UNB Regionals Tour de Bloc 2009

This past weekend was Atlantic Regionals here in Fredericton. I was really happy with the turnout, climbers came from Calgary, Toronto, Quebec, Halifax, Saint John and Moncton, a great turnout for the East.

The problems were really well set and separated everyone easily. I heard a lot of complaining from the away folk saying how the qualifiers were harder than they are used to which gave me a laugh. I have always told them we are tough and hardy out here.

Qualifiers went well, I am still not anywhere near 100%, my finger and hand cannot bear weight in certain positions due to the pinky injury which more than anything plays with my head when commiting to dynamic moves. I try to climb as static as possible but as I get near my limit this inevitably breaks down.

Despite this I was able to qualify in 2nd. Finals definitly went well though I flashed 3 of the four problems, 2 of which no one else flashed and only a couple sent at all. In the end I won by quite alot which felt great on home turf and has given me some confidence in my hand.

I think that I had no expectations going into this comp which allowed me to just climb for fun and relax and see tricky sequences easier than normal. My strength isn't there but I seem to make up for it with other aspects like focus relaxation and experience. It is neat that it takes the loss of one aspect to force you to explore the other and maximize them. I love climbing for the learning process, it never stops.