Last weekend 16th & 17th February, Juniors took part in Round 4 Junior Winter Series at Durham Climbing Centre.  This marks the last scoring round before the Grand Final & Award Ceremony on Saturday 23rd March 1pm – 3pm.  Read on for further information.

Over the weekend, DCC and regional Juniors came along to try out the new spotty & grey problems. Bethany Liddle set the routes for the 3 categories; 5 – 7 Years, 8 – 10 Years & 11 – 14 Years. 

Our youngest competitors in the 5 - 7 years category faced eight problems on the Junior Wall Area.  All problems were particularly enjoyed by the group.

Alexander Royle impressed with a clean sweep of eight flashes closely followed by Dillion Veide on top form showing his dedication on the last climb, a tricky black and green spotty next to the main overhang. The crux of the problem mid way up challenged Dillon on his first and second attempt until he cracked it on his third attempt picking up 4 points and achieving a magnificent 74.  Another high score of 71 was achieved in this round by Peter McGrother.  Peter flashed 7 of the problems and came back the next day eventually gaining one point on his final problem!

Great effort and determination from all in this category.

In the 8 – 10 Years Category, four of our juniors Jonah, Thomas, Cayla and Caitlin flashed all twelve problems surprising route setter Bethany who was convinced they would be stumped on at least one!  Fantastic work guys!! 

Joseph followed closely behind just missing out on a clean sheet after dropping 3 points – very unlucky as we know what this talented young climber can do!

Despite gaining different scores in each of the previous rounds, climbing buddies Jonah and Thomas tie on 341 for first place!

An exciting finish for these two Academy climbers and all to play for in the final!  Well done to everyone in the largest category - some very good efforts from all competitors did not go unnoticed by their coaches.

Finally in the eldest category 11 - 14 years, more high scores were achieved with only a few points dropped. 

Only one competitor managed a clean sweep and the only one to flash Problem 13! There was talk of it being impossible and even missing a foothold however one of our talented competitors Mairi Teasdale managed to flash this one giving her a perfect score.  Consistent high scores were presented in each round for this category.

A busy weekend for competitions, as some DCC Junior Academy members also competed in the first regional round of BMC Youth Climbing Series 2013 held at Sunderland Wall. In this national competition, juniors must complete 3 boulder problems and 3 routes in 3 attempts.  There are three rounds and a final held at EICA Ratho.  Details can be found on BMC website.

 

In true DCC style, the boys smashed it achieving 1st (Thomas Dumble) 2nd (Joseph McGrother) and 4th (Jonah Kirtley) in their categories! 

These three friends are doing a fantastic job of representing DCC in National Competitions.  If any parents would like information on how to become involved in competitions outside DCC please contact reception staff for information.

A Regional Climbing Club, Rock Solid North East & Lakes Climbing Club meets regularly for team training with GB Team Coach Ian Dunn.  The next session is on 2nd & 3rd March.  For more information contact one of the team by email on info@durhamclimbingcentre.co.uk

Put this date in your diary! A one day event recognizing DCC Juniors achievements throughout the Winter Series Competition & an exciting Spectators Final where the highest scoring juniors will go head to head for a podium finish!

There will also be a free raffle and additional problems on the day for everyone to try.  We will also be offering free samples of SoBe vitamin water.

All JWS competitors are invited to the Final Event on Saturday 23rd March to collect their Certificates of Attendance, Winner & Runner up Trophies.

Since November, DCC have held one round per month when juniors have been invited to enter their best scores on a set of problems specially designed for their age group.

The spectators final takes the top 5 scoring juniors in each category who have attended at least three rounds.

An exciting spectators final will emerge as the top 5 go head to head on 3 problems to decide their final ranking! If there are further ties, additional tiebreaker problems will be added to decide the result.

The competitors are marked in red on the scoreboard.  If any of the top 5 highest scoring juniors are not in attendance for the final, the next highest scoring competitor will be invited to join in.  If your child in in the top 5 and you are unable to make the final please let DCC staff know in advance.

Even if juniors have only attended one round, they are welcome to come along for their certificates of attendance, raffle and join in the spirit of the series.

All competitors will leave with a certificate of attendance.  The raffle will be drawn selection of prizes include climbing accessories & clothing.

12.30pm – Registration & Warm Up: Please sign in and give written consent to photographs.

1pm – Final begins & juniors are invited to watch.  The Final problems will be tried in category order.

1pm – 5 – 7 Years Final
1.15pm – 8 – 10 Years Final
1.30pm – 11 – 14 Years Final
1.45pm – all finals finished juniors may try new problems until Award Ceremony begins at 2.30pm.

2.30pm - Award Ceremony & Raffle – All competitors will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony held in the Junior Climbing Area.  From 2.30pm juniors may sit on matted area to await results.

All usual DCC Competition rules apply.

Juniors will be chosen in random order to complete 3 final problems. DCC staff will mark final problems. Marks will be awarded for a flash, 2nd attempt, 3rd attempt. Each competitor will be given 3 attempts on each problem. No points will be awarded if not completed on 3 attempts.

1st, 2nd & 3rd Place Juniors will be awarded with Trophies & Certificates. All competitors will be awarded with Certificates of Attendance. After the awards, the raffle will be drawn. Scorecards from each round become raffle tickets, so everyone who has entered will have the chance to win a prize.  If juniors are not there to collect raffle prizes, we will move onto the next raffle ticket.