18 year old Edinburgh based climber Will Bosi placed 3rd in the European Youth Cup in Uster, Switzerland last weekend. Following some impressive ascents of Rainshadow (9a), Hubble (9a) (UKC interview) and a long ticklist from Siurana recently, Will has turned his attention towards the summer competition season.

He told UKC:

'My expectations were high for this competition, as one month ago at the last EYC in Imst I qualified in 2nd place for the final before finishing 8th. After that, I knew I was fit and strong enough to make the podium here - it just had to come together.'

Commenting on combining his training for indoors and out, Will explained how both aspects seem to complement each other well:

'I've always considered outdoor climbing to be very beneficial mentally and technically. However, I find it a lot harder to stay fit climbing outdoors, so I was unsure how it would affect my competitions this year as I've spent a lot of time on rock. After the results of the last two EYCs I'd say it has helped quite a lot, mostly mentally.'

With increased confidence, the Uster EYC went smoothly and saw Will qualify for the final. His result came as a pleasant surprise:

'The final went well, but when I was climbing it I thought I had made a lot of mistakes and a foot pop near the top cost me second place. When I fell off I was pretty angry as I thought I had messed it up, only when I saw the results did I realise how well I had actually climbed. I was also very happy to get the sequence right as it was a really confusing route and most people read it wrong.'

Will now has his sights set on more competitions - including the World Youth Championships at the end of August, where he placed 3rd in bouldering and 2nd overall last year - and some hard projects on rock:

'Now as the weather's pretty hot I'm focusing on training for the competitions coming up at the end of the summer. I'll hopefully get outside a few times as well.'

The GB Team had a successful competition overall, with five juniors making finals and finishing as follows:

Will Bosi 3rd

Hamish McArthur 4th

Hannah Slaney 6th

Emily Phillips 6th

Kitty Morrison 8th

Will is sponsored by: Red Chili and Wild Country