European Youth Championships Ratho 2015 (Issy)

Qualifier 1
Photo by Nick Pope

The European Youth Championships were held at EICA Ratho this year, good for the British as we didn't have to travel miles this time! I felt less nervous going into this competition as I had competed there before, so I had an idea of what to expect. Our first qualifier was a vertical and slabby route which was graded 7c. I read the route, and felt fairly confident that I could top it, so when it was my turn to climb I climbed steadily and didn't have any issues. I was approaching the last quickdraw when I timed out yet again! I was devastated as I thought I could have topped it without any difficulty- I wasn't too pumped at this stage. This left me frustrated as I knew I could have done better, however I began to read my next route, a crimpy overhanging climb up the main wall. The route was fairly straightforward, however I made a route-reading error and came off trying to reach for a hold when I should have just moved my foot. Due to this performance I moved down to 28th place overall. I was very disappointed with this as I was only two places off making semis! I knew I could have climbed a lot better, however I took away from the comp more experience, and recognized more aspects of my climbing to improve. Overall it was a fun comp, and I really enjoyed the routes, despite timing out!