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Youth Open Bouldering-March 2016

After a long day in Liverpool competing in the leading event, I travelled to Manchester to compete at The Depot Climbing Centre, a brand new centre with loads of space and a variety of gradients. I arrived 2 hours before qualifiers began and took time to look at the blocks and get warmed up. There were lots of slabby problems with twists-a slippy foothold perhaps or even a dyno- as well as some powerful blocks.
Going around with some mates I managed to flash a slab and then one which came through a small roof. However the hard blocks far outweighed the easy ones, and I had trouble getting past the bonus on a fiendishly hard slab, a shouldery, bridging problem and a slab with a dyno to a tiny pocket. There was one problem which I suspect I could have done had I not messed up all of my attempts. The first go I grabbed a hold which looked the same colour as the block but apparently wasn't. The next two attempts my hand slipped just as I was setting up for the side ways dyno to the bonus hold.
This made me frustrated, but I didn't let it get to me and I found a steep problem which I managed to get second go (see picture). The eighth problem was a huge deadpoint which I couldn't make.
I was thrilled to qualify in 4th behind 3 members of the GB Bouldering team and sat back for a bit to watch the youth C and B finals. Isolation was busy (as always!) but I managed to warm up well and kept warm with my new fleece from Berghaus.
In observation I read our 3 blocks carefully with some mates. Our first block was my worst nightmare-a huge dyno to some volumes was the crux! Unfortunately I didn't get anywhere on this but I wasn't alone-only one girl in my category got it. I could do the first few moves of the second block, pulling up to a sloper and deadpointing  to a crimp on a volume, then going again to a positive sloper. However, the move to the bonus was a huge rock over on a high heel and, getting to this point 3 times, I just couldn't reach it. By this time I was beginning to think the results would come down to qualifier results as no one had got the bonus on the 2nd block either. The third and final problem was much more do-able, with a tricky start position (which I slipped of twice!) but then some good holds and a precise throw to the bonus, followed by undercutting a pinch, going to a sloper then throwing to a block hold and holding the swing, before launching for the last hold. However, I got to this point  twice but couldn't reach the last move-perhaps if I'd had it as my first block I would have topped. Again, only one girl in my category topped which left the rest of us separated only by the number of attempts it took us to get to the bonus, with two girls not getting the bonus and coming 5th and 6th. Unfortunately for me this meant coming 4th even though I'd been the only one of the  3 of us who tied to get to the last move of the last block. I had fun anyway, and was really pleased to come 4th in such a competitive field in my less favoured discipline. Well done to everyone who competed!
Keep climbing!
Climbing in the qualifiers in my new vest


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