EYC Dornbirn May 2015 (Issy)

In May I competed in my first EYC in Dornbirn, Austria. I was nervous as this was my first ever European comp, however I was excited to represent GB! On the day of the comp, we arrived at the wall to watch our route demos. The wall was overhanging and very impressive! It was one of the highest walls I had ever seen/climbed on and I was excited to have the opportunity to climb on it! Youth B girls qualifier 1 was technical and vertical, with small crimps. The climb itself was not too hard, however I felt I did not climb my best due to my nerves. I reached the second last clip, however fell early at the top crux section. The last few moves were hard, and only two girls in our category topped the route.
I then focused on qualifier 2, which boys B had just climbed. It was on the overhanging main comp wall and was a much more powerful route. I climbed slightly better on this route as I was less nervous- despite getting only two thirds of the way up this route I was happier with my performance. This put me in 20th position, which I was happy with as my aim for the comp was to achieve a top 20 placing. Overall it was a fun experience, and hopefully I will be less nervous for the next EYC in Imst!