This weekend, Awesome Walls in Sheffield hosted three major events: the British Lead and Speed Championships and an international field of Paraclimbers. With 200 lead athletes, 170 speed athletes and 50 paraclimbers, it was a fantastic weekend of competition climbing.

Qualification

A huge number of very psyched climbers and paraclimbers piled into Awesome Walls Sheffield to climb some amazing world-cup style qualifiers set on some awesome volumes and holds from Beta Climbing Designs, Cheetah and Agripp. Some interesting qualifer results developed, as the jamming moves on a particular route spat off some of the country's best climbers at only the third clip. 

Once the British Lead qualification had concluded, it was time for the Paraclimbing Cup. 48 paraclimbers in nine different categories from 15 different countries (including Japan, Canada, Hungary and Israel) took to the walls in a display of grit and determination that is yet to be rivalled in the competition climbing scene. With a strong GB Climbing Team in attendance, six British athletes progressed into the finals. 

Finals 

Sunday dawned and the tension quickly ramped up as the Paracup finals commenced. Complete silence fell across the centre as the visually impaired climbers took to the wall, helped by their sight guides. Each one progressed higher and higher up the wall, the silence broken by huge rounds of applause when they fell off. There were some amazing performances from the British atheletes and tops from both Michael Cleverdon and Matthew Phillips. The finals culminated with a very exciting amputee leg category, which ended up with the top two climbers being split on time.

Paraclimbing Cup results are available on the IFSC website here.

GB Climbing Team Results

Hannah Baldwin - RP2 - 1st
Anita Aggarwal - RP2 - 2nd
Matthew Phillips - AU2 - 1st
Joanna Newton - AL2 - 2nd
Michael Clevedon - RP3 - 2nd
John Churcher - B2 - 3rd
Isabella Walsh - RP2 - 4th
John Senior - AL2 - 6th
Keith Lynch - AL2 - 7th

 

Could you climb 7b with no vision? The finals of the third round of the @ifsclimbing Paracup have started at @awesomewallscc in Sheffield. Here's Sabine Ladel in the visual impairment category. Thanks to sponsors @dmm_wales and @mammut_uk and @lapisholds @bleaustone_ @captaincrux @squadraholds and @xcultclimbing for their amazing holds. #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #paraclimbing #ifsc 📸@alexmessengerphoto

A post shared by The BMC (@teambmc) on Oct 8, 2017 at 3:15am PDT

BLCC Finals

Then it was time for the junior and senior British Lead Champions to be decided. The juniors and veterans put in some really impressive efforts on funky routes that they wouldn't have experienced much of before, with the standout performance coming from Finley Wood who topped his final route. 

The senior finals culminated in a very dramatic final: William Bosi topped the final route convincingly from lower down the rankings leaving Jim Pope and Dave Barrans needing a top to best him - neither managed this feat and William was victiorious. The female event came down to the wire as well, with Hannah Slaney having an amazing final and topping the route by the skin of her teeth. Visting Swiss climber Jara Spate came out last and took a long lob off the final move to give Hannah the win. 

The full results of the BLCCs can be found here.

The full results of the BSCCs can be found here

Lead Cup results can be found here.

 

Congrats to @hannahslaney your new British Senior Lead Champion. Here she makes the women's British Lead Championship final look easy on this insanely steep route at @awesomewallscc .Thanks to @dmm_wales and @mammut_uk for support. Holds thanks to @cheetaholds 📸@alexmessengerphoto

A post shared by The BMC (@teambmc) on Oct 8, 2017 at 7:51am PDT

British Lead Climbing Championships Podiums

Junior categories

Female A

1. Kitty Morrison   2. Isabelle Adams  3. Gywneth Uttley

Male A

1. Kieran Forrest   2. Max Milne   3. Sammy Oakes

Female B

1. Emily Phillips   2. Airlie Borlase   3. Marijke Booth

Male B

1. Finley Wood   2. Hamish McArthur    3. Daniel Smith

Female C

1. Louise Flockhart  2. Mathilda Collins 3. Hannah Kerr

Male C

1. Toby Roberts   2. Joseph Xibberas   3. Jack MacDougall

Female Veteran

1. Joanna Goorney 2. Karin Bradbury 3. Vicky Askew

Male Veteran

1. Nigel Leeming   2. Chris Forrest   3. Simon Tiley

Senior categories

Female Senior

1. Hannah Slaney   2. Jara Spate   3. Rhoslyn Frugtniet

Male Senior

1. William Bosi   2. Jim Pope   3. Dave Barrans

British Speed Climbing Championships Podiums

Female Junior

1. Emily Phillips   2. Pippa Watkin  3. Emma Davidson

Junior Male

1. Joe Czubkowski   2. Max Milne  3. Matthew Fall

Female Senior

1. Jara Spate  2. Jen Wood   3. Hannah Slaney

Male Senior

1. William Bosi   2.  Orrin Coley  3. Billy Ridal

 

Could it get any closer? The men's final of the British Speed Champs between Will Bosi (left) @will_bosi and Orrin Coley (right) @orrincoley came down to this finish. Who was faster? In the end they were so close that they went again and Will Bosi took the title. 📸@alexmessengerphoto Thanks to @awesomewallscc @dmm_wales @mammut_uk #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #thebmc #sheffield #speedclimbing

A post shared by The BMC (@teambmc) on Oct 8, 2017 at 11:57am PDT

Thanks for all the support

The ropes were provided by Mammut as the official supplier of ropes to BMC climbing competitions. The prizes were provided by the BMC and DMM as the official supplier of climbing gear to BMC climbing competitions. The competition vests were provided by Five Finger Thing.

Thanks to Awesome Wall (sheffield) and the wide range of hold suppliers that allowed the BMC routesetters to set some of the wildest routes imaginable. Huge thanks go to the following brands for supporting the event:

Lapis: Facebook / Instagram

Bleaustone: Facebook / Instagram

Captain Crux: Facebook / Instagram

Squadra: Facebook / Instagram

X-Cult: Facebook / Instagram

23Holds: Website

Agripp: Website

Cheetah: Website

WATCH: these videos to see how the holds and volumes are made

We want to say a big thanks to every BMC member who continues to support us through the Coronavirus crisis.

From weekly Facebook Lives and GB Climbing home training videos, to our access team working to re-open the crags and fight for your mountain access, we couldn’t do it without you.

Did you know that we've launched a U27 membership offer for just £1.50 / month? And with full membership from £2.50 / month, it's never been easier to join and support our work: 

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/join-the-bmc-for-1-month-U27-membership

« Back