Lots of comps this weekend, but the big excitement was ABS Regionals. Congrats to everyone who competed and those who are received an invite to compete at ABS Divisionals!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

MACCS Comp – Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Photos from Caleb Baechtold and Shaun McCarthy

Beta Bloc – WPI, Worcester, MA
Photos

Ram Jam – West Chester University, West Chester, PA
Photos

Boulder Bash – Maine Bound Adventure Center, Orono, ME

TdB Comp – Altitude Gym, Gatineau, ON   Quals   Finals
Photos by Paul Hart

ABS Regionals (501) Capital – Sportrock, Sterling,VA   Results
Detailed Results and explanation of scoring from USA Climbing
Photos
Photos by Kellie McCaffrey Meehan

ABS Regionals (502) New England West – Gravity Vault, Upper Saddle River, NJ   Results
Detailed results and explanation of scoring from USA Climbing

ABS Regionals (503) New England East – MetroRock, Newburyport, MA   Results
Photos by Jason Hayden

Sunday, December 7, 2014

One Tribe – York College, York, PA

I was at the TdB comp at Altitude Gym in Gatineau, QC this weekend. I had a good time and was both pleasantly surprised and completely frustrated with my climbing. If you regularly read my blog, than you are aware that I hurt my left knee at the last comp I went to, which was the TdB at Bloc Shop 2 weeks ago. It was hurt pretty bad, but two different medical evaluations concluded that there was no structural damage to the area. This, of course, was good news and meant that I just have to wait until it heals. No athlete is good at this!

I did rest it a bit, started some rehab and have gradually reintroducing it to climbing. I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to compete at Altitude, but I was already registered and TdBs are always a good time, so I thought I’d make the drive and see what I could do. I could climb, stand on my left leg and even occasionally push a little with it! Oh the other hand, I could not heel hook, toe in, high step, or bend much past 90 with it. This really limits you.

Some of the problems that I climbed at Altitude did not require my left leg to do anything that it can’t currently do, many climbs required creative beta to complete them without the move(s) I couldn’t do and others were completely off the table, I just couldn’t do or even try them given my limitations. So I was, like I said, pleasantly surprised at how well I climbed, how good a score I could put together and how well I placed given how little I could use my left leg, but that was tempered with how frustrating it was to not be able to use it! Just bend! Just pull!

Congrats to everyone who climbed on Saturday, especially the ladies in Open, I saw some serious crushing going on! And a special shout out to the setters, who set some amazing and fun problems, even when I was forced to climb with what was obviously the wrong beta!