The Paraclimbing series moved up to the North East last week and a fantastic round was hosted at the Newcastle Climbing Centre.

26 competitors entered and there were some amazing displays of courageous climbing with some creative route setting everyone was challenged on the day.

Competitor Kat Langton climbing in the Female Neurological Physical Disability category gives us her report from the competition.

Competitive climbing started for me in April 2014 when I took part in the British Mountaineering Council’s Paraclimbing competition at Newcastle Climbing Centre. I was back there the other day for the third round of this year’s series.

In relation to the way I tackled the routes, I used the same tactic as in Edinburgh. I climbed the easy route to warm up then the medium route. Then it was the turn of the medium and easy boulders. After a break and some chocolate to give me an energy boost, it was time for the hard boulder and I finished with the hard route.

Even though I have been ill for the past two weeks, I still felt as strong as ever; especially on the first route. I got to the top of the climb with ease and even had the chance to bridge on the wall a couple of times. It was a very simple ascent with plenty of big holds that I could grab without any chance of slipping.

Before I started to climb the second route, I set myself the target of getting to just above the third volume which I managed. Being flexible does come in handy on routes like that as I was able to successfully place my right foot on the third volume to propel myself upwards. I also had to flag and bridge in a couple of places too. I was really happy with my effort and I was pleased to see others shared that feeling. It just goes to show that if you set yourself smaller targets, you’re more likely to achieve them; making you feel better in the long run.

The first boulder problem I tackled was made worse by the fact that there was what seemed like a wedge halfway up the climb and the initial couple of foot holds seemed to be angled so that they were underneath the others. This was because of the way the wall was built. My best attempt resulted in being four points away from full marks. I didn’t manage to grip the penultimate hold which would probably have allowed me to get to the top. This was a real shame and is something I need to work on in training.

I had no problem getting to the top of the easy boulder even though I had to start at one side of the wall then twist my body around to grab onto the penultimate hold on the opposite face. In order to do this, I had to bridge and then transfer my weight onto my right leg in order to pull my left across so I could push up with both feet.

Following an energy boost, it was time to tackle the hardest climbs of the day. The boulder was really tough but I just had to give it my best shot. Dave Bowes even came over before my third and final attempt and gave me some advice which allowed me to get higher and gain another point. The final route had large holds at the start but they were very narrow so I had difficulty gripping them and, because of this, I didn’t get very far up. This is something else I need to work on.

I had fun at the competition and hung out with my friends who are so supportive and encourage each other at every turn. I was six points off the 400 mark and especially happy to learn that I came third in my category; receiving a bronze medal as well as a certificate and trophy. This has really boosted my confidence.

I am so happy that I seem to be improving every time I compete and I hope that I can continue to make progress ready for Manchester in December.

The next round of the series is in Manchester on the 5 December and full details can be found here.

Full results from the round and overall results for the series after 3 rounds can be seen below.

Full detailed results with scores from the indiviudal rounds will be produced at the end of the series.

The GB Paraclimbing Team is supported by the Route Setting Association and Wild Country.

WATCH: a film of round 2 at the Castle on BMC TV

FURTHER INFORMATION

• TWITTER: Follow the BMC Competitions Twitter feed: @BMC_Comps
• Rob Adie (BMC Competition Climbing Officer) tel: 0161 438 3318 / email: rob@thebmc.co.uk

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