Young Climbers
you’ll start to improve - this goes for any
age group. Spending time at a wall, or
outside, and getting some hard core
climbs done is the best way improve. And
now, it couldn’t be easier, with the amount
of clubs and squads around.
Junior climbers are often
thought to have one major disadvantage:
height - or lack of height. Climbing is
known to affect your growth, and people
who have climbed since a young age,
often find they are shorter than average.
Although taller people have a longer
reach - helping them save energy - sometimes, being tall can be vastly overrated.
Take team GB captain Molly Thompson
Smith for example. Being only 5ft 3 didn’t
stop her from winning not only the female
juniors at the British Lead and Speed
Climbing Championships, but also the
senior lead category as well! This meant,
at only 15 years old, she became the
youngest winner of the senior GB title.
Molly explained: “the longer your limbs,
the harder it is to control them”. Also,
being short can sometimes be helpful,
because tall people are more likely to
climb on bent arms - giving hope to all
youngsters, and the ‘vertically challenged’ among us.
Another tip: junior climbers
should not be encouraged to specialise
too early. Whether its bouldering, sport
climbing, trad, indoors or outdoors,
the child should be the one to decide
what they prefer. Due to the amount of
indoor walls around now, most young
climbers prefer sticking to plastic
and indoor competitions. Some older
climbers especially, argue climbing
indoors ‘isn’t real climbing’, or ‘top roping is cheating’, but ultimately, it’s not
their decision. This is why it’s always
good for young climbers to have more
opportunity to try out different types of
climbing, until they find their own style.
Photos (top and bottom):
by Lauren Sawyer
234
p23
But the most important thing,
above all else: climbing should be fun.
Young people have to want to climb
in the first place, and should be given
their own independence - if they wanted to be bossed around they’d just go
to school. Parents or coaches should
always avoid being too pushy towards
climbing, else this will just create a
negative association with training,
but that goes without saying. Also,
it’s always great to join any available
climbing clubs because this will help
meet other young climbers and make
friendships. Often, peers can have a
stronger influence over whether young
people want to climb or not, more than
the sport itself. Having friends your
own age who climb will always make
training more fun. And after all, the fun
element should always be the main
focus. Because else, what’s the point?