NACS Greenville, South Carolina 2025

 

Photo Credits: Brady @Blochaven

NACS Greenville 2025

I have to say, this 2^nd year around doing the NACS circuit is getting easier; for both Brendan and me. He made semifinals for the first time and finished 20^th overall. 

Take aways from this trip are I much prefer being in a shopping area where all conveniences are close by. We had a hotel that was literally around the corner from Whole Foods and REI. For a climbing trip, you couldn’t ask for a better location. And with the comp on Saturday and Sunday, there was no traffic to interfere with us getting to isolation on time.

As for the comp itself, BlocHaven is a beautiful gym in Greenville, SC. They really put some thought into the building of it, considering spectators. I anticipate there will be more Elite comps there in the future. It’s always a good idea to bring earplugs for finals…the music was great but REALLY loud. But there isn’t a bad seat in the house. They have a workout island that is elevated that doubles as spectator viewing for a great back bouldering wall.

As for as advancement, here are the requirements in a NACS setting:

• Top 24 climbers from the Quals go on to Semis
• Top 8 climbers from Semis move on to Finals

For those of you who fly a lot, I had a pretty good experience on American to get to South Carolina, BUT…. I have to say I like Alaska better. For starters, I am on a 6-hour flight from Dallas to Anchorage and the only thing they had for food was cheese and crackers…for $11! Come on! Alaska has hot food for sale. And I have to say the seats are a lot closer than Alaska planes, but these Airbuses have a bathroom in the middle of the plane. Very cool. But WIFI $21? On Alaska, it’s $8. Not a fan…but as I said, it’s a good means to an end.

The big thing for all you Alaska mileage members that I learned is that since American is part of the One World Alliance with Alaska, I can put in my Alaska mileage number in the American site when I purchase the tickets and get the miles deposited to my Alaskan account. PLUS, my status carries over. As a MVP Gold, I get two free checked bags and Brendan as a MVP gets one free bag. That really helps because I end up bringing a lot of stuff on climbing trips, especially if we have an Airbnb.

So, if you need to get to the other side of the country and Alaska doesn’t necessarily go there, American is a pretty good choice. And you don’t lose any miles making the switch. American has a major hub in Dallas/Fort Worth, which I just learned has major thunderstorms in the spring. We got lucky and dodged them.

There are two stops on the Elite circuit that seem to happen every year: Vail, Go Pro Games, and the USA Climbing Training Center. But for these varying stops, Greenville was a good choice. They have a beautiful airport with the essential amenities. I even spent some time in their Escape Lounge. Small, but did the job. Greenville has every restaurant you could want. We have an Alaskan tradition of visiting the Cheesecake Factory in whatever city we end up in and making sure we get our Cheese Cake fix. No, we don’t have that one….

Great climbing trip and Brendan and his teammate from Alaska Rock Gym represented Alaska well! ONWARD to the next one!

 

                        CLIMB ON!

Jermey @cmsninjagoat

Collegiate National Qualifying Event - CNQE

 

Well, there is much to learn about the Collegiate National Qualifying Event, or CNQEs, otherwise called Collegiate Divisionals. The event is nothing like youth divisionals in the strictest sense, but it is the penultimate event before Collegiate Nationals, so one can think of them as related.

But there are two very big differences: the first is that a collegiate climber, who has qualified by competing in a Qualifying Event (QE), can attend any CNQE in the country, but only ONCE. If the climber is not among the top 8 climbers, they will not advance to nationals.

The second difference is the real kicker: If a climber makes it into the top 8 in one category, then they make it into both in the Nationals event. So strategy comes into play here: If one makes the top 8 in the morning session, then they do not have to climb the afternoon session. In Brendan's case, Bouldering was in the morning and Lead was in the afternoon.

There are two ways to strategize here as a team. If a climber makes the top 8 and does not climb in the afternoon session, that leaves room for the team to have another climber try to make it in. The opposite of this strategy is that if the top 8 people climb in both categories, they essentially could take up 2 available spots for nationals by making it into the top 8 in both disciplines.

The next thing we noticed was that some climbers were coming from very far away because either their CNQE was full or they wanted to have a better chance of qualifying by coming to a less populated part of the country. It really pays to register early for the event you want because they tend to fill up quickly.

We continue to support Brendan on his journey and learn more about the world of competitive climbing. You heard it here first!

                CLIMB ON!

Team Trials

 

I have to say that I am enjoying watching the USA Climbing team trials. Of course with the hopes that one day we will see Brendan there! So just watching to try to figure things out because, hey, you never know!

The only way to get invited to the Team Trials is by placing in the top 40 climbers in your category at the Yeti Climbing National Championship, otherwise known as Open Nationals. Team Trials are going on right now from March 12 - 16, 2025, so they tend to land predictably in March. 

How does it all work? Well, watching the lead competition, the men started out with 31 competitors and reduced it to the top 24 climbers for the Semis. Finals took the top 8. There are apparently points accumulated by climbers so the podium doesn't necessarily determine who makes the team. 

The manual in section 2 states that points are awarded from the National Championship PLUS the National Team Trial competition. The total number of points determines who makes the team. With Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper already preselected for the lead team, that left three spots on the team for the top three ranked climbers. Sergay Lakno, Decland Osgood, and interestingly Cruz Padilla who came in 9th at the Trials but had more points than the 3rd place finisher, Dillon Countryman, because he came in 1st at the National Championship.

I can't say I understand the reasoning behind this system, but it does seem that it provides validity to the number and challenge level of the total amount of competitions that a climber competes in. The way to ensure you get on the team is that you must do well at BOTH events. That does make sense in that the team is looking for the most well-rounded and experienced climbers, but it is hard to understand when looking at the Team Trials itself without knowing this.

Well, we will see what happens tomorrow for Bouldering!

Update: Bouldering was amazing! And we have connections to two of the climbers who came from our Division, Vail Everett and Melina Constanza. Brendan grew up with Vail at many youth competitions and I have to say we all saw this coming watching his immense talent over the years. Congrats Vail! Melina is older than Brendan but comes from our Division as well. He met her at a training camp in Philadelphia where she gave him expert advice. Big thanks and congrats to Melina! She is amazing!  You both have done amazing things for the sport of climbing!

                CLIMB ON!

Photo Credit: Orea Media

Surviving all THREE Circuits AT THE SAME TIME.

 

Now some of you climbing parents may not be dealing with this, but I wanted to make a post for those who might end up in this position like we are.

The last year of the youth series, at this time, coincides with the first year of college. And most serious climbers who are 16 have already started the Elite series. So, it is possible to be in all three circuits at once for a year.

MY ADVICE TO ALL: Do not buy anything that is non-refundable until USA Climbing puts out the last set of dates for the terminal championships. What I mean is wait to find out when the Collegiate Nationals is going to be. Around this time, the CNQE dates will also come out.

The problem right now is that some of the Elite NACS dates conflict with the Collegiate dates. Brendan almost needed to miss Collegiate nationals to stay in the Elite circuit until another CNQE opened up which made the whole jigsaw puzzle work.

To be safe, be sure to get travel insurance and make every reservation refundable or pay when you get there! Ugh!

            CLIMB ON!

Heart and Soul 2025

Photo Credit: Andrew Hanson

Internet snooping: How to get good at it!

 

I find myself more and more perfecting what I am calling the art of internet snooping. And the above website is really an incredible tool.  The USA Climbing Competition Data Base lists just about everything, although I am finding that it has a ways to go in the Collegiate world, but I guess that will come in time.

The database lists every known climber in the USA Climbing circuits. That is the ultimate snooping ability. Keep seeing a hotshot climber who shows up at comps? Look up his record! Hey, this is all free information that everyone has access to. This website just collects it and stores it as an archive.

Other areas of internet snooping involve stalking a gym's website and for any informational updates related to their competitions. This really gets me: sometimes you have to wait FIVE days after a comp to find out what the results are. Oh, they post the top five finishers right away, but everyone else is left to wait to see what they got.

Keeping an eye on USA Climbing's website is also a must. I stalk it a couple times a week to see how some comps are filling up and see if there is any news coming out about upcoming locations or event sign-ups. Some competitions fill up fast and you have to jump on registrations. And of course, that is where you find the information sheets to comps for the results pages. The best internet snooping tool! You can continuously check it before the event to see who is registering in your climbers’s category, see scores in real time,  as well as download scores after a competition. The guides put out by USA Climbing for each type of event are extremely helpful for understanding rules and policies.

And I can't forget to mention Instagram! The main tool in my snooping tool kit. Gyms will post updates on their storylines. That is the ultimate place for internet snooping! I will sometimes get a glimpse of Brendan just by watching the gym's promotional videos! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I know, I'm such a mom!

                CLIMB ON!

Mom's First Climbing Competition: Frigid Flash!

 

Well, I can honestly say that went better than I thought!

The whole competition experience was truly eye-opening. Have you ever tried the sport your child is passionate about? I did and I not only learned a lot but feel great with such a whole-body workout.

The entire process, from training weeks leading up to the comp to planning for the day of was a learning curve. I know what I did right: having a big breakfast the morning of and then eating AGAIN right before leaving for the gym was a good idea. I spent 10 hours in the gym yesterday!

Next time, I'm going to bring snacks! Now, why didn't I think of that??? I did for Brendan! AND I'm going to bring my camping chair because watching finals still hurts my back.

But overall, mission accomplished. I had a secret goal of sending at least one climb. (Thank you setters for that easier one!) And I didn't want to come in last, which I wasn't! Tied for 14th out of 23 people! (But if I had, that would have been fine too.)

Watching the wiz kids in finals took on a whole new meaning...oh, that's what I need to do with my feet...

Well, this is one sport I never thought I would have anything to do with, being a New Yorker in Alaska. But hey, it's kind of 😎  cool!

            CLIMB ON!

Teenage conversation starter: mom is learning to climb!

 

Well, this empty nester thing isn't so bad. I have come up with an ingenious way to talk to our son more:

LEARN TO CLIMB. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't do this before.

It really has been eye-opening trying to do the things Brendan has to do to train for climbing. Now...I'm not going crazy here...but I am trying to get to the gym 4 times a week (!), eat right, get good sleep, drink collagen, and recover from my sessions. It has really been interesting to combine working with climbing, which is not easy!

I have set some goals for myself. The biggest one is to be lead certified by the time Brendan graduates from College...we'll see! 😂😁😆😅

I do see new things about climbing that I didn't before: the social side of it, the thrill of pushing yourself to new heights (pun intended), working on my footwork (🙄 why can't I match feet???) and just having fun with your friends. I'm even toying with the idea of doing a competition...(UPDATE: yep, I'm doing it!) The teacher inside of me loves to experience what my students do, or, in this case, my son does. I'm getting a great workout and as you saw in my previous post about all women's climbing travel tour groups, I HAVE BIG PLANS! 

    CLIMB ON!