BMC Youth Climbing Series Welsh Final 2015 - Time-lapse

At the youth climbing series welsh final event this year, held in the Beacon Centre, my Dad and I set up a time-lapse video. It has got almost all the top-rope and lead routes in it plus podiums. I have posted it on youtube.

Here is a link to the video:

https://youtu.be/-SwQMc8BJ7w

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.

GB Team Assessment Weekend - Day 2

I woke up really late on Sunday so I had to rush to get my bags packed so that we could get to the centre by 10:00. I went downstairs for breakfast and had the full English breakfast - it was really nice. We got to the centre at 10:00 and the whole team went upstairs for a talk with Sue, Ian, John and Molly about our goals. My goals are:

1.  To onsight an 8a this year

2.  To win a European competition.

3.  To win the world championship.

After the talk we when downstairs to do a team warm up, Molly and Alex led it. We ran down the road and played tag in a garden which was really fun. We then jogged back in to the centre to stretch and do mobility before we started climbing.

Kirsten and I decided to climb together and we did an easy pink to warm up which we both topped easily. We then tried the Orange 7c from the assessment. After two attempts I got past the point where I fell of and went on to get to two clips from the top.

I then tried the green 7c+ and got to the crimp before the triangular undercut and tried to jump for the side of it but it was sloping and useless!

After this I tried the yellow 7b+ again - this was the one I messed up in the assessment. This time I got passed the fourth clip and well past half way. I felt much better about this as I knew I could get further than I got on Saturday.

At 1 o'clock my family and I had to leave to get lunch before going to the Diamond Gymnasium in Halifax where Ian had organised a session with a gymnastics coach.

The team was split into two groups depending on how far away they lived from Halifax. I was in the first group so I could get off early and not get back home too late. When we got there we had to take off all jewellery and shoes before starting the session.

First of all we did a group warm up and then got into pairs and played a game where we had to do various exercises as fast as possible and sit back to back to win. I was with Izzy and the game was great fun.

For the second game we got into two groups Girls+Kieran vs Boys. We did three games, in one of them, we had to stand in a line. Then the last person in the line would crawl through everyone else's legs and the next person would then follow. This would continue until everyone had gone through everyones legs twice. I was the smallest and there wasn't much room for taller team members to get through my legs.

We did loads of different activities such as jumping over foam blocks, climbing ropes, swinging on bars and rings. We also got into lines and ran and jumped on springboards to do front somersaults onto matts. This was really good fun because the springboard made everyone jump really high.

When we were finished all the activities we were allowed to explore the other apparatus and the other section of the gym. There was a big foam pit next to the trampolines and we did front somersaults into it. Angus was really good at this and was jumping really high. He tried too hard on one of them and whacked his knee into his face and was out for the rest of the session!


At the end we did two races, one was who could climb the rope the fastest William won with a time of 3.95 sec. The other race was who can sprint to the end of the track and jump into the pit the fastest. The was fun, but I didn't really know who won.

Overall the gym session was really good and I had a lot of fun. The coaches in Diamonds made it a really enjoyable session.

GB Team Assessment Weekend - Day 1

On Friday evening my family and I travelled up to Leeds for my GB team assessment weekend. We stayed overnight in the Premier Inn and had a meal there when we arrived.

I got up at 8 on Saturday and had a Premier Inn breakfast before driving to the Leeds wall. The centre was very close to the hotel and we found it easily. The walls in the centre were so long and all the routes were really hard. My easiest climb was 7b! 

A few minutes after we arrived Ian called the Team over for a briefing about how the day would work. We had 5 routes to try mine ranged from 7b to 7c. We had until 6:00pm to complete them, and we could climb them in any order.

Route 1

I warmed up as soon as the briefing was over and decided to climb the easiest pink first. I read it well before I started. I got half way and had a bit of trouble reaching a hold but I managed it even though I was pumped at the top.

Route 2

I had an hour rest and I spent the time reading my next route the Orange 7b. It looked as hard as the pink but it was a different style. The style was better for me because I am good at holding crimps and not so good at long routes with pinches. I started watching all the other climbers try this route so that I could get beta from them. It really helped watching Hamish and Alex. I spent about 15 min warming up and putting my kit on. Just before I started the climb I felt nervous because I really wanted to get at least two tops and I thought this was my best chance. 

The start of the climb was quite easy and I did it without any problems. Once I got to the middle section it started getting tricky and the moves were getting longer. I got to the second last clip even though the moves were hard and then reach the part where a lot of other people fell off. In my plan I said I wouldn't cross my hands over for this move, but I did. I was still able to shuffle my hand to the top of the hold while rocking over. The second top hold was really minging but I managed to get my foot up on the volume and jump for the top and I got it! I was really happy that I got two tops and I planned to attempt one more before lunch.

Route 3

I had an hour break and read the yellow 7b+ route. I was a little bit nervous about all the slug holds on the climb because I am not very good at holding them. Once I finished reading the route I went outside to do my running warm up. Once I had finished my warm up inside I got ready to climb the route. I was unsure that this climb was going to suit me and hesitant to start. I finally got on the route and the start was a bit awkward but I did it OK. I got to the fourth clip and then jumped for a slug and fell.

I was annoyed and upset because I fell off and I thought I would at least get half way up the climb.  I spoke to John and he helped me read the harder pink route. I was happier after speaking to John and I went out with my family for lunch.

We went to the Dragon Hotel and we were surprised to find that they had a hog roast in the beer garden. I had a pork roll with stuffing which was delicious.

Route 4

As soon as we got back to the centre I started warming up and reading the next route. This was the Pink 7b+. Reading it with John helped me work out the sequence but I still hated it as it was not my kind of route because it had too many pinches. The climb didn't go very well because I couldn't hold the pinches so I couldn't clip easily. It took a long time to get a proper grip on the holds which made me pumped. I clipped the 7th clip and fell off because I was too pumped. I was disappointed when I fell off, but not as disappointed as I was when I failed the yellow.

Route 5

Before attempting my last climb I had another hours break. I had a chat with Sue and she helped me focus on my next climb. I did my usual warm up and when I read the route it felt as though it would suit me because it was crimpy like the other orange. When I started the climb I felt ok although it had a lot of awkward clipping positions. I got the big sloper and I tried to reach around the corner but I could not reach the hold. I tried a couple of times but got too pumped and fell off.

Overall I felt pleased with my 2 tops, but I was really disappointed with my performance on the other 3 climbs because I didn't feel that I had focussed my training enough on those type of moves.

After this climb we went to a pub that my dad used to go to when he was a student in Leeds. We then met up with the team later for a meal. I sat on a table with Kirsten, Caitlin and Abi.

BMC Youth Climbing Series 2015 - Round 2

It was the second round of the BMC Youth Climbing Series 2015 in Boulders on Saturday. My brother Oscar and I were really looking forward to it. We went to bed early on Friday to give us the best possible chance of winning. I woke up at 6:30am and dressed into my pink shorts and hat and my black Boulders top. I next checked through my list to make sure I had all my kit, shoes, harness, chalk and bag.

All my brothers and both my parents were coming to watch Oscar and me climb. But before we went to Boulders we drove down to McDonalds for our usual pre-comp breakfast for me that is a snack wrap and a hash-brown! They were very quick at serving us in McDonalds so we got to the centre around 9:15am, this gave us time to find our climbs and read them. The routes looked ok and the blocs were ok too except bloc number 2 which had a massive slopper at the top, which looked really bad! 

At 10:30 Simon (the regional coordinator) put us into our categories and gave us a judge and a belayer. Our judge told us that we were leading first and bouldering after lunch. So we got straight onto our first route which was the white.

It was the easiest of the three routes and I was 3rd in the running order. After every route or boulder the climber at the front of the queue is put to the back to keep it fair. This meant I would climb first on the hardest route and second on the second hardest route. I was really happy about this because it mean't I was finished first and I could relax to watch everyone else!

Once the two climbers before me had climbed I felt very excited and really wanted to get on the route. I tied in and took my coat and shoe-covers off before starting the route. It was fairly easy and I got to the top. I was pleased when I came down and started to read my second route whilst watching my brother Oscar Boulder. 

I had kept warm during the wait between the first and second climb but ten minutes before the second route I did a bit of traversing to keep my hands warm. My brother was doing his second bloc when I was tying in for my second climb so I tied in extra slowly so my Dad could video me. I took off my coat and shoe-covers and chalked up ready to climb. I also had one last look before starting.

The first part of the route wasn't too hard but the final 3/4 moves were hard. I managed to clip the top from the under cut which I thought I wouldn't be able to reach but I did. I came down and put my shoe-covers and coat back on and went to watch my brother on his final bloc. He did really well and equaled everyone's score.

My last route looked easier than my second I thought because it had bigger holds. I read it and it looked fine so I went off to get a drink and have a break. Then soonish I had to go and warm up for my third and final route witch I was really happy to finally get to climb it.

I quickly tied in and chalked up also taking off my coat and shoe-covers. I pulled on and started the route well, I easily got to the overhang - the overhang was the trickiest part. All the holds on the overhang were jugs and I managed to get passed it and top the route.

I now had a lunch break because I had finished all my routes. I was very pleased with my climbing and hoped it would be the same in the bouldering. For lunch I had a cheese and ham sandwich and some cheddars. 

At 13:45 we started climbing again. The boys did the routes and the girls did the blocs. I was feeling excited about attempting the three blocs because they all looked different to each other and interesting. 

Tym our judge told us where to start the blocs and where to finish. I was last to climb because I climbed first on the 3rd route. But I didn't mind because I got to watch everyone else climb the bloc first. Most people topped the bloc so I was feeling confident about it. When I started it I found it easy as most other people did.

We moved on after this and again Tym went through the important stuff before our group started climbing. I was climbing towards the end of the group, I was happy about this because lots of people were falling off and I wanted to watch them. By the time it was my go nobody had topped it so I really wanted to be the first. I pulled on and did the first half of the route fine like all my friends did but after trying to hold the slopper for a long time it got sweaty and I slipped off. I was very annoyed that I came off but I had a good plan for my second attempt.

When my turn came around again I was feeling very confident my plan would work. I climbed up to the slopper again and held the far side of the hold and then matched the other side with my feet low. I got balanced and put my foot up high, I then rocked up and only just caught the finish hold. I was so pleased that I had topped it.

The final problem for my category looked much easier than the second and a lot of people managed to top it. I found it quite easy and reached the top as well!

In my head I did a rough calculation of the scores and knew I had won the competition. I was delighted that I had won and as I had come 1st in the last round as well I knew I had qualified for the Welsh final!

Once all the categories had finished climbing there was a presentation and I received a certificate. My brother also came 2nd and he was through to the Welsh Final too.

My first GB team meeting

On Friday lunchtime me and my parents drove up to Sheffield for the GB team inaugural meeting. I was really excited and looking forward to meeting more of the team.

We stayed in the Holiday Inn and had a meal in the restaurant as it was quite late when we arrived so we didn't have time to go anywhere else.

Day 1:

The first part of the weekend was held in the Holiday Inn which mean't I didn't have to get up so early, but I still decided to go to bed early.

I woke up at half eight on Saturday morning and went down for breakfast - it was a buffet. I had hash browns, bacon and egg! After this we went straight to the conference room for the presentation. We sat in the 3rd row and got a pack of booklets and pages about climbers safety and climbing centres. We read through some of these before the talk started. The presentation began at around 10.00am and was very interesting and helpful. The main point I remembered was that there are certain drugs that you are not allowed to take before comps or in training because they can stay in your system for a long time and will be picked up on a drug test. If you take drugs it will result in you being banned from competing for 4 years! The types of drug are on the IFSC. web page which I am going to print out.

The next part of the day was at Awesome walls. We drove there and had lunch in the cafe. But after that we didn't have much to do so my Dad belayed me on some routes. At 1.30pm we had a team fitness test. We did:

• Dish hold for 2 minutes
• Plank hold for 2 minutes
• Press up's for 1 minute
• Sit up's for 1 minute
• Typewriters x 20
• Pull up's x 20
• 1 arm lock offs 15sec each arm

Some of these exercises were really difficult but it gave me some more idea's for a new core and strength work out. I managed to complete dish, plank, press ups, sit ups, typewriters and pull ups. But the 1 arm lock offs were really difficult and I didn't even manage 1 sec.

Once we completed all of the exercises we waited for the FMS screening, but I was told that I was too young as I am only in Girls C.

Tony Smith, the parents rep organised a meal at Nandos for anyone in the team who wanted to go. We went to this and I sat on a table with the other Junior team members, It was really nice to get to know the others better and I was glad I was sitting next to them rather than my parents.

Day 2:

After breakfast we gave Catrin and her mum a lift to Awesome walls for the second day. It was 10.00am when we arrived and my one to one with the GB team coaches Ian and Jon wasn't until later on.

Kirsten , Abi and I decided to do some climbing while we were waiting for our one to ones. The routes were really good in Awesome walls and I recognised some from the competition routes from last year.

I enjoyed watching some of the older members of the GB team climbing some of the really hard route of the comp wall. One of these was an 8c!

At 1:30 we went into our one to one with Ian and Jon. In this meeting we talked about entering European competitions and this year I am going to enter at least two. Another thing we discussed was the trip with the GB team to Innsbruck, Imst and Arco. On this trip, my parents won't be going so it will be just the coaches, the team and me. I am really looking forward to this and it will be amazing to climb on the same wall that will be used for the world cup in Arco later in the year.

Once we had finished talking to Ian and Jon I went to the Sports Psychologist to fill out a psychometric test. This was really quick, and as soon as it had finished the foot-person was ready to see me as well. He asked me to walk from one end on the room to the other which was hard because I was thinking about it too much. He also measured my legs and my right leg was longer than my left but he said the other one should catch up.

By this time is was about four o'clock and we had to wait about half an hour before the main medical test. For the test we had to fill in a form for medical conditions and have a blood test but this would be done by my GP at home in Cardiff. I had an eye test and a reflex test. She also weighed me and measured my height. I am 1.48m which is the average height for my age?!