Members of the Junior British Climbing Team recorded some significant results at the recent Polish round of the European Youth Series in Warsaw. This report is from team member Shauna Coxsey.

Shauna's report:

On Friday 20th of July we all arrived at Luton Airport. There was a bit of a scare when the people flying down from Scotland thought they could have been delayed for up to one hour but it turned out that we all there on time. We were then delayed for an hour as well due to the weather we were having.

When we arrived in Poland the sky was a bit dull but it was lovely and warm. We arrived at our hotel all feeling rather hungry. We were each given a key (all the boys were a bit discomforted when they found that they were sharing double beds and most of them ended up moving into twin rooms the next night). We ate at an Italian that night that looked quite dingy from the outside but apart from the wait on some of the food we found that it was quite reasonable. Robert also learnt how to say thank you properly after the waitress corrected him several times.

After a quick briefing of what was ahead of us for the following day, we all went off for a good nights rest as we were up at 7:00 the next morning.

First day of competition, after a decent breakfast we headed off to the wall which was tiny in comparison to the building behind it. There was a supermarket just across from the wall which came in handy for some supplies but most of us had made sandwiches at breakfast and took them to the wall with us along with few pieces of fruit.

We were all climbing at different times of the day so we had to make sure that we were ready to climb at the right times and that we were there to cheer all the Brits on when they were climbing. Tony Musselbrook was very pleased as he climbed really well. He was the only person to top his second route and after coming 13th on his first route it put him through to the final in 4th place. Natalie Berry was also climbing really well and she qualified in 5th place. I also qualified in 10th place after coming 9th on both routes. We left team manager Tony Powell waiting for the results to be announced while we all went off to find somewhere to eat. We found a little restaurant with nobody in it, the prices were reasonable so we decided to eat there. After about 10 minutes we discovered that there was a seated area outside which was why it was really quiet inside. Our meals were satisfying and we then headed off to flag some taxi’s down.

When we got back there was time for a quick shower and then off to sleep. There was another early morning ahead of those in the final as we were up at 7:00 again but the others had a lie-in until 9:00. Nat, Tony, Jemma and I had our breakfast then got into our taxi. Our taxi journey took a lot longer than expected as our driver took us to the wrong place twice and he could not speak English. But we got there on time. It wasn't long before we were out viewing our routes, all the Female competitors were on one route and the male competitors on another. I was out first it was a powerful route on quite a steep wall and there were some technical places as well. I fell off at a reachy move and the next 4 people fell off lower than me which put me in joint 4th with a Swedish girl but I came 5th on count back. Natalie fell of at a very powerful move and after a lot of confusion and appeals she got a well earned place 2nd on the podium. Tony climbed well on his route. It was very technical on a steep wall. He slapped for a hold but the judge didn't think he had touched it so he finished in 9th place.

When we were in isolation we were told about a thunderstorm that was on its way, you wouldn't have thought it as the weather was glorious in the morning but in the late afternoon the sky became very dull and the heavens opened. Jemma, Adam, Tony, James, Rob, Peter and I decided to make the most of the rain and we had a good laugh sliding around and getting soaking wet. Josh was not joining in so Adam, Tony, Rob, James and Peter thought they would dunk him in a puddle and roll him around. There was a random Polish guy who was taking photos of us and there were lines of people with cameras taking pictures of us.

Nat was clever and she stayed dry as she had yet to go on the podium. After the rain had stopped we had the presentation and then headed off back to the hotel to get washed and dried. Once we were all nice and dry we went into the Old Town of Warsaw. It was beautiful. We were all really hungry and we sat down to eat at a restaurant but nearly everything on the menu was chicken and chips so we went to a small Italian restaurant. Jemma and I were really impressed by it but the others were not as satisfied with the food. Natalie and Tony had a pizza with peaches and banana on it which looked rather strange.

The weekend went really quickly but we all had a really good time. Thank you to Tony Powell and Jemma Powell for running the trip and making sure we knew when we where supposed to be climbing.

Final Positions
Youth B Female - Shauna Coxsey 5th
Youth B Male - Joshua Farrell 14th
Youth A Female - Natalie Berry 2nd
Youth A Male – Robert Mackenzie 16th, James Garden 18th, Peter Johnstone 28th
Junior Male-Tony Musselbrook 9th, Adam Watson 24th

Full results are here.

« Back