World Cup Circuit Intro and Playing Catchup

Hello again! It has been quite a while (7 months to be exact) since my last post, so I will briefly go through what I have been up to in that time.

Since September (in numbers, but not any particular order)

• I have competed in 13 “serious” competitions: 10 bouldering, 2 speed, and 1 lead
• …and 2 “fun” competitions! (including a Hallowe’en black light dyno comp!)
• Took 6 courses to finish off my 3^rd year of Mechanical Engineering at UBC
• Started coaching 16 hilarious and awesome kids on the Edge Youth Climbing Team
• Spent 16 days bouldering outside, 8 in Bishop and 8 in Squamish
• 1^st at Canadian Open Bouldering Nationals

Canadian Podium at Boulder Nationals. Photo: Nina LaFlamme

It’s been a pretty crazy hectic time to say the least, and the next little while will be even more so. As I write this I am on the plane leaving for a two month trip around the world to compete on the IFSC Bouldering World Cup circuit. This consists of 7 World Cups in 7 countries over a span of about 14 weeks:

• Meiringen, Switzerland: April 15/16
• Kazo, Japan: April 23/24
• Chongqing, China: April 30/May 1
• Navi Mumbia, India: May 14/15
• Innsbruck, Austria: May 20/21
• Vail, USA: June 10/11
• Munich, Germany: August 12/13

All the World Cups, in order. Graphic: Maria Celkova

This first two month trip will consist of the first 6 competitions over 9 weeks, linked by 15 flights. I will be travelling with Maria Celkova (competing for Slovakia), and Sean McColl (competing for Canada), both longtime friends.

I am so incredibly excited to be able to do this. I had the opportunity to take the summer off of school and co-op this year so I figured it was as good a time as any to try my hand at the World Cup circuit, which has been a dream of mine for many years.

I plan to post here regularly to keep everyone updated on my adventures, so stay tuned! There is definitely more to come.