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charrock
Jan 29, 2002, 11:42 PM
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Registered: Dec 14, 2001
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Hey all: My daughter may join a climbing team. I was wondering how the routes are set up. Is height a factor in the competitions. My daughter is a good climber but very small for her age(12YO). Will her height cause her problems? She can climb on very tiny holds but has problems when the holds are spread far apart. Thanks Charlie
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rockjock04
Jan 30, 2002, 1:21 AM
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Registered: Aug 8, 2001
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How tall is your daughter? I am sixteen but am only four foot eleven inches. Ill tell you something. The second I Could reach the next hold up, my ability level jumped literally .2 points(5.8 to 5.10a). Being small was a major disadvantage for me and still is. But since we have a weak area, we must focus on the strong. I find that most of the climbing I do is not reaching up, its pushes outward against two holds while straightening my legs. Help her with hand holds, from all angles. If she cant reach a hold above her, have her pull up on a hand hold(maybe an undercling) near her while pushing down with her legs. The counter force will keep her to the wall. Also balance is very important. once I was at the end of a mantel move, and it took me 20 seconds just to move my free hand up to the next hold because a tiny jolt would knock me off. So work on strength(especially hands for those crimper or pinch holds), balance, counterforces, and DYNOS . It may not be a problem solver now, but think. When she is taller she already has technique and balance that others dont have because they simply relied on their heighth and did not focus on the important stuff. She will be climbing 5.11s and they'll be on 5.9's.
You know what? I've just inspired my self to work on things like that.
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pianomahnn
Jan 30, 2002, 2:34 AM
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Registered: Feb 17, 2001
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Charlie, as a coach and route setter for a youth climbing team, and can probably answer any question you need.
When I set routes, I would take into account the grade level I would be setting for, and then from there, decide how tall the person climbing the route would be. In general, when I would set routes for just anyone, I would pride myself in making it so that anyone, regardless of height could climb it.
If the route were in the 5.4-5.6 range, I would set holds close together; the kids on my team that climbed that level were small and young, 8 or 9 years old.
The problem is, not every route setter is as courteous as I am. We had a scrimmage at this one gym where our small kids couldn't climb a single route because it was set for someone 5 feet tall, not 3 feet tall. And that was VERY discouraging for our kids. And pissed me off a lot.
Now, you say your daughter is kind of small. If she climbs at the 5.5-5.8 level, no problem. But when she starts climbing harder routes, she will have to compensate for being shorter by developing certain techniques to extend body length, something I would hope the coaches would do for her.
I will say you'll have to excpect the best of both worlds, and be ready for some stretching if your daughter is really small. But, I would assume the routes would be made for kids, not adults. One can only hope.
If you have anymore questions, please feel free to ask me. I'm always willing to help out.
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