TDB @ Climber’s Rock
The first Tour de Bloc of 2013 was held at Climber’s Rock in Burlington, Ontario. The psych was high and the competition was fierce. Although the turnout was smaller than expected, the field for both men and women was strong. Several climbers from both Buffalo and Michigan also came down for the event, adding to the mix and making sure everyone stayed on their game. Climber’s had 61 problems to choose from, and 3 hours to rack up their top 6 scores, and right from the start, no time was wasted.
When all was said and done, all but one of the qualifying problems got sent. After a short break, the result list was posted, yielding the following results:
Men
- Dylan Barks
- Keith Mackay
- Jeremy Noring
- Dustin Kerr
- Carmen Ing
- Florent Balsez
- Mathew Moreau
- Shaun Hunter
Women
- Kerry Briggs
- Marieta Akalski
- Holly Reid
- Clarrie Lam
- Bonnie De Bruijn
- Kacy Wilson
While the setting crew worked fast and furiously to get the finals problems up, the finalists were ushered into isolation and began their pre-finals routines.
Mat attempting to stick the lip on Men’s 2
Climber’s Rock had prepared a show, no matter who had shown up. The problems were visually appealing, the spotlights highlighted the climbs, the dj was on top of the boulder getting the crowd psyched and the finalists were ready to give it their all. As the finalists started to come out, the crowd got louder, and as the crowd got louder, the climbers tried harder, feeding off the energy.
Clarrie keeping the tension on Women’s 4
Despite being tired and the problems being hard, the finalists, both men and women, put on a phenomenal show, proving every bit that they deserved their spots in the final. Dylan Barks from Michigan was the clear winner for the guys, flashing the first three problems with ease and falling off the last hold of the fourth problem.
Dylan making Men’s 4 look easy
For the women, Marieta Akalski pulled out the win, flashing two of the four problems and getting the bonus hold on the other two.
Marieta on her way to the top of Women’s 3
Full results can be found here.
The Art of Success
Ever wonder why you are having trouble succeeding on a certain project or goal? Truth be told, the answer may very well lie in how you are approaching your project/goal. It’s been found that successful people tend to follow set parameters to not only keep themselves on track, but to stay motivated as well. These habits are things that can be incorporated into everyday life, and generally, it’s been found that the more of them you follow, the greater your chance for success is.
Here’s a list, in no particular order, of habits of successful people:
- Compliment others
- Have some gratitude
- Forgive others
- Accept responsibility for your failures
- Keep a journal
- Have a desire to want others to succeed
- Keep a “to-be” list
- Set goals and develop life plans
- Continuously learn
- Operate from a transformational perspective
- Give other people credit for your victories
- Read everyday
- Talk about ideas
- Share information and data
- Exude joy
- Embrace change
- Keep a “to-do” or “project” list
With the New Year upon us, if you’re looking for success in sports or life, I encourage you to try adopting at least one of these habits and see what kind of change it brings to your success.
Introduction to Training for Bouldering
Bouldering is exactly the same as rock climbing, except that it's way harder. In an attempt to do this way harder sport, we often employ rock climbing training programs, yet they don't quite work. This article is intended to highlight these differences, and suggest an alternative way of thinking. I'm assuming you know what bouldering is, so instead of wasting your time, I'll just get to the point(s):
