Arco, Italy is a special competition venue for many and is the third time the South African Youth team have had the privilege of climbing on these walls. From 2015 to now, one thing is clear – the progress. Building on from last year, the 2026 team once again left it all out on the walls. Proving that every year we are slowly climbing our way up higher, both on the walls, problems, and in the overall ranks. Read on below for some of each discipline’s highlights.
Lead
After spending time training in Innsbruck Austria, the team headed to Arco Italy. This year the management team elected to select discipline specific coaches rather than appointing a head and assistant coach. Managing the Lead and Speed was Nicholas Meinel, with Johandri Fourie appointed as the designated Boulder coach.
The competition started swiftly with the Lead event and the athletes did not disappoint. As the most experienced athletes, Maia Davies and Pieter Vorster both floated up the lead walls in their respective Uunder-19 categories, showing their technical ability and composure. In terms of placements, team captain Jemma Erdey, had the overall best lead performance as she finished 68th in a round of 103 athletes in the women’s Uunder-17 category. With Maia, Pieter, and Jemma all improving on last years results in Helsinki Finland.
Speed
The Lead competition was quickly followed by Speed, with Tiaan Goosen, Roux Wentzel, and Zander Laubscher stepping up to the start in the Under-17 Category. This year we only had athletes from this age group participating in the Speed event. Tiaan’s best run was a 10.54, with Zander clocking in a 9.58, and Roux coming in with a personal best time of 8.61 seconds.
As Speed climbing continues to grow in popularity, the times at youth events continue to drop. We look forward to watching and following our Speed athletes over the next year, as they also continue to improve and get even faster on the wall.
Boulder
In the men’s Under-17 category Caleb Wintermeyer and Anton Redelinghuys both went on to top one boulder and secure three additional zones. Whereas in the men’s Under-19 category, Naethan Mol had a stand-out round, flashing one problem, topping a second, and securing two additional zones. This left Neathan in 59th place in a round of 110 athletes. An immensely impressive performance in his first international event.
On the ladies Uunder-17 side Jessica Fitschen, who like Naethan was also competing internationally for the first time, secured an impressive flash on boulder number two. Jessica also secured an additional zone, leaving her the highest ranked South African female in bouldering.
That’s a Wrap
In between all the competition action, it is clear that team South Africa were having fun and making the most of their experience.
While may not be knocking on the doors of semi’s yet, we certainly aren’t falling further behind either. The future of our sport is bright. A huge well done to everyone who took part, and flew the South African flag high. Once again, these are just a few of the highlights from the event. To see the full results and standings click below.
