The final of the BMC Youth Climbing Series 2008 sponsored by Perkins Slade was held at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena: Ratho in conjunction with the MC of S on Saturday 28th June.
This is a huge event. It's the grand finale of the whole series. One hundred and eighty (yes, that's right... 180!) finalists qualified through the regional rounds held in England, Wales and Scotland during March and April where nearly 600 young people, a record number, took part.
The turn out on the day was a massive record as well with virtually all competitors taking up their invitation to take part in the final. Additionally, most competitors were accompanied by 2 or 3 supporters - some even more - so you can imagine the vast space required to accommodate that number of people.
The whole day was absolutely fantastic with some amazing performances from competitors.
The standards of climbing in the series continues to rise each year and this year was no exception. There had to be super finals in the following categories: boys 8 to 10, 11 to 13, 14 to 16 and the girls 11 to 13, and 14 to 16 categories. Even after climb-offs in the superfinals we still had several ties - in one case an actual fourway tie!
Results
Girls 8 to 10
1. Mairi Teasdale
2. Carmel Moran
3. Ellissa Bryant
Boys 8 to 10
1=. Angus Davidson
1=. Drew Fielding
3. Jack Graham
Girls 11 to 13
1=. Josie Ball
1=. Jaime Davidson
1=. Tara Hayes
1=. Eleanor Hopkins
Boys 11 to 13
1=. Dylan Mackenzie
1=. Jonny White
3. Randy Roby
Girls 14 to 16
1. Hannah Beresford
2. Catherine Whiteman
3. Suzie Zitter
Boys 14 to 16
1=. Edward Hamer
1=. Luke Tilly
3. Andrew Towers
Team results
1. London and South East Area
2. Scotland South
3. North West Area
BMC thanks supporters
The BMC would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of the event. This includes the vast number of volunteers who do such tasks as judge, chaperone, belay, score the event, register competitors, allocate T-shirts, warm up competitors, run errands, and so on, the list is virtually endless. The event really couldn't take place without their unstinting support and enthusiasm. And, also, let's not forget the young people themselves and all their numerous supporters!
Thanks also go to the insurers Perkins Slade for sponsoring the series and all the professionals who work at the event. This includes the staff at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena: Ratho for making us feel so welcome, the route-setters for great routes, the sound engineer, Heason Events, and BMC and MCofS staff both present at the event and those in the office who work behind the scenes. And last, but not least, those companies that generously donated the large number of prizes needed for this huge event. These include Wild Country, Lyon Equipment, Climb magazine, Stone Country Press, Clif Bar, Outside, Tiso, and Go Outdoors.
Looking ahead
There will be an extensive consultation process in the Autumn to search for the most suitable dates to hold the rounds and final of the BMC Youth Climbing Series 2009. So if you want to have your say in that process, or take part in the 2009 series, remember to keep checking the BMC website for details.
Full results
More information about the BMC Youth Climbing Series.
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