At only eleven years old, young Ripon local Marijke Booth successfully took on competitors at this year’s grand final of the BMC Youth Climbing series where she competed against finalist from all over the country. Over 870 of the country’s best young climbers battled it out in Edinburgh on June 28th 2014 which made the event the most popular to date.
Dedicated Marijke trains three times a week at countrywide climbing centres where she is coached by Yorkshire based former team GB competitor Ellie Howard and UK lead and boulder champion Dave Barrans. Marijke’s hard work and training certainly pays off as she achieved fantastic result in the grand final.
In order to qualify for the grand final, competitors had to pass regional heats that were held in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Marijke competed in three rounds at regional level for North Yorkshire and Humberside. Her impressive performance at the regional heats meant she qualified to compete in the grand final hosted at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.
The grand final of the BMC Youth Climbing series consisted of a variety of challenging climbing and bouldering routes. The climbing routes were designed to test the competitors’ endurance and technical ability whereas the boulder routes required more demanding moves, advanced technical skill and strength.
Competing against others in the girls category Youth D (for those born in 2003-2004) Marijke executed impressive climbs and bouldering through her strength and technical ability. She fought off tough competition from her category as she competed against over 30 candidates from the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Undeterred by the competition Marijke successfully achieved fifth position for her age group out of the whole country.
Marijke said: I’m so happy with the result I achieved and hope to be back at Edinburgh next year.
The next BMC Youth Climbing competition will be held in 2015 and is open to all young people across the country, whether they’re new to climbing, or already have some experience; everyone is welcome to get involved.
To find out more information and to view the 2014 results visit www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-youth-climbing-series
