimp on the volume before moving my feet in close and going across to a mini jug. The last move was the hardest as the hold was shiny not grippy. I jumped right over it and pinched the top part so I couldn't swing off. I then matched.
Qual. 3	My third choice was this one as it looked top-able and really fun. It was a slab with a big volume at the start. I was most looking forward to the last move to see if I could stand on the tiny foot hold. When I pulled on and stood up for the first hold I got it pretty easily. The next move was to a two pinches. They weren't as good as I'd hoped but I managed to step my feet across and pull over to the big blue hold, it was so nice! And for the final move I stood on the tiny foot hold and popped up for the top jug. I held it and was very pleased with myself!
Qual. 4	My fifth bloc was the salmon. It had a lot of big holds which looked slopy and difficult to hold. I thought the top part would be the easiest but it was the other way around. I found the start moves easy but struggled a little on a rock over to the bonus. The next hold was a crimp which would have been really good if it hadn't of been turned slopy side up. It was horrible. Eventually I worked out that I just had to pull hard on it and got for the top. Once I did that I topped it.
Qual. 5	This was my first choice of bloc to try. On my first attempt I was shaky and managed to shake my way to the last move almost falling a few times before I got there. I stood on a slippy foot hold and pushed up for the top hold where I almost had it but slipped off. This put me in a bad pace of mind but I put my card straight back in. There was a 15min wait before my next go as a lot of people thought this climb was ok! I had composed my self by this time as was ready to finish it and move on. I was a little less shaky this time and my feet didn't slip around as much as my first go. I got to the last most again and this went low and rocked up slowly for it. I crimped the good bit and quickly matched.
Qual. 6	I left this problem until last as it was a run and jump. My worst nightmare! I was in a good state of mind at this point though as I had topped 6, 4 of which were a flash. I put my card in, pulled on and ran across the volumes turning the wrong way and spinning off! For once I just laughed at how rubbish I must have looked. Silvia gave me some tips and I had another go. This time I almost caught the aret and I knew how to do it, all I needed was to catch it slightly higher up. There was only one person in front of me as again nobody wanted to do this climb. For this attempted I kicked my leg back and bounced across the volumes and hit the aret with a straight arm tensing everything to hold the swing. I was so surprised that it actually worked! I managed to hold it. But this was only the bonus, I still had the big roll over to complete before I could be un-focus. I stood up on the foot hold and fell over into the finishing jug. I was so psyched!
Qual. 7	This climb took me 3 attempts. On my first go I got passed the bonus and threw out for the second sloper and couldn't hold the swing. The waits in between go's were so long but I just watched everyone and worked out what to do next. My second attempt was roughly the same. I got to the same place again but tried a few different feet but none felt good so I went my original way and fell again! Between my second and third attempted was the longest wait but I learned a vital tip from it, and with out it I wouldn't have topped the boulder. All I had to do was soap my feet around so I was off balance for a bit but could hold the swing between the slopers. I knew I could top it this go. I pulled on and climbed it as soothly as carefully as I could so I didn't mess up before I could try out the new beta. I got to the sloper and with out hesitation I put my left foot into the pocket and went for it! I got it easily! This annoyed me a lot but showed me that my route reading needs improving. I was also very excited, I managed to keep calm and put a foot up for the last move. I pushed up and got it! I was so excited!
Qual. 8	This was the hardest bloc and the only one I didn't top out of the 8 qualifiers. It was completely my style so I was disappointed not to top it. I had attempts at different times of the day. I had my first 3 go's in a row and then the last 2 later. On my first go I missed the bonus because I didn't catch the right part of the hold. On my second and third attempt I got to the same place, the second last move. It was so big and my arms could only just touch the hold. I then had to transfer my weight from one side to the other. I needed more shoulder strength for this. I tried a few ways but none worked. On my last go there was only a few mins left so I spent as much time brushing as I could to run the time down a bit so there wouldn't be time for many others to go. It was a bit mean of me but it was a good tactic. I messed up this go really bad. As I was jumping for the hold I fell of on, on my first go my foot slipped off the foot hold and I didn't have any power to get me to the hold so I ended up on the floor. I spent so much time brushing too! I was angry for a little bit until I realised that I did well on all the rest of the blocs and there was a small chance I could get into finals.

I packed my bags up and when the time ran out we went outside for lunch. As I was eating I saw people standing by the results and so I ran over to see if I was in. And I saw my name in 8th! The last placed finalist again! I was so excited! My Dad was watching the results on his phone and he got them before me! Holly and Martha also did really well finishing 22nd and 38th.

After I finished talking I went through the time table with Michelle and I had 4 hours to wait before finals because youth B make and youth A and Junior female still had to compete in their qualifiers.

Silvia was in A so we watched her qualifying. She had some of the same blocs so she already had good beta. She climbed really well finishing 16th.

By this time I had to go into isolation. Tom came in with me. And I was in there for an hour! The food in isolation wasn't as good as Imst because this time they only had fruit no celebrations!

There were 4 blocs in the final. You had 5 mins to do one then 5 mins rest. There were also bonuses to get. The finals went very quick, here is how I got on:

Bloc	Description
Final 1	My first move was a dyno which I managed to get on my second go. Then next was to a small crimp (the bonus) I held it but it was very sloppy and so I jumped for the next hold but couldn't hold the swing. On this attempt I did the dyno and found a good bit on the crimp. This then made it easy to do the next move. It was to a sloping hold with a nice edge on it, I matched it then went to the final hold. This hold was a big sloper but easy to match with my foot up high. I was so happy to top it!
Final 2	My second bloc was a slab and it looked doable. On my first attempt I got onto the volumes and fell off trying to put my foot up. This was really annoying but I got back on and managed to put my foot up slowly. The next holds were OK and I had to switch my weight from one hand to the other so I could reach further. This part wasn't as hard and it was really fun. The last few moves had lots of feet and good holds. I remember smiling as I matched the top hold!
Final 3	This bloc looked completely my style and I was very excited for it. It had positive holds but it was overhanging which made them not so good. I pulled on and did the first move wrong handed this then messed up the next part and so I fell off. In total I had 5 attempts which was way too many as I was so pumped. On attempts 2, 3 and 4 I kept missing the bonus because I was pumped. On my last go I had a longer rest and did all the moves right  getting the sequence correct before grabbing the bonus. This was great. I knew the next move would be very difficult as getting the bonus took all my strength. I was also aware that time was running out and  I needed to speed up a little. I put my foot up and went for the second top hold. I didn't get far enough and fell.
Final 4	My last problem. It was again my style but looked like the hardest bloc. The first few moves were ok up until the big move to the volume. I went for it and held the swing well. This is the bit I am so happy about, I think I was the only person to get the bonus first attempt! After holding another swing when catching the bonus I was getting pumped. I now know that  I should have used the under cut I originally planned to used but made a quick decision (which properly lost me the top) to go for the second to top hold which I didn't get. This out of all my goes was the best. I think the previous boulder tired me out.

Overall I was pleased with my performance but I made some mistakes that could have boosted my final position by a lot. On the results it showed that my final position was 6th. I was happy but felt annoyed that I didn't top the last two blocs as I knew I was capable of doing them. I let the pressure and time force me into mistakes. Next time I will be more comfortable so should climb to my full potential.

Thanks to Tom and Michelle for coaching and taking us to Graz. Also thanks to Silvia because you helped me a lot going around in qualifiers. I had an amazing first bouldering EYC.