ABS 10 Bouldering Season

After the summer off, the kids were excited to get back to climbing, especially since it was the Bouldering season. Sidney was coming into her own as a climber and was starting to expect to crush at every comp she climbed in. Chase, however, was moving up to the "C" category and had his work cut out for him. At this point, though, all he really cared about was how he did compared to his sister. It would be quite a rivalry for a while.

The first Local they competed in was the opener at The Circuit (Aah, remember when they did comps?). Sidney climbed well and came in 1st by a large margin. Chase struggled a bit and came in 10th.

The next Local was the Halloween comp at Edgeworks. Chase improved to 5th place while Sidney again won by a big margin. My favorite memory is of the costume I made for Sidney. She was wearing all black and I attached neon painted climbing holds to her outfit. It turned out really well as she blended in with the walls perfectly. She often just looked like a bunch of climbing holds moving up the wall!

The next Local was at Clubsport and it was onsight. Sidney was first again and impressively climbed each problem like they were V1s. Chase again improved his placing by coming in 4th. His steady improvement would lead to the short, epic struggle between brother and sister as to who the best climber in the family was and it would all start in..........

CANADA! The next comp we went to was across the border at the Cliffhanger gym in Coquitlam. Alex, Sam, Audrey, Big Syd, Lil Sid and Chase all competed. I think we got at least 4 first place finishes and a couple high placings. Most importantly, Chase got his first, 1st place finish! To top it off, he beat his sister's redpoint score (barely)! To say he was stoked is an understatement. You should have seen Sidney's face when she saw the scores and realized that Chase had beaten her. She was MAD! Anyone who knows her is aware of how competitive she is and this did not sit well with her. Besides that, everyone had a great time as the Canadians were all very nice.

With a win over his sister under his belt, Chase had his sights set on the SBC the very next week. Lo and behold, he beat her again to make it two times in a row. Sidney did finish first in the Youth category and Chase just missed some prize swag by finishing 4th in Beginner. However, Chase beating Sidney twice in a row led to a good amount of razzing by Chase and myself. This in turn led to quite a bit of tension between the three of us (See Sidney:Competitive).

Sidney released all of that tension at the next Local at Redmond VW and in the process shut us both up. She crushed and came in first. Chase did great and finished 4th. She beat him by a decent margin and Chase would never beat her again, thus establishing her as the best climber in the family. At least Chase can claim to have beaten her two times in a row!

We again went to Canada, this time we carpooled with Janelle and Kayla Culmback. It was at the Edge gym in North Vancouver. Janelle got to go to her first Tim Horton's. Whoo hoo! Sidney and Chase finished first and I think Kayla got second. The best part of the trip was going to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We had a blast! Very cool.

Just like the opener, Regionals were at The Circuit. Chase climbed well and finished 6th, just nabbing the last invite to Nationals for his category. Sidney flashed all her routes and so did another girl named Cassin. SUPERFINAL! Cassin went first and made it about halfway up. Sidney then crushed the problem and first place was hers. I now had two kids going to Nationals again. Boulder here we come!

Nationals was at The Spot for the 2nd year in a row so I knew what to expect. Crowded conditions and at times, limited visibility. Chase climbed his heart out but did not make it Finals. He finished 27th out of 36 kids and I was very, very, proud of him. He improved so much during the season. Sidney was climbing well but having a bit of trouble reading the routes. She qualified for Finals in 3rd place but did not flash the 4th problem. In the Finals, Sidney and Grace Kane were the only girls to flash the first 3 problems putting her solidly in 2nd place. However, 2nd place was not to be as Sidney climbed the same wrong sequence 4 times in a row on the 4th problem. Only by sheer strength was she able to get high enough to place 4th and secure another US Team spot. When she was finished, she bravely fought back the tears but when I gave her a hug she couldn't help it and more than a few escaped her eyes. Still, in the end, she was happy to make team again and we chalked it up as a learning experience. We still talk about it now as a reminder to how important sequencing is. It was a great season for both kids but it would be the start of the end for Chase as a climber.