Last week I competed at one of the biggest and most publicized climbing competitions I have ever been too. I made top 20 out an extremely strong pro field--Rob D'Anastasio, Daniel Woods, Paul Robinson, Chris Sharma, Magnus Midtboe, Matt Bosley, Vasya Vorotnikov, Carlo Traversi, Jimmy Webb, Matt Wilder, Ethan Pringle, Brian Kim, Julian Bautista, Chris Webb Parsons, Max Zolotukhin, and Chris Linder to name just a few.
The coolest part of the experience for me, other than competing among climbers who I more or less idolize, was the live video feed, allowing people all over the world to watch the action in real time. My mother, who doesn't know too much about climbing, was screaming at me over the phone after the competition, "Did you see that Chris Sharma boy pull those sloper things down so easily!? He looked like he was standing on the ground! Why didn't you do that?" Well, Mom, there are a lot of reasons. I'm kind of chubby and Chris is a stud-muffin.
Either way, it was inspiring to see such a high level of professional climbing accompanied by an equally unprecedented level of setting, media coverage, and organization. If my Mom can get into it, anybody can get excited about climbing. That's a good feeling--and a good point for what I'm eluding to here.
The Unified Bouldering Championship Pro Tour (UBC) and its team is without a doubt pushing boundaries of our sport. What does that mean? This series represents the cutting edge of competitive climbing, serving as a platform for the growth and progression of climbing in terms of sponsorship opportunities, media expansion, and public awareness.
The next stop is at the Outdoor Retailer on August 2nd. Jason Danforth, Pete Ward, and Kyle McCabe, are giving me an amazing opportunity to be part of the very select setting crew for this event, which means I will not be competing, but I think being part of this--what you might call a "movement"--will be just as exciting. I cannot wait...
Visit boulderingcomps.com for more information on UBC scheduling and general vision.
