The British Leading Climbing Championships (BLCC) took place last weekend on the surreal Blackpool climbing towers. The climbing ´towers´ are concrete tripods, situated outside, with slabby / vertical routes on the exterior and long, steep routes on the inside.
One of the Blackpool climbing towers that where used to host the BLCC |
With the recent wet weather, organizers erected huge canvases to protect the walls if the rain came on. Luckily the clouds stayed away and the competition was blessed with blue sky, setting the stage for an exciting contest. A full report on the whole competition can be read on the BMC website. In the end, planetFear coaches Gaz Parry and Lucy Creamer took the senior titles with Lucy continuing her amazing run in this competition with her seventh leading title. An eighth title looks unlikely though as Lucy stated that this would probably be her last time taking part in the competition. No luck for the upcoming men as the ever-young Gaz shows no signs of slowing down. 2007 has been a superb year for Gaz as he now holds both senior climbing titles after winning the Bouldering Championships at Cliffhanger 2 weeks ago (see British Bouldering Champs report here). Following his win Gareth said: “It felt great to win a second British title this year. The routes were really varied and tested a whole range of climbing skills. That made it so challenging! It´s also great that the general public can watch an event like this. I´m just glad the rain stayed off for everyone after the deluge that came down in Sheffield for the BBCs.” Senior female 1. Lucy Creamer 2. Jemma Powell 3. Audrey Seguy 4= Michaela Tracy 4= Emma Twyford Senior men 1. Gareth Parry 2. Adrian Baxter3. Alan Cassidy 4. Tony Musselbrook 5. Mark Croxall 6. Dave Barrans 7. James Garden Source: BMC