A Look at what the GB Bouldering Team Acheived in 2011

The 2011 IFSC Bouldering season comprised of nine World Cup events and a World Championships. The highlights of the season are outlined in this overview and for more detailed reports and video footage of each of the individual events please visit the Team's website.

• 14-17 April Milan-Italy World Cup
• 7-8 May Log Dragomer-Slovenia World Cup
• 13-14 May Vienna-Austria World Cup
• 27-28 May Canmore-Canada World Cup
• 3-4 June Vail-USA World Cup
• 17-18 June Eindhoven-Netherlands World Cup
• 25-26 June Barcelona-Spain World Cup
• 2-3 July Sheffield-UK World Cup
• 19-20 August Munich-Germany World Cup

• 15-24 July Arco, Italy World Championships

The best individual result of 2011 was achieved by the youngest member of the Team Shauna Coxsey, who came 4th in Munich. This was a fantastic performance especially when you consider that this was her first full season in the Senior IFSC Bouldering World Cup.

Dave Barrans also climbed exceptionally well in Eindhoven where he came 6th in the final. Ned Feehally and Diane Merrick were very close to making the final in Sheffield where they both just missed the cut for the final by one place by finishing 7th. Stewart Watson, Jon Partridge, and Mina-Leslie Wujastyk all performed well and gained top 10 finishes.

The best individual results for the Team are shown below:

• Shauna Coxsey 4th Munich
• Dave Barrans 6th Eindhoven
• Ned Feehally 7th Sheffield
• Dianne Merrick 7th Sheffield
• Stewart Watson 9th Log Drogomer and Arco (World Championships)
• Jon Partridge 10th Sheffield
• Mina-Leslie Wujastyk 10th Sheffield

The following Team members also qualified for a semi-final and gained a top 20 finish:

• Leah Crane 11th Sheffield
• Katy Whittacker 16th Sheffield
• Gill Peet 17th Sheffield

The GB Team also showed their potential in the Team competition where they managed to get on the podium in Sheffield by finishing in 3rd place.

In 2011 there were sixty two individual competition entries by members of GB Bouldering Team. Although the team receives some funding and support from the BMC and clothing from Five Finger Thing for which they are very grateful, this does not cover all of the Team's transport and accommodation costs. The majority of these costs have to be met by the individual team members.

Over the last three years the team has continued to improve their World Ranking which has gone from 11th in 2009 to 8th in 2011. This ranking could have been significantly higher if it had been possible to send team members to the World Cup events in the USA and Canada. Unfortunately due to financial constraints, it was not possible for the team to attend these competitions.

The team for the 2012 season was announced in October 2011 and included the following new members:

• Tom Newman
• Ed Hamer
• Adam Watson
• Tyler Landman
• Nathan Phillips
• Natalie Berry

The specialist support that the Management Team will now be able to give the team has also been significantly enhanced by the recruitment of following individuals who have agreed to volunteer their time and expertise in order to improve the performance of the Team:

• Performance Nutritionist Rebecca Dent RD, MSc, BSc, IOC dip
• Sport Psychologist Vikki Cassell MSc, BSc (Hons)
• Physiotherapist Rick Webber BSc
• Chiropractor Dr Matthew Pigden (DC) Bsc(Hons) Chiropractic, BSc(Hons) Applied Sport Science

A full list of all team members and management can be seen on the team's website.

The team are now over halfway through their pre-season training which started in October after a well earned rest. The team follow a periodised training plan and meet regularly for team training sessions where they are given specific advice on training methods, nutrition, sport psychology, treatment and management of any injuries etc. The dates and venues for the pre-season training sessions are outlined below.

• 15th Oct Teeside University-Fitness Testing
• 3rd Dec Lakeland Climbing Centre, Kendal
• 7th Jan The Climbing Works, Sheffield
• 25th Feb Boulder UK, Blackburn
• 10th-11th Mar CWIF-The Climbing Works Sheffield
• 17th-18th Mar City Bloc, Leeds and West View Leisure Centre, Preston
• 31st Mar Teeside University-Fitness Testing

For further details and reports on each of the Training sessions outlined above please visit the team's website.

The 2012 season starts in April and will consist of 7 World Cups and a World Championships as follows.

• 13th-14th Apr Chongqing-China (World Cup)

• 21st-22nd Apr Log-Dragomer-Slovenia (World Cup)

• 27th-28th Apr Vienna-Austria (World Cup)

• 11th-13th May Milan-Italy (World Cup)

• 18th-19th May Innsbruck-Austria (World Cup)

• 1st-2nd Jun Vail-USA (World Cup)

• 17th-18th Aug Munich-Germany (World Cup)

• 12th -16th Sep Paris-France (World Championships)

The 2012 Team consists of eighteen team members, four of whom have previously qualified for a World Cup final in the last two years, three other team members also finished in the top ten in a World Cup event in 2011, and three other team members have qualified for a World Cup semi-final in the last two years. The future potential of the team is very bright.

In order for the GB Bouldering Team to build on its previous successes and maximise its full potential in 2012, we need to be able to send as many members of the team to as many competitions as possible.  If we can't enter team members into events in China or USA next year due to budget restrictions or team members not being able to self-fund then we will be severely restricting the team's potential and results.

If there are any individuals or companies who would like to consider becoming an official sponsor of the GB Bouldering Team, then please contact the Team Manager Nick Clement via Rob Adie at the BMC.

The Team would like to thank the BMC and the Team's clothing sponsor, Five Finger Thing, for continuing to support them. 

I would also like to thank all of the members of the Management Team and Coaching staff for all of their hard work. Thanks also go to all of the Bouldering/Climbing Wall Managers who have allowed the Team to use their facilities for training purposes, your support is greatly appreciated.

Finally I would like to thank all of the members of the GB Bouldering Team for their hard work and commitment.

Nick Clement
Team Manager