Rock Junior & Under 14 Cup: the future of climbing at Arco

Arco, Sunday, 4 September. They arrived in the early morning. All with their green Under 14 Cup T-shirts of this Rock Junior 2016. More than 200 of them, from 22 different nations. They came in all "sizes", three to be precise. From the youngest in category C, 8-9 years old, born in 2007/2008. Followed by the slightly elder category B, who were aged 10-11, and then those who, aged 12-13, will soon be ready to make the leap into the Under 16 world of competitions. Today was a special day for them, and the fact that this grand finale lay in store resounded through the Climbing Stadium. After Boulder and Lead, Speed would now seal three intense and exciting competition days.

In the meantime many of the small Under 14 climbing athletes were already making the Rock Master stadium vibrate with their inexhaustible energy. Before it all began they started warming up for the vertical race that would end the competition. Looking at the little groups, those circles of children and coaches preparing for the competition one couldn't help but relive how, during these three days of commitment and a truly amazing skills, they interpreted the game of climbing and steered towards the future of the sport. We have often said it but it’s worth repeating: never before does it seem so crystal clear that these boys and girls will change the face of sport climbing, indeed, they are already changing it. And they are doing so with all their desire to climb, and have fun while climbing. When the much-anticipated start of the Speed event finally came, everyone was ready.

The fastest female A athlete to sprint up the wall was Bulgaria’s Deya Hristova (BUL) ahead of the Italians Clara Vinci and Federica Mabbani, second and third respectively. The male A category was won by South Tyrol’s Jan Schenk who only just got the better of Paolo Gael Rivadeneira Torres and Germany’s Philipp Kuczora, third. This meant that the AF Combined results of Lead, Speed and Boulder was won by Ukraine’s Nika Potapova, sixth in today’s Speed but first in both the Boulder and Lead. Slovenia’s Betka Debevec finished second (4th Speed, 4th Boulder and 3rd Lead), while Bulgaria’s Deya Hristova finished third (1st Speed, 15th Boulder, 9th Lead). The Male A category was won by Germany’s Philipp Kuczora (3rd Speed, 2nd Boulder and Lead), ahead of second-placed Cristian Rapa (8th Speed, 1st Boulder, 5th Lead) from Romania and Jan Vopat from the Czech Republic who finished third (7th Speed, 4th Boulder, 2nd Lead).

The female B category Speed was won by Bulgaria’s Aleksandra Totkova and Ukraine’s Anastasiia Seleznova who, quite incredibly, stopped the clock after the exact same time of 5,96. They were followed by the Italians Francesca Matuella and Alessia Mabboni (winner of the Boulder event and joint equal with Totkova and Pysakovska of the Lead), third and fourth respectively. This meant that Aleksandra Totkova won the overall combined ranking thanks to her 2nd place in Boulder, 1st in Lead and Speed. Silver went to home athlete Alessia Mabboni thanks to her 4th place in Speed, and victory in Lead and Boulder. Polina Rysakovska from the Ukraine finished third (12th Speed, 3rd Boulder, 1st Lead), a mere two points ahead of another Italian athlete, Francesca Matuella (3rd Speed, 4th Boulder and Lead). The Male B Speed event was won by Bulgaria’s Nikolay Rusev ahead of the Poles Piotr Niznik (2nd) and Slav Kirov (3rd). Thanks to two victories (Speed & Lead) and one second place (Boulder) Rusev won the Under 14 Cup category BM. Niznik took silver (2nd Speed, 1st Boulder, 8th Lead), while bronze went to Romania’s Andrei Rapa (4th Speed, 2nd Boulder and 1st Lead).

The youngest C female category Speed event was won by Bulgaria’s Radina Dimitrova. Malgorzata Kurek from Poland placed second, Willy Sina from Austria third. The male C Speed event was won by Bulgaria’s Nikolay Angelov, ahed of the Ukrainians Tymur Diatlov and Boyan Kirov. Under 14 Cup category C female gold went to Poland’s Malgorzata Kurek for her two victories (Boulder & Lead) and 2nd place in the Speed. Poland’s Maja Oleksy took silver (1st Boulder, 1st Lead, 5th Speed) while bronze went to Bulgaria’s Gabriela Notova (4th Speed, 1st Boulder, 3rd Lead).

The Combined C male ranking was won by Bulgaria’s Nikolay Angelov thanks to an almost perfect score: 1st in Speed, 1st in Lead, 2nd in Boulder. Second place went to Ukraine’s Tymur Diatlov thanks to two second places (Speed & Lead) and 9th place in Boulder. Italy’s Erik Settimo won bronze thanks to 1st place in Boulder, 6th in Speed and 7th in Lead.

This is how the Under 14 Cup came to an end at Rock Junior 2016. The time now came for the grand finale with the Kid’s Rock and the classic Family Rock, i.e. the highly fought-over vertical relay race for parents and their children which traditionally seals the end to the great youth climbing festival at Arco.

For all info, photos and results : www.rockmasterfestival.com