The day started early with some of the kids running at 7:00 with Coach Meghan. Breakfast in the dinning hall offered a big variety of menu choices. Everyone was loaded up in their assigned vans and off to The Boulders Climbing Gym. After fighting traffic delays and navigating our way to the gym we arrived around 9:00. This gym is amazing! A huge wall literally surrounded by a sports field in the front, a field of giant sunflowers on one side and a field of corn on the other side. The gym had the routes up that were used at the Canadian National Championship. The kids had a mock comp, on-sighting 3 routes each. The speed climbers had several runs on the 15 meter speed wall, posting some impressive times in the 8-9 second range for the guys and the 10-11 second range for the girls. Many kids were setting unofficial personal records right off the bat! The new larger Speed holds surprised many of the kids, but they adjusted quickly. The coaches were really pleased with how hard everyone climbed and said overall it was a "great first day". It was a beautiful day with clear skies and plenty of sunshine. In fact it was a little warm today.
Lunch was catered by a local restaurant, Adriana's The Whole Enchilada. The people working there were incredibly friendly. On short notice they made 48 burritos, offering veggie - chicken-beef options, freshly made salsa and tortilla chips. The food was amazing. We ate lunch on a shaded patio next to the wall. These athletes are so impressive. After climbing from 9:00-2:00 they still had the energy to play ultimate frisbee after lunch!
Chelsea and I took Kayla and Michaela to the airport in hopes of recovering their lost luggage. Kayla's had already been delivered to the dorm and we are crossing our fingers that Michaela's arrives tonight. The rest of the coaches and staff took the rest of the group to Super Wal-Mart to buy snacks and other needed items.
Back to the dorms in time for a quick debriefing with the coaches followed by dinner. After dinner the kids had free time. Video games, more ultimate frisbee, running and just hanging out were activities of the evening.
Big "Thank You" to Dr. Mark Pitcher who helped with skinned knees and sore shoulders during practice and this evening. No serious injuries, just typical climber aches and pains. Be ASSURED nothing short of a life threatening injury is going to stop our climbers!
Believe me when I say our team looks strong, fast and motivated. Training camp is off to a great start and is definitely going to be a huge benefit to each of our climbers. Be ready to be impressed and see the best USA Climbing Team we have ever had at the competition!
The comp wall
Climbers at your marks!
Speed laps and onsight practice!
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