Martha

The Junior Bouldering Championships

So, in the next couple of blogs I’m going to chat about a few things. I’m going to start by reflecting of the 2014-2015 season and in particular the Junior Bouldering Cup. Then I’m going to think about what motivates me and finally I am going to mention what lies ahead.

In December last year I did the first round of the Junior Bouldering Cup at the Unit in Derby. As I live in Nottingham this centre is quite close and we get to go there quite often. I love the centre and like almost all centres I’ve visited the people are friendly. The route setting is top there too and there are lots of variety in holds and the angles of the walls.

So, I was reasonably confident. But at the same time I had discussed my goals with my coach and as I was going to be in the bottom end of the Youth B category my aim was to make the final. However qualifying went really well and I qualified joint 2^nd for the final. I was really happy with my performance. In the final the first bloc was a really tough, powerful and overhanging and we all managed to do about the same. The second block was much more ‘balancy’ and quite a few of us topped it. The final block was a bit more powerful again. The bloc really shook up the placing as there were some tops but I couldn’t manage it. However, my final position was 5^th and I went away really pleased!

I was even more pleased when I got an email a few weeks later saying that I’d been picked for GB Bouldering Team. That was an amazing experience and I had to read the email several times just to make sure. This was certainly not something that I expected for this season.

The second round was in Glasgow. Here my goal was to make the final. I was pleased again that I had just made the final in 6^th place. I think this perhaps made me relax a bit more and in the final I did OK and my final position was 4^th.

The final round, in June, was in Bristol on a really hot weekend. Unfortunately this time I didn’t make the final. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the season I knew making finals would be tough the fact that I had done in rounds 1 and 2 made this really disappointing. However, overall in the combined Junior Bouldering Championships I ended up placing 4^th! This was better than I had expected at the start of the season.

So, what have I learned from this experience?

1. Set yourself realistic and achievable goals but don’t be afraid to aim for the stars!
2. Set yourself a routine in competitions to help keep you focused and confident. I set myself a warm up routine, a routine in isolation and this helped keep me focused and calm
3. Don’t be afraid to check your score with the judges. In the first round, at Derby, I did bloc 2 on my second attempt but it was recorded that I did on my third go. This made the difference between 4^th and 5^th.
4. Confidence is key! I’m still working on this but I am beginning to recognise how important confidence is in performance. Now I just need to learn some skills to maintain confidence in competition.

Overall, in the 2014-2015 season I exceeded my initial goals and I can’t wait for the next rounds!