This year we have seen Highball’s competition team grow, and I’m excited to share a glimpse into our athletes’ experiences this season, as recounted by one of our standout competitors, Jude. In this post, they dive into the highs and lows of the Colchester Competition, with an intense showdown against some of the region’s strongest climbers. They also reflect on the unique atmosphere of Avid’s Community Competition, highlighting a memorable victory that brought both personal success and team pride. Finally, they take us through the Fen-Bloc Competition, where new challenges and fresh perspectives tested their skills in unexpected ways.
Harrowall – The Big Comp
The first competition for a long time for me, being out of the game as I’d switched to setting competitions at Highball rather than competing in them, so I took a very relaxed approach where all I wanted to do was enjoy myself and get back into the bustle of the crowds. It was very humbling, not being able to read or even be able to pull onto a good chunk of the climbs. Coming 23rd overall was a way better result than I anticipated, especially being in London with (now olympic gold medalist) Toby Roberts being a casual competitor. Watching the finals was a great time and it was nice to be out seeing strong people crush what I couldn’t even pull on to!
Colchester Competition
The Colchester Competition was their usual Birthday competition in January, starting the year off with a bang and assembling all the strong locals they could. It was super busy the whole time with plenty of sketchy slabs to strong and basic overhangs, setting the field apart for the finals. Finals were a blast for me heading into it in 5th place, alongside Ollie in 6th, sadly not being able to top a single boulder but grappling some zones to tip me into a 3rd place finish on attempts! Being the first competition of the year, even though being massively humbled in finals, it was nice to be back out and pushing myself outside my comfort zone of ‘low stress’ climbing,
Avid Competition
Avid hosted a ‘Community Competition’ which I headed down to, one of the few times you’re heading South for climbing outside of Norfolk. Avid has always got super friendly staff as well as some supportive regulars, combined with some fun blocs like mantleling a massive horn and ringing a bell, it was a nice relaxed comp with a steady hustle and bustle. Winning the competition by a few points and claiming myself a pair of La Sportiva Solution Comp shoes, and generally securing the Norfolk wad squad status over in Suffolk.
Fen-Bloc Competition
Fenrock hosted their first comp which seemed to go smoothly, maybe TOO smoothly. It was lovely to hear the first amount of tickets had to be bumped up as they sold out, the centre was super busy and it was lovely to climb with basically a load of strangers, not knowing who was secret strong or just there for a laugh! Apart from setting up a DIY emergency fan in the sauna that was Isolation, the finals were great, 3 mens & 3 womens boulders saw a close split for the podium spots putting me in a close 2nd over essentially 1 move! It was a nice change to climb on some fresh wall angles, unknown holds that I’ve never touched before, and a completely different setting style from what I’m used to either setting or climbing.
Competition Mindset
Now I’m no pro, in fact some might say I’m just strong in comparison to the Norfolk pool of climbers, but competitions don’t have to be the most intense gruelling experience that is only made worth it if you win. I’ve said to quite a few people, who have had their first competition jitters, about my main take away points of competition climbing;
Personally I see comps as a fun experience to train in a new centre, new crowd, and apply as much pressure that will motivate me but not ruin my time. Climbing alongside others who are much better climbers is always amazing, as long as you don’t get lost in the comparison game, I use it as motivation to improve.
