Laval EYC

So this has taken me ridiclousy long to write… my only excuse is that i have been sooo busy!

Last month, I (along with Alex, Jen, William and Pete) joined the rest of the GB junior boulder team to compete in my first international boulder comp. I was so psyched for this comp and had been counting down the days till we'd finally arrive in Laval.

After a day of travelling, and another full of throwing socks, jabbing with spoons and "pegging" people it was time to get serious and compete. I remember having the same feeling as I did before my first ever international (EYC Edinburgh 3 years ago now!!)… but this time I felt more pressure. I guess I just put the pressure on myself - I knew it was my first one and nobody had any expectations for me but I really just wanted to prove myself… I reckon it was the most nervous I've ever been!

We got to the wall pretty early so we could warm up before it all got a bit too busy and stressful. A quick confidence booster from Tom and I was ready to climb. We had 8 blocs… all of which I had no idea whether they were easy or not - only little arrows on my score card indicating a general opinion on which was nails and which wasn't. I think it is really hard to tell how hard a bloc will be in the international comps… I pulled onto one expecting it to be really hard but matching the top hold I decided it wasn't too bad. However, there were ones that shocked me - they were MUCH harder than they looked!

After a mentally challenging qualification round, I finished with 4 tops in 7 and 6 bonuses in 8 leaving me with a finishing position of 11th. I was relatively pleased with my performances on specific blocs but was slightly disappointed. It was a good experience and I was able to see the gap between myself and the athletes who just bouldered.

Evening came and it was time for finals… we were all super super pumped for Nath who had qualified in 5th place. To sum it up, after about an hour of biting nails and screaming our heads off, history was made - Nath won!! The atmosphere was incredible and GB was so proud of Nath.

To top off an even better weekend, William and Pete both made finals the next day! And after another final we got our SECOND podium with Will getting 3rd!! Also a great 5th place for Pete!! I was so proud to be part of the GB junior bouldering team and the inspiring performances of my team mates have encouraged me to work hard.

Expect big things next season. As they say, watch this space.