The Bow Valley’s next generation of climbers had their chance to shine Saturday (March 2) at the 11th annual Banff Centre Youth and Junior Competition.
Led by Banff’s Sam Birch and Canmore’s Manon Mackasey, Bow Valley climbers made frequent podium appearances at the biggest youth climbing competition in The Banff Centre’s history. Eighty-four competitors from across Alberta competed in the event.
“Because we have such a strong program in Alberta, we have members from Edmonton, Calgary and the Bow Valley on the (youth national) climbing team,” said coach Chris Neve. “The results are not unexpected, but not easy to do. The programs we have in the Bow Valley are super strong.”
The level of competition surprised Neve, who said organizers were taken aback to see so many young climbers conquer their most difficult routes.
The majority of climbers at the competition were from Calgary, but the Bow Valley was well represented.
Sam Birch, who put a lot of hard work into his competition, won gold in the Under 11 category.
“It feels good. There’s some hard routes. I had to push really, really hard,” Birch said.
He was confident he’d do well going in, and thought a medal was a possibility.
“I wasn’t for sure, but yeah, I was pretty confident,” he added.
He’s been climbing for two years and is still having fun scaling the walls in Banff and Canmore.
“I like the fun of it. I try to do my best. My goal is to do as many lead routes as I can,” he said
His coaches are extremely impressed with his progress and thrilled to see him win gold.
“It’s his tenacity. In the younger boys category, they have to fight. They don’t know they’re not supposed to be able to ascend these harder routes,” Neve said.
Mackasey took top prize in her category. She’s been climbing competitively for three years and wants to reach the youth world championships in two years.
Her determination on the day was rewarded with a gold medal, as she took 15 attempts on one of the most difficult routes. With lots of support from her coaches, she persevered.
“If I wouldn’t have tried so hard, I wouldn’t have got it and wouldn’t have won,” Mackasey said.
Neve said Mackasey’s experience was evident on Saturday.
“She has climbed a lot. Some of the other kids haven’t climbed as much, but she’s well-balanced,” Neve said.
The Bow Valley had several medal winners on the day, including Hunter McLaughlin, who won gold in the U13 category. Dexter Bateman, Sara Frangos and Alisson Vest won silver, while Zoe Huffer, Alex Fricker and Alina Arvisais won bronze.
