On Saturday 25 April, one of our Junior members Edith Smith took part in the Youth Climbing Series Grand Final 2015 at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.
To claim a place at the finals, Edith needed to secure a top 3 spot in the North West regional heats and she excelled in her group (Girls E – born 2006/2007) to win first position!
At the finals in Edinburgh, a record 307 climbers from eleven regions competed across ten categories. Again, in the face of even greater competition, Edith impressed by coming joint 7th in her top rope climbing and joint 10th overall, out of the country’s top 30 competitors for her age group.
Edith started her climbing at family sessions at Mahdlo and then joined Junior Zone when she turned 8. Edith said, “”On the day of my 8th birthday, I started going to the Junior Zone and the climbing wall was the first thing I went on, having tried it in the family sessions. The climbing instructors there built up my confidence and helped me with my climbing techniques. If it wasn’t for the climbing instructors at Mahdlo I wouldn’t have taken up climbing as a sport.”
In addition to her achievements in the national competition, Edith took part in Rocfest ’15, meeting top GB climbers including British number one, Shauna Coxsey, and is now eligible to attend one of the BMC Regional Academies.
Mahdlo’s Youth Work Manager, Lucy Kershaw, said: “I had been into Edith’s school to talk about Mahdlo and she started to come along to our family sessions before joining Junior Zone. She got involved straight away, not just with climbing but also arts and crafts, boxing and baking. Our climbing instructors have seen her show so much progress and work really hard – we are so proud of her achievements and know she will go far!”