Lucy Sinclair (Otepoti Rock Wranglers) flashed all four boulders in the Open Female final at the CNZ Boulder A Nationals in Hamilton on 26 September. That’s a perfect score in front of a big crowd, and another Open Female national title for Lucy. Alisa Schenk (Canterbury Flying Geckos) and Cirrus Tan (Auckland Sport Climbing) completed the podium.
Alisa’s three tops also won her the U19 Female title. Waikato’s Aleksandra Melman was second and Zoe Ball (Canterbury Flying Geckos) third.
The men’s final was a hard set. Luke Williams (Auckland Sport Climbing) won Open Male with one top and three zones. Behind him, Ben Giles edged out good friend and long-time training partner Fletcher McGrath for the national silver, a result that also gave Ben the U19 Male title. Fletcher and fellow Dynomite Quinn Boetzelen-McIntyre completed the U19 podium.
Lucy and Luke have both competed for New Zealand at World Climbing Series bouldering events this year, and that experience showed when it mattered.
U17 Male was very tight. Nobody topped a boulder in the final, so zones decided it. Stig Zhuo (Auckland Sport Climbing) won with three, ahead of club mate Daniel Zhu, with Hugo Harkness (Wellington Dynomites) third.
In U17 Female, Yume Fookes (Auckland Sport Climbing) and Sylvia Palmer (Wellington Dynomites) finished level on tops and zones. Yume won on attempts, and her years of comp experience showed. Anna Evans (Canterbury Flying Geckos) was third.
Strong international and independent athletes raised the level in several categories. National titles go to members of CNZ affiliated clubs, so a few event podiums differ from the national ones (both are listed below). Special mention to Daniel Cowling from Australia, who won the U17 Male event.
These were the biggest fields we’ve had at Boulder A Nationals in some time, and Boulder Co Hamilton handled them well. Big thanks to the Boulder Co team.
CNZ picked the route setters from a very large pool who answered our expression of interest, and they came from around the country. One Australian competitor was heard calling it the best comp setting he’d seen. Thanks to Travis Rangi (Hamilton), Jake Townshend (Christchurch), Angus Watson (Wellington), Kristrov Sokratov (Auckland) and Anya Nobel (Hamilton) for a huge effort.
A national comp takes a lot of volunteer work, both before the event and on the day. Thank you to Francois Goffinet (event manager), Chris Wade (Jury President) and Richard Booker (Head Judge). Thanks also to everyone who judged, helped in isolation, ran the registration desk, took photos and did everything in between, including many from the Waikato Climbing Club.
Hope to see you all back next year!
National championship results
| Place | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Open Female | |
| 1 | Lucy Sinclair Otepoti Rock Wranglers |
| 2 | Alisa Schenk Canterbury Flying Geckos |
| 3 | Cirrus Tan Auckland Sport Climbing |
| Open Male | |
| 1 | Luke Williams Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Ben Giles Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 3 | Fletcher McGrath Wellington Dynomites |
| U19 Female | |
| 1 | Alisa Schenk Canterbury Flying Geckos |
| 2 | Aleksandra Melman Waikato Climbing Club |
| 3 | Zoe Ball Canterbury Flying Geckos |
| U19 Male | |
| 1 | Ben Giles Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Fletcher McGrath Wellington Dynomites |
| 3 | Quinn Boetzelen-McIntyre Wellington Dynomites |
| U17 Female | |
| 1 | Yume Fookes Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Sylvia Palmer Wellington Dynomites |
| 3 | Anna Evans Canterbury Flying Geckos |
| U17 Male | |
| 1 | Stig Zhuo Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Daniel Zhu Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 3 | Hugo Harkness Wellington Dynomites |
Event podiums (where different)
| Place | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Open Male | |
| 1 | Luke Williams Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Sam Lerner Dreamer International (USA) |
| 3 | Ben Giles Auckland Sport Climbing |
| U19 Male | |
| 1 | Ben Giles Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 2 | Fletcher McGrath Wellington Dynomites |
| 3 | Elliot Pearson Independent (New Zealand) |
| U17 Male | |
| 1 | Daniel Cowling International (Australia) |
| 2 | Stig Zhuo Auckland Sport Climbing |
| 3 | Daniel Zhu Auckland Sport Climbing |
Full results are on ClimbAlong. Photos: Nicola Lye.