Progress in competition climbing UPDATE 2023
The BMC and Mountaineering Scotland jointly manage the GB Teams through GB Climbing. This includes the Senior and Junior Teams which are the athletes selected to take part in international competitions. After changes to the climber pathway in association with GB Climbing and the BMC in 2022 the ClimbScotland team now manages the Scottish athletes at Youth and Junior level through two squads: The Scotland Development Squad and the Scotland Talent Squad. Find out more about our squad development programme below and how selection works. As well as other opportunities available to progress in competition climbing. A similar system is operated by the BMC for athletes resident in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The Scottish Squads
The Scotland Development Squad
Qualifying for the Scotland Development Squad is done through the Youth Climbing Series (YCS) competitions in age categories E to A. The top ranked climbers in each category of the YCS qualify to be members of the Squad. The number of qualifiers in each category depends on the number of competitors in that category. See
Youth Climbing Series for full information. They remain squad members from the end of the Scottish Rounds to the following year's end of rounds. In addition, during this transitional year 2022-23 only, all those Scottish climbers who were members of the 2022 GB National Development Squad (Categories A, B, C and D) are eligible to be members of the Scotland Development Squad.
Development Squad Academies
Members of the squad are invited to attend a series of
academies throughout the year. We offer the athletes something different to what they may be recieve at their climbing wall squad or through persoanl coaching. This includes dynamic movement and parkour, FUNdamentals training, outdoor bouldering, mock boulder and roped competitions and peer to peer sessions. Parents are also catered for through involvement in helping at these events where applicable.
The following climbers make up the 2023 Development Squad:
MALE:
- YOUTH E: Kai Tresidder
- YOUTH D: Patrick Diver Ruiz, Joel Grainger
- YOUTH C: Oscar Mills, Aaron Tresidder, Lucas Diver Ruiz, Calum Wignall, Sami Save-Kimmings, Alexander Morton, Miles Harvey Jones, Charlie Wardrop, Danny Barbieri
- YOUTH B: Erol Maddox, Tom Hamer, Ruaridh Goodall
- YOUTH A: Reuben Langlands, Kenzie Allan, Cameron Maclean, Duncan Brown
FEMALE:
- YOUTH E: Halle Smith
- YOUTH D: Skye Jakulis, Ailsa Spence, Alice Crawshaw, Dottie Buchannan, Mia Murray, Olivia Fraser
- YOUTH C: Kathryn Moar, Charlotte Walker, Freyer Heslop, Becca Day, Brooke McGeeckin
- YOUTH B: Isla Cheyne, Kiera Murtagh, Lily Moss, Charlotte Wardrop, Rosie McGowan, Brogan Flockton, Lorna Brown, Ingrid Ledingham, Anna Fraser, Kirsty Crawshaw, Ember Mulhearn
- YOUTH A: Erin Partridge, Hope Henderson, Olivia Rowbotham, Charlotte Reynolds, Sasha Lamb, Kasha Ogilvie
Scottish YCS Team:
The Scottish YCS Team are part of the Scottish Development Squad that were the top three finishers in each category in the Scottish YCS. There are 30 places on this team which competes against 10 other teams from accross the UK and Ireland at the Grand Final of the YCS.
The Scotland Talent Squad
The Talent Squad is for athletes in the age categories Junior, A and B. There are several pathways for selection to the squad, through specific selection events and competitions and direct application to the ClimbScotland Talent and Pathways Officer. The athletes in categories A and B may well be members of the Development Squad through the YCS selection pathway as well as the talent squad, if selected. Athletes who did not attend the YCS but meeet the standards and are sucessful at the trials can be selected or can apply direct. The athletes in the talent squad will be the primary candidates for selection to the GB Junior Team alongside the England Talent Squad members.
The following climbers make up the 2023 Talent Squad:
MALE:
- YOUTH B: Alfie Cordiner
- YOUTH A: Reuben Langlands, Kenzie Allan, Cameron Maclean
- JUNIOR: None
FEMALE:
- YOUTH B: Rosie McGowan, Ember Mulhearn, Charlotte Wardrop, Lily Moss, Kirsty Crawshaw, Anna Fraser
- YOUTH A: Ava Hamilton, Kasha Ogilvie
- JUNIOR: Niamh Doran, Louise Flockhart, Hannah Kerr
Talent Squad Academies
The Scotland and England Talent Squads will undertake a series of joint camps, to ensure they are all being offered training and coaching at the same standard.
The benefits of being a squad member
- Climbing Walls Support Programme: free or reduced entry to most of the main indoor climbing walls across Scotland
- ClimbScotland coaching academies: which include competition-prep, specialist coaches, training advice and REALrock events
- Squad kit
- Squad Membership Cards
Climbing Walls Support Programme
We are grateful for the support of the following climbing walls for 2023:
The Speed Development Squad
The Speed Development Squad is based at
Edinburgh International Climbing Arena which has the only IFSC standard Speed Climbing Wall in the UK. Why not come along and see what time you can set on the 15-metre high speed wall? Or try to improve that time through the coaching and support offered through the squad.
The Speed Development Squad is ran independently by volunteers.
Click
here for more info on the Speed Development Squad and how to get involved.
The GB Senior Squad and Team
In the past athletes were selected to a GB National Development Squad (GBNDS) from across the UK (Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland). This gave a pool of climbers in the categories Junior, A, B, C (and in 2022 category D). Only athletes in Junior, A and B, can compete at International level, but C and D athletes were part of the GBNDS as a stepping-stone into the performance pathway. Selection of the GBNDS was based on the previous years competition successes. With the changes to the pathway at the end of 2022 the GBNDS was disbanded with regional squads in the home nations taking over that role; The Scotland Talent Squad being managed by ClimbScotland (see above).
The GB Paraclimbing Team
The BMC Paraclimbing Selection Event is for those competing in recognised IFSC categories and is for those hoping to compete internationally. Click
here for more info on the GB Paraclimbing Team
Click
here for the GB Paraclimbing Team page.
The GB Ice Climbing Team
GB Ice Climbing is part of GB Climbing. The international events are organised by the UIAA and the Ice Climbing Competitionm season runs through the winter. Currently (2022) UIAA European competitions are open to anyone who wishes to take part. there is no requirement to be a member of a National squad or team. Attendance at UIAA World Championship events however requires competitors to be selected by the national federation. There are limits on the number of competitors that each federation can send to an event. GB Climbing has selection criteria for the GB Ice Team and a process for selection which looks at previous competition sucesses and a base-line of physical and ice competition technical abilities. Domestic events such as The British Tooling Series can be used as part of that selection process. However, selection will also be made via an open invite to a selection panel.
There is only one Climbing Club specialising in ice/dry-tooling in the UK (2022).
The Scottish Tooling Club is based out of Glasgow Climbing Centre and hold training and introductory events at various walls across Scotland.
Anyone interested in GB Climbing contact kevin Howett
kev@mountaineering.scot, Mountaineering Scotland Sports Development Officer.