If you didn't watch the live stream The Great Climb with Dave Mcleod and Tim Emmett is available from BBCi player until 4th Sept.  Totally worth watching for adults and kids alike.  Camera work is brillilant you can almost feel the rock beneath your fingers.

With less than 2 weeks until the championships entries are currently standing at 413 climbers from 32 countries.  Quickdraw are still hopeful of getting permission to run a face-painting and temporary tattoo stall at the event so if you can help on any of the days please let us know.

The team that will represent GB at the World Youth Championships in September was announced on Sunday and will include Eleanor Hopkins and Rachel Carr in the Youth B girls category.  Ross Kirkland, who is currently suffering tendonitis will be assessed at the end of August. 

Our mentors Natalie Berry and Jonny Stocking will join them, together with fellow Scots, Paul Williamson, Jonny Field, Robert Mackenzie, Dylan Mackenzie and Steven Addison.  This means the Scots could account for nearly 50% of the GB team.

(photo by Anthea MacKenzie)

The BMC Open Youth Championship took place on Saturday 24th July at EICA.  There were around 100 competitors including the GB and French national teams.  Competitors were split into their International categories and had 2 qualifying climbs. The climbers were scored using the international scoring system that takes the place a climber finishes in relation to the other competitors over the hold points they score, with the top 8 going through to a final climb.

Quickdraw had 10 climbers taking part on the day

Location: - an open sided circus tent in Millhouses Park in Sheffield.  The Junior event took place on Saturday 26^th June when 52 boys and 30 girls aged 12 to 16 turned out to do their best on 10 different qualifying bouldering problems graded V2 to V6 for the girls and V3 to V8 for the boys.

There were 4 Scots down for the day.  Rachel Carr (14) and Andrew Barr (16) from Quickdraw with Fraser McIlwraith (14) and Alasdair Johnstone (16).

A competition for schools to design a banner for display at this year's World Youth Championship at EICA.
Local schools are being asked to prepare a banner for this year's biggest international youth climbing competition being hosted by EICA from the 9th - 12th of September.

That was some weekend.  187 climbers and families and still room to move around.  Couldn't have done that at many other climbing walls.

Biggest congratulations for the day must go to Andrew Barr, the only Scotland South member to make it onto the podium. Big achievement when you consider that he didn't even qualify for the finals last year. So if you didn't do as well as you would have liked this year don't get disheartened, just get training.

Quickdraw's Eleanor Hopkins achieived an excellent 31st place in her first ever round of the European Youth Series at Imst on 5th June.   Only 2 of the GB team made the finals - Shauna Coxey in the Youth A girls finished 6th and Ed Hamer in the Junior boys finished 10th.  Results for the rest of the team:-

Youth B -  Dylan Mackenzie was 34th and Steven Addison 48th. Youth A boys  - Jonny Stocking finished 18th and Luke Tilley was 19th Junior Girls - Natalie Berry was 12th Next round Vienna Austria in August.

This lead climbing competition is designed to be a fun and relaxed competition which is open to young competitors born before 1st January 1999.

Issue 3 of Psyched, the BMC Competitions Committee newsletter is available to download from here

Featuring articles from Quickdraws Rachel Carr, Eleanor Hopkins and Rory Whyte as well as climbers from the senior bouldering team it is an excellent read.  Even if they did miss my by-line off the SYCC article.

Avril