The Rock Club’s Team Rock Claims 2017 Regional Bouldering Championship

Every December, thousands of young climbers from around the country flock to local climbing gyms to compete in The Bouldering Youth Regional Championships hosted by USA Climbing. Youth athletes showcase their bouldering skills and compete for the opportunity to move on to the Divisional and National Championships.

This year the Regionals comp was held at The Gravity Vault in Poughkeepsie, NY and TRC’s Head Routesetter, Brendan Chin, was brought on to bring his unique and versatile routesetting skills to the event. Yeah Brendan!

With hundreds of climbers attending and only the top 10 from each category eligible to move on to the Divisional Championships, the competition was intense! Team Rock’s Head Coach Meghan McDonald says, “Rock climbing competitions are incredibly demanding! If you’ve never seen a championship event, you have to check them out. Climbers have only 4 minutes to read and try a boulder problem they’ve never seen before. Then they get a four minute rest and try another one until they’ve tried all six. Some of the problems are virtually impossible and the routesetters only expect one person to finish. But the athletes have no idea how other kids have done, so it’s hard to keep perspective, a clear head and high confidence. It’s not unusual for some kids not to be able to get past the first move on one problem and then finish a different one that matches their style and skill set better. This makes the mental side of the competition really intense. It’s one of those sports where you really can’t predict who is going to win – beyond your climbing skills, it’s all about confidence and execution in the moment.”

We are proud to announce that The Rock Club’s Team Rock has reclaimed the title of Regional Bouldering Champions for the New England West Region and we have 26 climbers moving on to the Divisional Championships in Glastonbury, CT at Central Rock Gym on January 14^th, 2017.

Brendan says, “This year our team is bigger, better and stronger than ever. We reclaimed our title of regional champions and are proud to bring the title back to New York and the city of New Rochelle.” He continued, “Our climbers work and train at a rigorous and ferocious pace. This victory is a testament to all their hard work. We could not be more proud of all they have accomplished.”

Be on the lookout for another update after the Divisional Championships! We hope to continue the tradition of sending numerous climbers to “Nationals” and hopefully to bring home some more National Champions, podium finishes, and US Team members!

But it’s not all about winning with Team Rock. Meghan says, “As coaches, what matters most to us is that our climbers love rock climbing! Beyond that, they compete like professionals giving their very best effort, learning from their mistakes, managing the ups and downs of competing, and supporting one another throughout it all. This is what it’s all about and we love it! Thanks Team Rockers for always showing up. You rock!!!”

 

We look forward to the long competitive road ahead, ultimately culminating with the National Championship held in February in Salt Lake City.

Great job Team Rock!