Page 54 - 2020 AMA Winter

SPORTCLIMBING
QUICK SPORT CLIMBING UPDATE - 1 OCT 20
Patrick Snow
In line with everything else, the AMA’s 2020 programme of competition climbing has been hugely disrupted. After
the successful completion of the 2019/20 Armed Forces Bouldering League, which saw a record-breaking level of participa- tion, all subsequent events were deferred and then cancelled. This included the regional climbing competitions in April, the Army Climbing Championships in May, and the Inter-Services Lead Climbing Competition in July. Thanks are due to the organisers, particularly Michelle Hordern and Marc Hilton, who put in so much effort organising these events only to see them delayed by a year.
As at 1 Oct 20, we plan to lay on a 2020/21 Armed Forces Bouldering League, using an adjusted format; instead of each round being a single day event, each round will consist of a set of problems at a specified wall and a 3 week window during which competitors can visit the wall to attempt
the problems, booked through Eventbrite. Although this reduces the opportunity to catch up with friends (and steal their beta!), it will still allow participants to test their skills against their peers and fits within the guidance from UK Govt, HQ Army, and the ABC (Association of British Climbing Walls). It will also provide some support to the climbing wall industry during this difficult time.
We are currently tentatively planning the 2021 lead season, with regional comps in April, an Olympic-themed Army Champs in early May, and a RN-run Inter-Ser- vices competition in July. Of course, contingency plans will be developed in order to run a lead season in some form in the event that significant restrictions, short of lockdown, remain in force.
In the meantime, I hope that many of you are seizing the opportunity to focus on personal training goals in preparation for
returning to competition or the rock. In the last issue of the journal (Summer 2020) I wrote a piece explaining how I was using lockdown to really focus on developing my strength, flexibility, and resilience to injury. Having just spent a few weeks bouldering in ‘The County’ (Northumberland), it seems to be paying off (although strength training is of limited utility on Gritstone Font 7a+ slab problems, it transpires!). In this issue I have asked the Lattice Training team to outline their thoughts on how (and what) to train when deployed on operations. For most climbers, the traditional (and correct) advice is that the best training is probably just to go climbing more (probably involving hard bouldering); however, lockdown has forced Lattice Training and other coaches to analyse how their clients can continue to improve with very limited facilities. This translates easily to the experience of many AMA members on operations. Enjoy.
54 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER