Page 24 - 2017 AMA Winter

ARMY SPORT CLIMBING
– a quick update
by Patrick Snow – Vice-Chair Sport Climbing
This has been another busy and successful year for Army Sport Climbing. The highlight was the Inter-Services lead climbing competition in July, in which the Army won every category: both team and individual. The RAF and RN have a mountain to climb if they want to be competitive in 2017! The forecast of events for 2018 is just as packed as previous years and I strongly urge you to join us at one of the many events, which are designed to be enjoyable and accessible to all.
A look back at the year (Sep 16 – Sep 17)
As usual, the annual Armed Forces Bouldering League (AFBL) dominated the winter months, with rounds held monthly across the UK, from October through to February. Despite being part of a league, each round of the AFBL is designed to be a standalone competition accessible to everyone in the Army from relative novice through to V8 superstars. AFBL 16/17 was a resounding success both as a sporting competition and financially. A record number of competitors entered and each round attracted upwards of 60 entrants. The Army did well in the overall league, with the junior men’s and the women’s categories won by Army climbers: LCpl Tim Read and Lt Emily Palmer respectively. The Open Men’s and Master’s categories were taken by strong performances from the RAF’s Ft Lt Dan Heath and Sgt Paul Easton, although the Army Team manager, Kenny, was close behind Dan Heath for the top overall score.
The UK Armed Forces (UKAF) team was selected based on AFBL performance, and the Army was well represented within the team that travelled to Sheffield in March to compete at the Climbing Works International Festival. The competition was sufficiently fierce that none of us progressed to the semi-finals, although that is a failure we shared with some of the GB team! With fellow competitors including Alex Megos and a host of other world cup superstars, it was a fantastic opportunity to climb alongside and learn from some of the world’s best athletes – an amazing experience! Sadly, the annual European military competition, Boul- dermania in Belgium, was cancelled this year due to the terrorist attacks on the continent.
The AMA AGM in September resulted in a number of changes to the Sport Climbing section of the AMA committee. With Lt Col Pete Skinsley now AMA Chairman, Maj Patrick Snow has stepped up to Vice-Chair Sport and Capt Rachel Gibbs to Sport Secretary. Sgt Kenny Geoghegan remains Army Team Manager, whilst SSgt Andy Stewart and Capt Stacy Oliver will continue to run the Army (South) and Army Lead Championships respectively.
With the end of the AFBL came the start of the lead season in April, kicked off by the Army (South) competition held in Bristol, and a team training camp in Kalymnos (described in the last journal). For those looking to be competitive for the Army Champs in May, training plans switched from power to endurance. Army team members were supported in this transition by a series of training weekends run by Sgt Kenny Geoghegan throughout the year. A successful Army Championships in May was followed by the selection of an Army team to do battle with the RAF and RN at the Inter-services on 12 Jul 17.
The soldiers who travelled up to Sheffield to represent the Army comprised the strongest team in a number of years. It was always going to be a challenge for the RAF and RN to win; the Army ranks included a current member of the GB Mixed Climbing Team and three former national and international youth athletes (GB, Eire and Nepal). The route-setters, which included a certain Steve McClure, did their magic. A series of brutal and unforgiving technical routes had the competitors sweating and puzzling their way up some viciously steep terrain. The field was effectively split, and the podium was completely dominated by Army climbers. The Army won each of the team events: Junior men, Open men, and Women. With a single exception (3rd place in the Open Men) every single podium place was won by an Army climber. It was an astounding performance by the team. With the gauntlet thrown down by some strong new members of the team, the rest of us began training in earnest for the AFBL 17/18 season on 13 Jul 17!
22 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
The successful Army Team with their haul of trophies