Spring Break-Red Rocks 2013

Hello Everyone!

It has been just about a month since I last posted, and oh man do I have a lot to share! 

I spent my first week of my spring break in Red Rocks Nevada, which I was super stoked about. This year was my third year in a row going to Las Vegas for climbing and it is always really interesting comparing my previous years in Red Rocks and getting back on some unfinished projects.

One of Red Rocks Classics-The Gift 5.12D Photo Creds:Dung Nguyen

 My family and I headed to Las Vegas with some kids from our team,  some of the Edmonton team and our coach for the week Dung Nguyen (Yoda). The focus of Red Rocks this year was volume on easy climbs and also a few days of hard projecting on the last few days of the trip. I would have to say that my favorite climbing area that we visited is the Tsunami Wall at the second pullout. I think it was my favorite because all the routes were short, powerful, steep and crimpy which is my strong suit. Another plus was that our group had the whole wall to ourselves for the most part because the easiest route is 5.12A so not very many people could climb there.

The Gang! Photo Creds: Steve Frangos

The Parents

For me this year in Red Rocks was definitely a turning point in my climbing career. I sent my first 5.13A, S.O.S which was super inspirational for me and I also sent seven 12's throughout the week  and I flashed a 5.12C called New Wave Hookers. Other than me being very happy on how my climbing is going, my mental state is also right up there too so I am stoked on life!!!

 

Working the crux on Pet Shop Boy 5.12D Photo Creds: Sara Frangos

Sun Tanning at the Tsunami wall with Kris

As far as an youth competition update, Alberta just had their youth provincials and everyone crushed and I had so much fun. Also Regionals is in three weeks in Calgary which is super exciting. As well TDB Bouldering Nationals are in Edmonton this weekend so good luck to everyone competing.

Right now I am back in Canmore just hanging out and climbing at the new multiplex facility which by the way is amazing! Then it is back to normal life for me when I head back to school on Monday. I wish spring break was longer. The whole Red Rocks trip this year really showed me that my training has payed off and that if you set your mind to something anything is possible!

Happy Climbing,

Becca.

The Fam Jam

My Little friend

Fear This Sport 5.12B Photo Creds: Sara Frangos

Just Hanging Out...Literally Photo Creds: Monika Helbig

 

Ali and I getting stoked on life Photo creds: Ali Funk

Road Trippin'

I think it would be an understatement for me to say that the past two weeks have been quite full on. From two back to back lead competitions in Edmonton to Victoria and Abbotsford to climb some more, it has definitely been all climbing all the time, which is awesome!

Two weeks ago my family and I hopped in the car and drove the long, uneventful road to Edmonton for the first two lead competitions of the year. I got to admit I was pretty psyched; I could barely contain myself for the four hour car ride. February 16th was the first day of competition at Vertically Inclined Rock Gym. I climbed two really cool "flash format" routes that were both on overhangs and roofs..my favourite.

Qualifier #1. at Vertically Inclined 

Photo Creds Kevin Segedi

Photo Creds: Kevin Segedi

The next morning was the day of competition at the new hip gym, Rock Jungle Fitness. This time it was two "onsight" format routes. My first route was quite easy, it had lots of big holds and most of the girls in my category got to the top with no difficulty whatsoever. Because of this, I knew that the route setters would put us on something much harder for our next route. Something that would separate our category. So I knew that I would need to step up my game for the next route and leave everything on the wall if I wanted to get the high point.

When we went out to preview our second route, we stopped at the very far right of the wall where the 16-17 boys category had their first qualifier route. At that moment I was so stoked because most of the boys had fallen on the last few moves of the route so I knew it would be difficult; a challenge is something I am always up for.

As a sat waiting in the on-deck chair before going to climb my route, I had a deep pit growing in my stomach. I could hear the crowd cheering for my sister, who was climbing the route just one person before me and my mind started racing as to where she was on the route. But just like my old coach Dung says, control what you can control. So I did; I stuck my headphones on and blasted ke$ha, Tic Tok (my pre-comp song) to full volume and slowly started getting into my element.

Then it was finally my turn to go. I climbed to the third draw fairly calmly and collected, and completed an awkward crossover to a pinch then a bump with my right hand to a gaston. When I did that, the crowd started cheering super loud which I was not expecting since I was not even half way up the route. I continued for about fifteen more moves and pulled through one huge lock off to an under-cling and two big jumps before reaching the final two moves. I remember being so motivated just being so close to the top. I gave it everything I had, and completed the two final moves clipping the anchors with a sigh of relief.

Photo Creds: Kevin Segedi

Pushing through the last two moves on my second qualifier

Photo Creds: Kevin Segedi

Stretching to reach the under cling on my second qualifier at RJF

Photo Creds: Kevin Segedi

I ended up winning both competitions in Edmonton and my fellow teammate Amy Sutley and my sister Sara came a close second and third on the first day. Jen Slater and Sara ended up second and third at Rock Jungle. Also congrats to everyone who competed; you guys crush!!!

Just a few hours after the comps in Edmonton had come to an end I was on my way again but this time to Victoria and Abbotsford. My mom, Sara and I spent four days in Victoria. On two of the days Sara and I trained with the amazing Boulderz team on the 45ft walls which was great given that Nationals will be there in May. Then we headed to the Tour De Bloc bouldering competition in Abbotsford. I had so much fun!! The routes were all so amazing and I got to see some of my friends from B.C!

On the Way To Victoria!!!

Next up on my schedule is the Provincial Championships in Calgary on March 16th then on to Red Rocks for spring break!

Stay tuned,

Becca :p

P.S I would like to thank my two amazing sponsors my mom and dad for all your support and all the amazing photos on this post were taken by Kevin Segedi @ Segedi.com! Make sure you all check out his website.

Climbing To The Top

Hello :)

Being a competition climber I have always wondered what it would be like to compete at a low key, stress free competition, and if I would be able to preform better. I now have an answer.

Just a few days ago I flew over to Victoria  for a mock competition at the incredible world class facility, The Boulders climbing gym. The purpose being to take my competition skills to the next level for the upcoming season of competition. The clinic was fairly small, a group of young climbers aged 12-19 who were being taught by National team coaches and world renowned athletes from near and far. The coaches were, Stacey Weldon one of Canada's best female climbers and Canadian National Team Coach, Dung Nguyen-Canadian National Team Coach, Chelsey Rude-USA National Team coach and competition climbing and the one and only World Champion/Canadian National Team Coach Sean McColl. I would say we were all incredibly lucky to have four very experienced climbers working alongside us.

The Clinic was two days of intense climbing and learning. Day one we all climbed two Qualifying Routes in the morning, flash format followed by an Onsite Finals Route later that evening. We were all filmed on each of our climbs so that the next day we could go over our videos with our selected coaches (Mine was Sean McColl), And from watching the videos we were able to get feedback on what we can do better for future competitions and how we can improve our weaknesses. Sean was amazing at giving me lots of awesome feedback that I will definitely be able to put to the test at future competitions. I would have to say that my favorite part of the weekend was the amazing vibe that all the kids had. It is such an amazing feeling that everyone is so supportive of each other and are able to feed of their fellow competitor weaknesses and strengths.

Now I'm sure you are all wondering the answer to my question. Was I able to preform better at a low key event like this one rather than a major competition. The answer may seem surprising but it is no. I believe that if I am able to take the skills I learnt from my weekend in Victoria and apply it to my competitions in the future, then I will definitely be able to climb at the same level or maybe even better than I did this past weekend. It should not matter if I am at a clinic, Nationals or even Worlds. If I am able to believe in myself and take all my past experiences and harness it into completing one climb; there is no stopping me!

Thanks again to all the coaches who volunteered their time to come. And I would like to say a big thank you to Kimanda Jarzebiak and Seb Powell from making this event possible. I hope that there will be more opportunities like this one in in the future.

Until Next Time

Becca <3

P.S I will try to post the Videos of me climbing soon!

The lovely Facility In Victoria. Here is the link if you guys want to check it out! 

http://www.climbtheboulders.com/

A Great Way To End The Season

After two amazing weeks in Chile, I found myself sitting in class today daydreaming about warm weather. It's funny what a 35.C temperature drop can do to your mind...
 My whole experience in Chile was amazing. From the busy streets of Santiago, to the Pan American Climbing Championships at Mall Sport, to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile; I enjoyed every single minute.

When I stepped out of the stuffy airport just two weeks ago, I was greeted by an incredibly warm blast of air; which was quite a releif after being stuck on a plane for ten hours. Even though I was still groggy from the full day of travel, I wanted to explore the city to its fullest potential. Just after a few hours my first impression of Chile was a good one. Chile was everything that I had be wishing for; Kind people, amazing food and a picture perfect landscape surrounding Santiago.

As for the competition side of the trip, I had the most fun I have had at a competition in a long time. Even though the days were jam packed full of climbing it is always such a great feeling to be in a competition environment. It gets me psyched!!! The competition started of with lead climbing and I climbed both qualifiers on day one. I felt like my first climb went pretty well given that I only fell three holds from the top and my day only go better when I topped my second climb, which was completely vertical (not my strong suit). I ended up placing 11th in lead ,which I was not too happy about. But soon after I managed to put the past behind me and take all my frustration out on Bouldering which I would be competing in the next day.

After a long restful sleep, I was all set for Bouldering the next morning. After a few long hours in isolation, it was finally my turn to head to the wall. As I sat waiting in the stuffy isolation tent I though to myself "okay Becca, you have made it this far; now it is time to show everyone what you got" and this is exactly what I did. After four difficult boulders I ended up in 7th place, making it into semi- finals by a long shot. But it was not over yet, because I still knew I would have to take my climbing to the next level if I wanted to make it in to finals. (They take 6 people to finals). The next day was the semi-final round for Bouldering. We had four boulders to climb, and five minutes to complete, or at least try to complete each climb. To make a long story short, I did end up getting to the top of all the boulders on my first try, except for the first route when I fell off the final move. After a morning of hard climbing, I ended up still maintaining my position of 7th place only missing finals by one spot.

I was disappointed that I did not make finals in either disipline, but I felt like I climbed my best and I have not felt like that in a long time. Pan Am's this year was definitely an amazing way to end the 2012 season, and I am looking forward to this coming year of competition.

Another blog post to come soon,

Becca xoxo

Some of the team hanging out before heading into isolation

Qualifier one - lead

Working a tricky slab route- Qualifier #2

About to top the first boulder of the day

All smiles after the onsite of Semi-final route #4

Gearing up for a big move to the top-Semi Finals Route #1

My Summer Travels- Worlds Experience 2012

 

The Youth World Climbing Championships were held in Singapore this past August. I arrived in Singapore on August 24th. Just a few hours before, my climbing extravaganza in Railay Beach, Thailand had come to an end. I had been climbing in Railay Beach for just over a week. My goal was to try to become more acclimatised to the incredibly warm and humid conditions that I would be dealing with in Singapore. It turns out that about half of the National team and their families were in Railay Beach too. So my Mom, Dad, Sister, my two fellow teammates Amy Sutley, Allison Vest and I had lots of friends to climb with. On our first day climbing on Tonsai Beach, a certain route called "Tidal Wave" caught my eye. I immediately had the feeling that this would be my project for the time I was here. I spent at least half an hour just studying it before I actually decided to give it a try.

Tidal Wave started on the far right of the wall and traversed left and up about eight more meters until the anchors. It was not very long, only seven bolts but man, was it pumpy. All the moves were super powerful. I would say there was two cruxes - one about 3/4 of the way up and the second one was only one move from the anchor. The fist crux required you to traverse on one large sloper rail. Once you got to the far left side of the sloper you had to bump your left hand to a pinch and then again to a sloping pocket. From there, your feet were still out right so you had to cut loose and set a high heel hook to be able to reach the next crimp. When you got to the crimp, there was one more big move to a sloper before reaching three finger jugs, where you could rest before the last four hard moves. The second crux started after the rest on the finger jugs. From there, you moved your left hand to a sloper pinch and kept moving it along until you caught a small, bubbly tuffa. From that point, you brought your right foot up onto a ledge and executed one last dynamic move to a second pinch before you could clip the anchors. I finally sent the route on my second go of the day. It was our last day in Railay Beach so I was pretty psyched; also this route was my first 5.12D redpoint. This climb ended my trip on a high-note for I was leaving the next morning for Singapore.

I had so much fun at Worlds this year! I think the reason was that I had already experienced the same level of competition at Worlds in Imst, Austria last year so in some ways I knew what to expect. I did not have a million questions running through my mind about what the experience would be like, so I felt that I could solely focus on my climbing. Coming into the competition, I felt like I was ready to attack whatever was thrown at me. I had been training super hard all summer and I had been waiting for this moment all year, to represent my own country in the highest level of youth competition possible.

My first qualifying climb was okay (not great!). I think that I fought hard until the end so I was happy about that, but I do think I could have gotten at least a few holds higher. When I previewed my second qualifying route I thought, "Hell yeah, this is more my style." The route was steep and pumpy which requires lots of endurance and power. This is my strong suit!

As I stepped onto the wall, it was only me. I was so focused that I could not hear the music playing in the background, or the roar of the crowd behind me. All I could hear was my coach's voice in my head reassuring me, and my family and teammates cheering me on as I made my way up the wall. Once I got about six draws up the wall I made it to the first crux move. I set my foot up as high as I could, and started transferring all my weight onto my left foot. But soon after I realized that there was no way I could do the move this way. So I downclimed about four moves where I would rest for a few seconds and try it one more time with my foot on a lower hold. This way would be more powerful but I believed I could do it. I got to the move once again. Glaring at the hold, I lunged for the crimp and touched it, just popping off at the last second. I was disappointed because I knew I could have gotten further. I still had so much energy left. But looking back at the competition I am happy. I think that I could have climbed better, but for me it was another great learning experience that will help my climbing career in the future.

Throughout the whole week in Singapore I learned so much about myself and my climbing abilities. I have so much respect for all the amazing climbers around the world and I realize to be at the top you need more than just climbing skills but the willpower and determination to be able to beat the odds. This year’s worlds experience has not only taken my climbing skills to the next level but has made me stronger mentally. But now it is time to set my sights on the next big competition, the Pan Am Games in Chile coming up this November!

Another blog post to come soon!
Untill next time,

Becca :)