Three Bow Valley climbers helped lead Team Canada to its best ever finish at the Youth World Climbing Championships in Victoria, B.C., Aug. 16-19.
Elise Sethna, Simon Yamamoto and Sara Frangos competed against the best in the world for three days, representing Canada on home soil against very talented climbers.
“As a team, we far exceeded our expectations,” said coach Chris Neve. “We’ve never had so many in the semifinals. This year, we had nine and we had two or three that were really close, so we could have had 12. Our previous best was seven in 2007. It shows we’re heading in the right direction.”
Sethna finished 20th in the world, while Yamamoto was 27th (the top 26 make the semifinals). Competing in her first world championship, Frangos had strong qualifying results, but failed to move on.
“Elise, I know she was disappointed. The route she was on had a bottleneck, which if you got past it was fine, but it was such a difficult move. It was not as satisfying as it could have been,” Neve said. “She’s been in the semifinals regularly, and her performance was definitely nothing to be ashamed of.”
Making the team was Frangos’ top goal, so competing was icing on the cake.
“Making the team was a huge step for her. She got through the jitters and is geared up for next year,” Neve said. “She has three more years of eligibility, so she knows what to expect when it comes to performing under these circumstances. The level of competition is so much higher.”
Yamamoto was in a tough category and was narrowly edged out of moving on.
“It’s really frustrating. It would have been great for him to get a chance to move on, but someone has to be in that position. A lot of the time, when you look at climbing, you need to look at it as a building block for next year. Now he knows what it will take to be in the top 26,” Neve said.
For Sethna, the competition marked the end of her brilliant youth career. She attended her first world youth championship at the age of 14
“It’s shaped my life. I can’t imagine where I’d be without this circuit. I’ve gotten to travel the world literally and I owe it to climbing,” Sethna said.
She finished 20th in her final competition and was philosophical in her analysis of her performance. She didn’t care where she ended up in the standings, but about the connections she made along the way.
“The friends I’ve made are amazing. At these competitions you find yourself sitting in a circle with a coach from France, a coach from Slovenia. These are amazing people, and it brings us together,” Sethna said. “When you’re done, it doesn’t matter what number is beside your name. It’s a very individual sport – a unique challenge to compete against yourself, your best and the wall.”
That camaraderie is something she’ll miss as she rises to the senior ranks. Sethna has competed in several World Cup events, but said they have a different atmosphere.
“In general, climbing is a very friendly sport. When you get to the adult circuit, the best in the world are there to do their job. It’s a different culture. With youth, you’re in a competition with yourself.”
Sethna could have finished higher, but made a “silly mistake” in the semifinals. As team co-captain, she loved playing mentor to the younger climbers on the team and looks forward to seeing them shine.
“It’s great to see a new generation of climbers coming up.”
She plans to compete on the World Cup circuit and wants to focus on bouldering. While she still has three more years at Queen’s University, her ultimate goal is to reach the world championships again. That will hopefully include more stops in the Bow Valley.
Alison Vest also attended the competition as an alternate, but didn’t compete.
Neve said the next step is to find more funding for the club. Next year’s championships are in New Zealand, and the team receives no funding from Sport Canada, so the athletes have to fund the trips themselves.
