Daniel Woods (14) of Longmont, Colorado just returned from Bulgaria
where he competed against the best young rock climbers in the world.
The Youth World Championship was held in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
this year, where thirty-three countries from four continents sent
as many as twenty-four athletes to compete for a spot on the podium.
Eight climbers from each age category advanced to the final round
of a three day competition.
Daniel, who recently tied the record for youngest American to
climb the grade 5.14 at 13-years-old, came away with a silver
medal for second place in the male 14-15 age category for difficulty
climbing. First place went to Fabian Comina of France.
Also on the podium for the U.S., in the male 14-15 age category
for speed climbing was Kyle McCabe (15) from the New England region.
Kyle won the gold medal in the speed climbing event.
The U.S. climbing team is developed through the United States
Competition Climbing Association (USCCA). (See www.usclimbing.org
for more information.)
The team is picked based on individual performance at the National
Championship level. Four team members are selected to each age/gender
category. Invitations to the National Championship are earned by
placing in the top six at the Regional Championship, then placing
in the top six at the Divisional Championship. It is a long road
to the Youth World Championship that many climbers train for year-round.
Daniel Woods is a freshman in the AP program at Longmont High
School. He has been rock climbing since he was five-years-old,
and has been competing since he was eight. He hopes to compete
professionally someday and would like to see competition climbing
become an Olympic sport.
Overheard on the bus ride to semi-finals:
"So this is our team? Is this all we have left?"
