The competition scene has seen very little action since the pandemic hit, particularly with school extra murals being put on hold until April of this year. At CityROCK Johannesburg on the weekend of 15 & 16 May, Gauteng Climbing hosted their first Gauteng Provincials since 2019. All precautions were taken to ensure a COVID-compliant event; this included splitting athlete age groups over two days, thoroughly sanitising between climbs, and ensuring that masks were worn at all times (athletes were allowed to remove their masks only when on the climbing wall).
The competition ran smoothly, with age groups U15, U17 and U19 giving it their all to land a spot in the upcoming SANCF selections, to be hosted in July this year. It is hoped that the selections will see these young athletes on their way to Russia for the IFSC Youth World Cup, which is planned for September 2021.
The route setters pushed the athletes to their limits, resulting in a great spread in each age group, and making for a fantastic demonstration of the competitors’ strength, endurance and route-reading skills. Yaseen Lombard and Vivian Lottering of the Gauteng Sports Confederation joined us to support the athletes on Saturday, and handed out medals to the podium placers.
Western Cape Climbing is scheduled to host their provincial selections on 3 & 4 July at CityROCK Cape Town.
