Round 1 - Report

Redhill, 26 November 2000
Dane Court's first adventure into the Southern Bouldering League was really an experiment.
I was unsure of just about everything! When should we arrive? Would we gridlock the registration process for ages? Had I given our pupils enough information? How long would the competition take? Would Tom's dad volunteer as a judge (and if he did, would he do that awfully loud shouting business when a competitor was not around to take his turn?).

Of course, I really didn't need to worry (bar the shouting!). You see, the league is organised by Rob Dixon. Almost as soon as I had met Rob and shaken his hand I new that the rest of the day would be fine! Registration took five minutes and we were soon searching out the problems in the competition area. Within a few minutes we had found all 25 routes and worked out the meaning of most of the chalked symbols. We had, in fact, arrived early. This gave the boys plenty of time to become familiar with the venue and spend some time planning their tactics (or in the case of the year 7's and 8's; playing on the boulder).

A last minute change to the rules meant that I had to convince Richard Sharpe, at only 15 years old, that he really should be competing in the Men's Open category (for over 16's!). Very much to his credit, he graciously agreed thus giving our other competitors a chance.

The competition got underway a little late and our fifteen competitors soon got into the routine. I was greatly encouraged to see all of them take part with such confidence and skill. By the middle of the afternoon it was clear that some competitors would not be able to attempt all the climbs; there were simply too few judges. Tactics changed and everyone started checking the size of the queue before handing their card to the judge.

We started to get some idea of how well we had done and it looked promising! Tom Gore and Mark Watkins had very high and almost identical scores. Russell Bates, Joe Cook and Mikey Evans had been climbing really well all day and looked pleased with their achievements. Joe Kelly had tried most of the climbs and succeeded on a surprisingly high proportion with his limited reach and size two trainers! Richard Sharpe was having a close battle with an old adversary; James Fogden who had led the way in last year's regional BRYCS competition.

The final results were a very pleasant surprise! Tom and Mark scored equal first place in the Junior Boys (Tom winning in the Super Final by a mere four seconds). Scott Simmonds came third with Stuart Walters, Philip Maringer and Russell Bates all appearing in the top seven.
Richard was just beaten by James Fogden (Richard won't let that happen again!).

We all appreciate the contribution made by Mr Cousins, Mr Gore and Mr Watkins without whom our team would be much depleted.
Thanks to Rob Dixon for coordinating such an enjoyable event.

We look forward now to to the second round at Brunel University, Uxbridge. I feel that everyone can improve their score (and most, their placing!). We will also try to give some more Dane Court regulars the chance to compete.

Keep wearing the T-Shirts!

Mr Alderson

PS: The ClimbUK website has a report on this round.