After two weeks of break from school including four great
climbing days in Red Rocks Las Vegas my spring break has unfortunately come to
an end. The long drive home from Vegas has given me the time to reflect on the
past few weeks. Last weekend I was in Ottawa for the Canadian Open Bouldering
Championships. Going into the competition I made sure I set no expectations for
outcomes other than to just be in the moment and have fun. Although I had
consistently placed top three at local competitions and I won the Western
Canadian competition just a few weeks before, I knew there were many incredibly
strong ladies that on any given day could come out on top; so I tried to think
of the competition as just another training day.
Saturday morning was the qualifying round. I walked into
isolation with a smile on my face ready to crush some boulders. I had a good
three hours before it was my turn so I tried to keep myself stoked by helping
my teammates who were climbing before me with their warm-up. After what seemed
like an eternity, it was my turn to climb. I sat down in the on-deck chair and
cranked my pre comp jam Lose Yourself by Eminem, thinking to myself just go out there and have fun, you have trained
hard for this, you are prepared.
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| Semis Route #2 Creds: Aidas Odonelis |
I got problems one and two on my first try, giving me a good
eight-minute rest before problem three. I turned around only to face my
nemesis, a vertical wall with few, far apart holds. I managed to get to the
second hold, a giant feature. I breathed for a brief moment then I attempted to
press over to the bonus hold, realizing I would have to find a way to get my
foot up really high or do a one hand jump to reach it. I think we can all guess
how that worked out….not very well. After not obtaining the bonus hold on route
three, I was not a happy camper. So I decided to let all my anger out on
problem number four. Problem four consisted of an awkward push into a corner
then a sideways jump to two holds on the roof before a few more holds to the
finish jug. I managed to get this problem on my first try by just grabbing the
last hold with two fingers. Maybe I should get angry more often, haha.
After my attempts on the five boulders were complete, I
ended up in 8th place qualifying in the top twenty for the semi
final round Sunday. I knew I had given it my all on Saturday, topping four out
of the five possible boulders, which I was extremely happy with. But I knew I
would have to climb even better in Semis to move up to the top six to qualify
for the final round.
Unfortunately semis did not go as well as qualifiers on
Saturday. I was not able to top any of the boulders, falling numerous times on
the last move of problems one and three. To make finals, the females needed at
least one top and two bonuses to advance. I had four bonuses and no tops, so
sadly my semis climbs were my last for this year’s MEC Canadian Bouldering Championships.
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| Alberta girls representing! |
As much as I was a bit disappointed with my result, I am
really proud of how far I have come this year. I ended up placing 12th
at the competition and 5th overall in the national ranking (top 3
local+regional+national). Thinking back to last year when I couldn’t even make
finals at local competitions to where I am now feels incredible. My first
Nationals experience really made me realize how important it is to embrace the
journey, every single moment, the good and the bad. When things don’t work out it’s
not the end of the world. After all, there is always another competition and another
route to climb.
Thank you so much to everyone who has made this bouldering
season enjoyable -my coaches, friends, my mom, dad, my twin sister and my
sponsor Flashed. You guys rock!
As for what is next on the agenda, I have Youth Lead
Regionals in a week and a half in Coquitlam followed by Youth Lead Nationals in
Montreal during the May long weekend.
Another post to come soon,
Becca
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| The top six finalist receiving their prizes! |
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