Depot Climbing Athlete Wins Gold

International competition must be the main aim for any aspiring competition climber, How long have you been competing on the international stage?

My first international was 1 year ago at the Youth World Championships in Voronezh and I competed at 6 International events this year across both boulder and lead. The most recent competition was the European Youth Championships in Graz, Austria and I’ll finish off with the Youth World Championships in Dallas in August.

It’s been quite the debut season, joining the Depot Climbing Athlete team, culminating in taking your first international gold medal with GB Climbing too.  Now the dust has settled how Has winning your first international win sunk in?

It’s not quite fully sunk in quite yet; I think the busyness and momentum of switching the focus straight onto the next comp mean it just hasn’t really sunk in. The Worlds at Dallas are just around the corner and so my focus has been turned straight to that.

Where will you keep your gold medal?

Probably just going to hang it up in my room with my other competition items, it helps to give me focus and drive for more success but is also a reminder of my accomplishments so far.

Athletes often talk about setting styles suiting their strengths, How did you find  the blocs at the European Youth Championships

Pretty cool! They were very comp style and coordination dependent and the outdoor wall had some really cool panels and angles. I found that they suited me really well from all of the training and practice I am able to do at the Depot Climbing walls, the Orange circuits are certainly useful when it comes to competition practice!

You’re about to make the transition from youth competition to the seniors, How does it feel to be coming to the end of the Youth career?

Quite bittersweet. I learned a lot and it took a while for things to get going but I wouldn’t change it. I feel like I’m well prepared for the move up to seniors thanks to the hard work I’ve put in along the way and of course, the preparation I’ve received from the GB Climbing coaches and through the Depot Climbing Academy has been really helpful too. As a Depot Climbing athlete, I also receive a lot of support from everyone at the Depot sites, from Steve at the top to the staff in each centre I train at too.

Momentum is often cited as an important element of success, coming off the back of a strong end to your youth career, How will you carry that momentum forward into the senior scene?

Taking everything I’ve learned from the youth side and going in open-minded and ready to gain more experience, every day is a learning day and with the right training and coaches, I’m going to leave it all on the mats.

Tell us more about how it feels to be competing on an International stage. What are the pressures, how does competing with your teammates help?

The atmosphere is usually pretty great and exciting. It can feel like there’s quite a lot of pressure at times but that is usually just pressure that you are putting on yourself; so I just try to enjoy it as much as possible and give it everything I have.  A healthy amount of competition within the team keeps the psyche high and there isn’t a more supportive bunch of people to have around-we push each other forward.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals you follow before competing?

I think all athletes have some kind of pre-comp routine that they like to stick to which just helps them get into the right mindset before going onto the mats; whether that‘s a specific warm-up routine or something more superstitious like always putting a left boot on first!  Personally, I like to do a lot of self-talk to help me get into the zone, if I get my head right, the battle is already half won.

What has been part of the Depot Climbing Academy that benefitted your climbing?

The commitment of the coaches to improving each individual athlete on the team is really great, and they give us an understanding of the pathways ahead of us as we aim to become national and International competitors.  Making the transition from Depot Climbing Academy to Depot Climbing Athlete helped give me a taste of what to expect from professional climbing outside of what happens on the mats too. And of course, a bit of banter with my teammates always helps, Emma knows how to wind me up at the right times!

What’s next on your agenda?

The Youth World Championships in Dallas, I’ll be on the plane in a few days and I’m feeling ready and psyched to see what happens! I’ve also got the British Lead Climbing Championships coming up and of course, the event of the year-the return of the Battle of Britain!