13: Carlie LeBreton, First Female Chief Setter at World Champs
Carlie is the FIRST female chief setter at an IFSC world championship, where she led a team of 5 to set the world paraclimbing championships in Bern 2023! She has been climbing for over 20 years and setting for almost just as long, so she has a lot of experience. In this episode, we’ll learn about all the things you have to keep in mind when setting world championship routes for paraclimbers, what it’s like in the routesetting scene as a female setter, and what it’s like owning a climbing gym.
Show Notes
Guest links:
Reference links:
Timestamps
Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Introduction
1:18 - Tummy trubble
4:10 - Starting climbing through school
9:04 - How she became a paraclimbing setter
11:09 - IFSC rules for paraclimbing setting
14:46 - How to handle asymmetrical disabilities?
16:32 - How to merge different paraclimbing classifications onto the same route
20:26 - How para routes are forerun
22:22 - Setting a route that did not work out as expected
25:25 - How setters can get into paraclimbing setting
26:42 - Breaking into routesetting as a woman 20 years ago
31:48 - Differences setting for mens vs women climbing
36:08 - Carlie's setting style
37:37 - How motherhood impacted climbing + setting
43:23 - Being a gym owner
49:09 - My dream gym
50:34 - Discord Q: Did you feel unconscious bias against you as a female setter?
52:54 - Discord Q: Do setters get "writer's block"?
54:41 - Discord Q: How often do you think gym routes/boulders should be reset?
56:43 - Discord Q: Do you have any involvement in World Cup isolation setting?
59:00 - Discord Q: Pros and cons of setting different qualifiers and finals in 1 day
1:02:25 - Where to find Carlie
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it was really hard to push my voice and be like,
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hey, you know, I'm actually here because I'm a female
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and I'm testing these routes for the females,
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but then your opinion gets lost.
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They're a lot better climber with their condition
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than what I am trying to pretend to climb like that.
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So I'm like, I always give them the benefit of the doubt.
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I think I started climbing about six or several weeks
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after having Remy.
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Welcome to another episode of the That's Not Real Climbing
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podcast.
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I'm your host, Jinni, and I'm excited to introduce
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my guest for today, Carlie LeBreton.
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Carlie is the first female chief setter at an IFSC World
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Championship, where she led a team of five
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to set the world Paraclimbing Championships in Bern 2023.
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She's been climbing for over 20 years
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and setting for almost just as long,
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so she has a lot of experience.
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In this episode, we'll learn about all the things
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you have to keep in mind when setting world championship
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routes for Paraclimbers, what it's
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like in the route setting scene as a female setter,
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and what it's like owning a climbing gym, which
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I am super jealous of.
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Hope you enjoy this episode with Carlie.
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Yeah, how are you doing today?
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Yeah, not too bad.
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My son was up all night vomiting.
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Oh my god.
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Yeah, sort of bad.
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Yesterday still.
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Yeah, so it's like 7 AM here.
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And at about midnight it started.
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And I'm just like, oh, not tonight.
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I need to be up early.
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But that's OK.
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He's chilling out on the lounge.
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He's doing a little better now?
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A little bit, yeah.
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Still a bit warm.
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But yeah, just a bug, I guess.
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Yeah, I mean, if you need to take a break and do anything,
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feel free to just let me know.
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My husband Rob's out there.
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He's pretty good.
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OK, sounds good.
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And I mean, I guess are you still
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planning on going out to climb today then?
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I don't know.
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We haven't had much sleep.
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So we'll see how we go.
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Yeah, it's supposed to be around 40 degrees today, which
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I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit,
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but it's really hot.
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Oh yeah, in Celsius.
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Yeah, yeah, OK.
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I wasn't sure I had to think about it for a bit.
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Yeah.
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I've actually never been to the southern hemisphere, I think.
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So whenever I have to think about the seasons being
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different, it really, really messes with me.
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Yeah, yeah.
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It'd be nice to be in winter.
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I really hate summer.
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Yeah, I guess it gets pretty extreme there.
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I've never been, so I have no idea.
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Yeah, yeah.
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The last couple of summers, it's been quite wet.
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So we haven't had a full summer of 40 degrees.
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But this summer has been a lot warmer than normal.
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Yeah.
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Well, yeah, I hope you do get a chance to go out.
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But yeah, I guess I don't know what
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will happen with your son.
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How old is your son, by the way?
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He's nine.
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So he went back to school after the summer break,
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like two days ago.
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So it could have been that all the kids coming back together
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again.
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Yeah, that's around the age.
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I remember I was a really sick kid.
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I would constantly just be getting illnesses.
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I would be stomach flu all the time.
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That was a regular occurrence for me.
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Oh, no.
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That's horrible.
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Yeah, it's just kids.
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Oh, yeah.
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They bring home everything.
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Yeah, hopefully you don't catch anything.
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I'm a bit scared if I start to feel like, oh.
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Yeah, that's the worst.
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Oh, well, it's OK.
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We can get into motherhood a bit later.
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I did want to ask a bit about that,
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because that's a totally different experience.
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But yeah, getting right into it, when and how did you
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get into climbing and setting?
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I started in 1995, so almost 20 years ago, 25 years ago,
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just through school.
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So we used to pick a sport each week.
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And I went to the local climbing gym, which had only
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been open for a year.
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So climbing gyms were quite new.
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And then, yes, I picked climbing.
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And then that was it for the rest of my school.
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I just climbed.
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You're just immediately new.
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Yep, I was hooked.
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And I think maybe about six months later, I
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got a job there washing holds.
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And so that was my second home for my whole school years.
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And then it was probably not long after.
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The owner was just like, hey, you
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want to try setting a route?
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And I was putting up routes really early, maybe
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a couple of years in.
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I got to wash all the holds.
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So you get familiar with washing them.
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We were washing them by hand with a brush.
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Oh, you didn't have the power washers?
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No, no.
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We had a big sink of hot water, boiling hot water,
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scrubbing them with a toothbrush or a brush.
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And I thought it was great.
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I got to buy my first climbing shoes, my harness, a rope.
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It was a great start into my climbing career.
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Yeah, so you've been setting for a long time then too.
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Yep, commercially setting a long, long time.
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And then I started comp setting probably around 2005.
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So that's still a while as well.
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So did you have to take courses?
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I don't know how it works in Australia,
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but here there are some courses that you can take
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to get certified.
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And we still don't really have that either.
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At the moment, you just set for a state level competition,
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and you'll get assessed by the head setter.
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And then you'll set at a nationals,
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and you'll get assessed by the national head setter.
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And then you're accredited.
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Gotcha.
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So you just get recommended to set for these things?
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Yep, you apply, and then the setting committee
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selects you based on your experience.
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It's a small community here, so we pretty well
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know everyone that sets around all the different gyms.
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Yeah, so back early on, there wasn't many setters at all.
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So it was like I was competing a lot.
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So then I was just like, oh, hey, I might start
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setting for these events.
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And I was probably the only female at the time setting.
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And so you also were doing competitions.
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Were you doing it at a national level or an IFSC level?
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I was competing since I started climbing,
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so as a young age, as a junior.
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There wasn't many juniors here in Australia
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around the late 90s.
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So I was competing as an open.
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And I won my first nationals in 97.
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And then I won every year for quite a few years in a row.
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So I was national champion.
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And then I went to the States and did
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a bunch of touchstone international juniors.
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And that was like 98, 99, and 2000, I think.
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OK, I didn't know they had that.
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Yeah, yeah, a lot of countries came to it.
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I remember competing against South Africa,
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a couple of European countries.
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They don't still do that, do they?
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I don't think I've seen.
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No, no, I think it was only for like a couple of years
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in a row.
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But I won my age category in 99.
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So that was like 18, 19 years.
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Yeah, so I competed nationally and internationally
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for a while.
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I did a whole bunch of X Games in Malaysia and Thailand.
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And I didn't get to any World Cups.
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And then in terms of back to setting,
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how did you specifically get into setting for Paraclimbers?
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I think it was around 2015, we had some climbers,
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some Paraclimbers that were keen to start competing.
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And we didn't have the category for it.
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So it was just like, yeah, let's start,
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and we'll set a couple of routes,
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and we'll go from there.
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So I think it was Nationals 15 that we had maybe two
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competitors.
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It was in Queensland.
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And then from then on, we kind of got a few extra climbers
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in each state and each Nationals.
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And up to the point where I think this state titles that
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we're about to have in Sydney, we've
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got maybe 10 competitors, which is our highest competitors.
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Yeah, did you have to do any extra clinics or courses
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in order to start setting for Paraclimbers?
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No.
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Well, we don't have any setting classes anyway.
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So it was just a matter of chatting to the competitors.
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I climbed with a couple of them just
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to see how they moved and what to expect.
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And then it was a matter of just setting and going from there.
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And I think with my background and experience,
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we did a pretty good job of it helped climbing with them
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very much.
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And I think at the IFSC level, during my last interview
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with Anita and Christian, I think
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I learned that there's a handbook on setting
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for Paraclimbers for IFSC.
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So can you go over what's in there and some of the things
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that you have to keep in mind for each sports class?
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Yeah, so the handbook kind of talks
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about the different categories and the different grades
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that we're setting.
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And then it talks about different angles
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and what categories shouldn't be on.
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We use the speed wall a lot.
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So we've got certain categories that don't like that.
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Then there's categories that don't like super steep.
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So you've got to be mindful of volumes,
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that maybe some of the AL categories and RP categories,
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they don't have that range of movement to go around,
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be bulky volumes.
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Some of the categories don't like in the World Cups.
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We're always setting on a super steep wall.
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So the big blade wall, which is really steep
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and it's quite challenging to get some of those categories
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up and into the route.
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Which are the classes that don't like the steep wall?
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Because I thought with like amputee categories,
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that would probably be preferred since a lot of them
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are often like canvassing.
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Yep, yep.
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So the AL categories generally like the steep.
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And I think it's different in whoever you talk to.
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They have their preferences.
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But like an RP category, so range of movement, RP1,
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they find the steep quite tricky because they're not,
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they can't move their legs up as high.
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So in the steep, their bodies become out
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and then they find it really challenging.
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Also, you've got to watch out for like the holds
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that you're using.
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So anything that's like quite rounded on a steep terrain
248
00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:16,720
is quite hard.
249
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,840
You can't get that like pulling power.
250
00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,000
Yeah, do you find that there's like one sports class that
251
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,440
is hardest for you to set?
252
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:35,160
I reckon I find the AU category, so upper amputee.
253
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:40,600
So anyone that's, their reach will be a little different
254
00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,880
because they're either going with their full arm
255
00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,680
or their half arms.
256
00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:52,400
And then they're holding holds quite with their stump.
257
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,680
They're holding quite holds different to what
258
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:56,760
we would hold them.
259
00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,760
So when we're testing, we're like, oh, you know,
260
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,720
trying to hold it with our palm or we're like.
261
00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,480
But then I'm always thinking that they're
262
00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:12,240
a lot better climber with their condition than what
263
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,120
I am trying to climb, pretend to climb like that.
264
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,280
So I'm like, I always give them the benefit of the doubt
265
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:20,840
and think, yep, they're strong.
266
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,080
They can do this.
267
00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,440
But the big one for that is reach.
268
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:25,520
Yeah, definitely.
269
00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,640
And I think that reminds me of one of the Discord questions
270
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:34,640
that came through, which was when setting for para climbers
271
00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:36,600
is the fact that disabilities are often
272
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:38,640
asymmetrical a consideration.
273
00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:42,560
So like, if it's like a left or right arm
274
00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:44,720
and then they have like a stump on one and the other,
275
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:45,680
they have full reach.
276
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,600
So then how does it kind of work there?
277
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,000
Yeah, so we test for both left and right
278
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:56,360
and make sure that it's fair throughout the whole route.
279
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,320
We might think, OK, this move is a little bit
280
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,080
tricky for right amputee.
281
00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:05,920
But then the next move is actually not too bad for left
282
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,480
or lower down.
283
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,680
And then kind of always adding like a little intermediate.
284
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,040
Or if it's lower amputee, we're adding
285
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,240
like another little foot jib or just
286
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,280
to make it fair on both sides.
287
00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,720
Do you kind of like keep track of the number of like,
288
00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:26,840
oh, this is easier for right and this is easier for left?
289
00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,520
Or is it just more of like a vibe?
290
00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,080
Yeah, it's more vibe and like always chatting
291
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,560
with the other setters and opinions across the board
292
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:38,520
matter.
293
00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:43,120
Are there any, I guess, like para setters who are also
294
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,960
para climbers?
295
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,200
I think there is a couple in the States
296
00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:56,080
that are starting to set more, but internationally not yet.
297
00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,680
And that would be really cool to have a para climbing
298
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,160
on the setting team.
299
00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:02,920
Yeah, great to have like another para
300
00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,200
wise on what may or may not work as well.
301
00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:10,000
Yeah, and just how it feels to them,
302
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,960
it feels a lot different to us.
303
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,880
Yeah, there's like not really a way of knowing, I guess.
304
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,600
You know, I follow a lot of the climbers on Instagram
305
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,800
and you can watch them climb and on different climbs
306
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:23,760
and see that.
307
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,000
So you have a pretty good idea.
308
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:31,080
Yeah, and so another part of it is that at the World Cups,
309
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,280
you can only set a certain number of routes
310
00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,240
and there's a whole bunch of different classifications.
311
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,560
So how do you kind of go about setting
312
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,680
where different classifications have to climb the same route?
313
00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,720
Yeah, it gets super tricky having
314
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,880
like a whole bunch of classes on one route.
315
00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:54,400
And it's something that we've been
316
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:58,160
looking at the International Roots
317
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:03,040
Seeding Paraclimbing Committee, trying to get more routes
318
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,720
or change up the timetable so we can allow
319
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,320
them to split the categories.
320
00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:14,800
But yeah, it's really tricky having like an AU category
321
00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,680
competing against an AL category.
322
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:23,080
But so there always tends to be like one route that has
323
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,920
a whole bunch of categories on it.
324
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,840
And you kind of know that it's not
325
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,840
going to be ideal for one of those,
326
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,960
but it's a sacrifice that we have to do, you know.
327
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:42,880
You've got to keep testing and testing and testing,
328
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,960
and hopefully it works.
329
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,400
So is it always the same categories that get
330
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:48,880
merged onto the same route?
331
00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,280
It tends to be, yeah.
332
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:56,720
Just the way the format and the timetable is.
333
00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,360
We only have one day for qualifications
334
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,640
and one day for finals.
335
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:06,520
So you have to, you know, and every year it's getting bigger.
336
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:11,480
So yeah, the timetable is just kind of pushing out.
337
00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,240
In one day you have so many competitors
338
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,440
doing this one route that has to be used
339
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,120
for one of the categories.
340
00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:22,080
How do you think your setting would
341
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,280
change if you were just like given the ability
342
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,280
to set a different route for each sports class?
343
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,520
It would give us heaps more freedom
344
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:34,920
to be able to set for that class properly.
345
00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:36,920
Yeah.
346
00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,360
I think the change ended up this year,
347
00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,960
and they are kind of splitting it
348
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:49,400
to qualifications and finals in one day for different classes.
349
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,920
So you'll have a certain number of classes on this day
350
00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:53,600
and a certain number of us on that day.
351
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:59,040
So maybe overnight you get a chance to tweak that route
352
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,920
and make it a little bit fairer for that class.
353
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:03,400
I think it's going to take some time
354
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,000
to think about how it's going to work,
355
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,440
and we can go from there.
356
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:09,440
Yeah.
357
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:13,640
I guess for each class, what would kind of change?
358
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,680
Can you visualize how you would tweak it
359
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,920
to make it maybe the perfect route for a blind climber
360
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,400
or an amputee climber or an RP climber?
361
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,600
No, I don't think there's the perfect route for them
362
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:36,520
because climbing, it's so different every time you set
363
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,560
and you don't get set with what you've got,
364
00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,720
the holds and the wall and the volume.
365
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:50,240
I find it's best just to set as you would normally.
366
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,680
You want to show the best product on the wall,
367
00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:01,000
and then you kind of test for that class.
368
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,800
So you just set a normal route and be like,
369
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:09,160
this looks cool, this works, it looks like a good climb,
370
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,600
and then you test and just tweak little things as you go.
371
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:16,680
And so are you testing with various,
372
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,760
I know you mentioned earlier you would sometimes
373
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,160
try to test without using your palm or something like that.
374
00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,840
Do you forerun the routes with various, I guess, handicaps?
375
00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:28,080
Is that the right word?
376
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:29,840
Yeah, yeah.
377
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:34,920
Yeah, we definitely throughout the three to five setters,
378
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:41,680
how many we've got, we'll each take a class.
379
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:46,880
So we might be like, OK, you test with left amputee,
380
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:51,080
right amputee, a lower, and then we go from there.
381
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:55,600
And even hanging on the rope, we might just switch sides just
382
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,840
to test the crux or something like that.
383
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,240
So I guess you've also tried climbing with a blindfold on
384
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:03,160
or something like that.
385
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:04,640
Yeah, yeah.
386
00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:09,120
With blind, we don't test it generally
387
00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,960
with our eyes closed because we know their ability
388
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:14,320
and we know how they climb.
389
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:22,400
The blind climbers tend to be really, really strong
390
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,520
because they're locking off and they're kind of reaching
391
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:29,400
and feeling at the same time.
392
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:35,400
So we kind of because there's lots of static movement.
393
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:41,520
So we try not to have massive dinos or big dead points.
394
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,800
I mean, are there ever dinos for the blind category?
395
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:46,800
That sounds a little bit insane.
396
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,760
No, no, no.
397
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,920
Sometimes maybe a little bit higher dead point.
398
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:59,880
But we wouldn't put a dino or a paddle or something
399
00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:00,880
like that in there.
400
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:01,400
Yeah.
401
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:02,640
That would be crazy.
402
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:03,800
Yeah.
403
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:05,080
Yeah, that makes sense.
404
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:06,960
But they are pretty adventurous.
405
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,080
I'm sure if we tested them with something like that,
406
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,200
they'd be up for it.
407
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,480
Yeah, that would be interesting to see.
408
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,840
Have you ever set a move for paragliding
409
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,360
that just did not work out at all the way
410
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:23,560
that you wanted it to or expected it to?
411
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,120
I was trying to think of something
412
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,800
to answer that question, but I couldn't quite think
413
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:31,080
in terms of moves.
414
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,760
In terms of like hold types that we've used, yes.
415
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,840
There's always maybe an incident where you're like,
416
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:43,280
oh, that hold just wasn't the best for that category.
417
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,360
I think the World Cup, the World Championships in Bern,
418
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:54,040
there was a final on the massive steep wall for the RP1
419
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,920
categories, so their range of movement.
420
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,480
They found it really hard on the start
421
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,240
because they were these massive big macros,
422
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,200
and they were really slopey.
423
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:11,120
And so there was kind of nothing for them to pull with.
424
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,640
They were really open-handed.
425
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,960
But they were the holds that we had to use in terms of sponsors.
426
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,680
And so it was kind of like we had to make do with what we had,
427
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,520
but it wasn't ideal.
428
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,320
Yeah, I'll have to look back at that,
429
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,640
see if I can find it and link it for people to see.
430
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,160
Yeah, they were massive blocks.
431
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,200
I think they were macros.
432
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,920
And they were beautiful holds, but they just
433
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:41,640
weren't for that category.
434
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,720
Did you already know before they started climbing on it
435
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,640
that it would be an issue, or you didn't realize until after you
436
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:48,720
saw them?
437
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:54,320
Yeah, we thought, OK, we've done the best we can with this.
438
00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:55,760
It should work.
439
00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,760
But then afterwards, we had a few people falling off quite low.
440
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:06,120
And we're like, yeah, maybe we could have done something.
441
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:13,080
We did them, so we screwed big holds onto them to try and help that.
442
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:19,280
But we just didn't have the ideal hold that we wanted to screw on there.
443
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,200
Yeah, because I guess you have just requirements from the IFSC
444
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,720
on what kind of holds you're allowed to use.
445
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,840
Yeah, and for Bern, there were certain sponsorships
446
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,160
that they had that supplied all the holds.
447
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:35,840
And they did a really good job.
448
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:41,520
We had an amazing, amazing set of holds to choose from.
449
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:46,720
It was a really fun event coming in and seeing all these holds up
450
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:47,720
on the grandstand.
451
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,080
And we were just like, oh, wow, this is really cool.
452
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,560
Yeah, did you get any, I guess, complaints from the athletes
453
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,000
on that setting where it was just too difficult?
454
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,200
Yeah, we did have a few people come over and just let us know.
455
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,880
And I think that's perfectly fine to have the feedback.
456
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:12,200
And we're always learning what we can do better next time
457
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:13,920
and what worked and what didn't.
458
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,520
So I think feedback is great.
459
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:22,400
And I guess, do you have a suggestion on how
460
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:28,200
people can get into setting for Paraclimbers specifically?
461
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,400
Probably the best thing to do is just contact
462
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:38,360
the local Paraclimbing Committee groups
463
00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,840
and to see if people are setting for them
464
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:48,000
and get into your regionals, your state level,
465
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,320
and then the national competitions.
466
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,600
Yeah, chat to the Paraclimbers.
467
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,280
They're always happy to have a chat and tell you what works
468
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:01,320
and what doesn't.
469
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,840
Yeah.
470
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,800
Yeah, there's not many people setting for Parac,
471
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,160
so it's always good to have more people.
472
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,200
Yeah, and I think it's growing as well,
473
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,560
especially if it ends up making it into the Paralympics.
474
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:16,760
I think that'd be really great.
475
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,120
Oh, yeah, that'd be exciting.
476
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,320
Do you think you would be able to set for that
477
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,120
if that ended up happening in 2028?
478
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:25,160
Oh, I would love to.
479
00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,400
It'd be amazing to be able to set at the Olympics.
480
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:34,480
But there's quite a few of us on the international team.
481
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:39,600
So it would just be a matter of who gets selected to go
482
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,120
and who's the best people.
483
00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:41,960
Be cool.
484
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,040
Yeah, definitely.
485
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,760
And I mean, Byrne was really cool as well.
486
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,280
I think I saw that Byrne marked you
487
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,840
being the first female chief route setter at a world
488
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:54,520
championship.
489
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,160
For world championships, yeah.
490
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:57,000
Yeah, OK.
491
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:57,880
Yeah, that's awesome.
492
00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:58,800
Congrats on that.
493
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,760
Thank you.
494
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,240
And so back in the day when you first started setting,
495
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:05,840
it was quite early.
496
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:07,120
It was quite a long time ago.
497
00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:12,080
There were even fewer women in climbing and setting.
498
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,440
So how was it like trying to break into route setting
499
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:17,440
back then?
500
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,320
And I guess, how does it compare to now?
501
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:26,240
Yeah, I think I was super lucky to break into setting
502
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,400
because there wasn't many people actually setting for comps
503
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,600
because most people were trying to compete.
504
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:38,080
So it was a matter of, hey, we need setters
505
00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:39,840
to be able to set for this comp.
506
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,160
Like, who can set?
507
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:48,960
And as most incidents, I was the only female for a while
508
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:54,240
setting these lead comps.
509
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,040
And then as it got more popular, there
510
00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,440
was more setters coming along.
511
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:07,080
And again, a lot of the time, I was the only female.
512
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:08,680
As bouldering got more popular, there
513
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:12,640
was a couple more females setting.
514
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,680
But I think I was lucky to be around in that era
515
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,400
when there was a desperate need for setters.
516
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,400
So I kind of just fell into it.
517
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,400
And my husband and I ran the association for a while
518
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:26,720
as well.
519
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:31,720
So we were actually running the comps as well
520
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,840
as at a national level.
521
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,360
So you said a lot of people wanted to just compete
522
00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:38,240
instead of setting.
523
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,760
So do you feel like you kind of gave up the competing route
524
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,280
so that you could take on the route setting journey?
525
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:50,760
Yeah, I did have to make a decision about whether I
526
00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,600
wanted to keep competing or setting.
527
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,520
I really enjoyed the setting.
528
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,280
And I felt like I was good at it.
529
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,840
And I was experienced.
530
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,320
And I knew that I had to kind of do it.
531
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,520
So there was a female testing.
532
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,160
There was always a problem with, like I remember
533
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,440
from back in the day, there was no female setters.
534
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,800
So there was no one testing those moves that the girls
535
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,160
were on.
536
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:29,640
So I felt like it was my duty to be a setter and be like, OK,
537
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:35,400
I can do these moves and test these moves at a high level.
538
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,400
I should jump in and do this.
539
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,720
So the routes are great and fair.
540
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:47,080
And it's not always like a dude's moves and, you know,
541
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,280
stalker moves or whatever.
542
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:51,320
Please excuse this brief intermission.
543
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:52,920
But I would just like to remind you
544
00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:54,800
that if you are enjoying this podcast,
545
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,040
please follow and rate it on your preferred listening
546
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:58,000
platform.
547
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,560
If you're watching on YouTube, I would
548
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,160
love to hear your discussion and thoughts in the comments below.
549
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,160
Anything helps to push this podcast out to more people
550
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,240
and get even more amazing guests on.
551
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:10,360
Back to the show.
552
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,400
And how do you feel like it compares
553
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,760
to trying to become a route setter now as a woman?
554
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:18,720
Do you think it's easier?
555
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:20,360
Like, have we made enough progress
556
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,680
or is there still a lot more that needs to be done?
557
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,000
Yeah, I think we have made a lot of progress.
558
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:32,520
We have a lot more space for learning
559
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,600
in terms of female or women setters.
560
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,960
Like when people apply for competitions,
561
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:46,880
I know in Australia we have a lot more females applying.
562
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:52,200
It's not 50-50, but it's definitely getting up there.
563
00:30:52,200 --> 00:31:02,800
And the space is quite welcoming in terms of setting dynamics
564
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:03,640
with the guys.
565
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,960
When it got more popular and I was setting with,
566
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,280
I was the token female on the team,
567
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:18,080
it was really hard to push my voice and be like, hey,
568
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,520
I'm actually here because I'm a female
569
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,320
and I'm testing these routes for the females.
570
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:30,480
And then your opinion gets lost a lot of the time.
571
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,880
But I think things are really different these days.
572
00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:39,680
We have some really good males on the team that are quite open.
573
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,440
And we have the space to learn as well.
574
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:45,120
Yeah, that's good to hear.
575
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,640
And earlier you had mentioned testing it out
576
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:54,720
so there wouldn't be stopper moves on the women's routes.
577
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,240
I guess how would you characterize
578
00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:02,040
setting for men's climbing versus women's climbing?
579
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:03,920
Because as a non-setter, I really
580
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:09,440
have no idea what feels different in that way.
581
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:15,400
Yeah, I think reach is probably the most common mistake.
582
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,560
So I'm a 5'1 climber, so I'm quite short.
583
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:30,200
So then I'll test every route for the females
584
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:34,640
or even for the, like I said, the regular youth comps as well.
585
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,880
So I'm at a good height where some of the kids
586
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,280
actually are way taller than me.
587
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,960
Yeah, but I think that's super important for a female route,
588
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,080
I think, is reach.
589
00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:57,960
I know in Australia there's a huge range of reach
590
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,720
in the female category.
591
00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,480
So it's super important to make sure it's fair.
592
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:09,480
Anything else to do with box size or flexibility,
593
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:13,240
or does that come into play much?
594
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:15,160
Not generally.
595
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,920
Climbers would do what they're best at, of course,
596
00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:20,800
and everyone is different.
597
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,640
And you'd be like, oh, I didn't realize the moves
598
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:25,800
could be done like that.
599
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:27,160
That's interesting.
600
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:32,320
But yeah, I don't think, yeah.
601
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:34,440
I think reach is probably the best one.
602
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,880
Do you think more female setters at the IFSC
603
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,560
would make a big difference?
604
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,720
Definitely always, in any incidence for sure.
605
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,800
But I think the IFSC are definitely
606
00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:49,800
looking to change that up.
607
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,760
And there's some diversity program
608
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,160
that they have happening at the moment.
609
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,040
And there's been a couple of events
610
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:02,480
where there hasn't been a female on the team.
611
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,480
And I don't know if that's due to no one was available,
612
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:07,800
or they just had no one.
613
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,680
But I think they're trying to make sure
614
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:14,040
that there's a female on each team,
615
00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,840
or if not one, there's a couple.
616
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,560
There's not many that are setting.
617
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,520
I know in Boulder, there's quite a few more female setting,
618
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,320
but not for Lee, only a few.
619
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:32,440
And again, those female women, they want to be competing.
620
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:33,360
As well.
621
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:37,560
Yeah, there's a couple of women on the lead teams
622
00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,040
that actually compete still.
623
00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,880
They compete and set?
624
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:47,080
No, they want to compete and do the World Cups themselves.
625
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:52,200
So they'll do a couple of years setting
626
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,000
and then a couple of years competing.
627
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:56,480
Oh, OK.
628
00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:03,200
But I think that's changing with having a few more females that
629
00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:04,720
can set.
630
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:05,560
Right, yeah.
631
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:10,000
Yeah, there was like someone on the French team, I think.
632
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,560
Yeah, Hannah.
633
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,840
She was setting for quite a few years,
634
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:16,880
and now she's gone back to competing.
635
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,280
Oh, what's the last name again?
636
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,320
Hannah.
637
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,640
I can't remember, sorry.
638
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,680
OK, we all have to look into that.
639
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:33,120
Yeah, did you do any IFSC setting not for paraclimbing?
640
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,880
No, I haven't as yet.
641
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:41,800
I applied to set Lee this year, but the IFSC
642
00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:46,800
haven't put out any of their setters yet.
643
00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:48,640
Hopefully, we find out.
644
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:49,680
Yeah.
645
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:51,720
Yeah, hopefully you make it in.
646
00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:53,560
Did you apply like previous years as well?
647
00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:55,320
And you just weren't selected?
648
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,240
No, this is the first year I've applied for a non-para place.
649
00:35:59,240 --> 00:35:59,840
Yeah.
650
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,920
Yeah, that'll be exciting.
651
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,880
What do you have like a favorite kind of move
652
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:09,320
that you like to set or like a certain style that you
653
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:10,480
feel like is unique to you?
654
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:18,120
I think, no, I generally like setting lead routes more,
655
00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:23,000
because that's, I guess, preferably what I like climbing.
656
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,320
I like to set like super sustained routes.
657
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:30,040
So there's nothing hard, but it just slowly, slowly, slowly
658
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:31,200
builds.
659
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,680
And by the top, you're just like super box pumped,
660
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:38,960
and you're like just holding on.
661
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:43,120
I think that's kind of classically my type of route
662
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,440
that I'll set.
663
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:48,880
Just super pumpy.
664
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:50,760
Sounds awful.
665
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,640
It's amazing.
666
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,600
I only boulder for right now, so yeah, that
667
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,520
sounds like a nightmare to me.
668
00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,440
No, there's nothing better than helping us climb.
669
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:05,840
And like your forearms are like blowing up,
670
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:07,720
and you're just like, that was awesome.
671
00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:09,920
I was pumped.
672
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,120
I get like pretty freaked out once I
673
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:13,520
start to feel the pump.
674
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,400
It like triggers this thing inside my brain that's
675
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,240
just like panic mode.
676
00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:19,200
Oh, right.
677
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:23,400
Yeah, you got to try and do a few more circuits.
678
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:26,120
Yeah, probably.
679
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,080
Yeah.
680
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,800
But yeah, as you were talking about earlier,
681
00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:32,840
you are also a mother.
682
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:37,520
And I am kind of curious how that has impacted,
683
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:40,680
I guess, your climbing and setting career.
684
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,440
Yeah, well, when Remy was born, I kind of
685
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:50,840
had a few years off setting just because it was mayhem,
686
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:52,960
of course.
687
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:59,320
Yeah, but you kind of learn as the time goes on,
688
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,440
and you're like, OK, I've got to rethink how I train,
689
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,520
rethink how I'm going to work.
690
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:10,880
You end up doing like really short sessions,
691
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:17,320
but maybe more of them just because of the time.
692
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,080
And I think my climbing has actually
693
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:24,240
improved because I know my time is valuable,
694
00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:27,320
and I've just got to like, OK, I've got one hour.
695
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:33,120
Got to get in, do my session, and get it done.
696
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,760
Yeah, so I've actually become a better climber.
697
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:41,720
I'm a stronger climber now than I was before having Remy.
698
00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:46,080
Yeah, I've just learned a lot.
699
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:50,080
Yeah, I think the thought of doing that
700
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,680
has always terrified me.
701
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,240
So I kind of feel this rush that I
702
00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:02,440
need to get as strong as possible, as early as possible,
703
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,560
because it's all just going to disappear soon.
704
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,320
So that's nice to hear.
705
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,360
Yeah, I think you've just got to be really dedicated to it.
706
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,200
And it's hard work.
707
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:19,160
It's hard being like, oh, man, I've still got to train today,
708
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,520
or I'm not going to train today.
709
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,080
But then if you've just got that willpower to be like,
710
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,360
no, I can get it done.
711
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:32,160
I'll feel much better if I can get an hour session in.
712
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,840
And then everyone is happy, if you're happy.
713
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:40,320
Yeah, did you do any climbing or training while pregnant?
714
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,280
Because I've seen some people do it,
715
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,160
and it looks a little terrifying.
716
00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:45,960
But I have seen it happen.
717
00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,240
Yeah, I had a lot of complications
718
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:50,240
with a couple of pregnancies.
719
00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:55,600
So that last kind of pregnancy with Remy, I was just like,
720
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,120
no, I'm not going to do anything.
721
00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,960
I was recommended to just rest.
722
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:03,200
So I just did that.
723
00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:08,480
So I didn't climb for, yeah, nine to 10 months.
724
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,320
I think I started climbing about six or seven weeks
725
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:13,360
after having Remy.
726
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:14,240
That's pretty fast.
727
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:18,320
Yeah, I had a cesarean as well, so I just had to take it.
728
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:22,280
So for a couple of months, I just climbed super easy,
729
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:26,120
enjoyed being at the gym, doing a few laps.
730
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:27,640
And yeah.
731
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:28,680
Oh, my gosh.
732
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:30,200
Yeah.
733
00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:34,600
Wait, I think I heard that I've heard a lot of horror stories
734
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,000
about pregnancy in general.
735
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,600
So maybe that's where my concerns come from.
736
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:41,360
Yes, yeah.
737
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:42,440
But yeah.
738
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:47,240
But I heard that if you have a C-section,
739
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:51,040
then it cuts through all of your muscles as well.
740
00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:53,920
And so you can't even use your core.
741
00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,720
I've heard people can't even pick up their babies
742
00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:59,360
or hold their babies because their core is too weak.
743
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:02,720
Yeah, it depends on the incident for sure.
744
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:05,320
You do lose core.
745
00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:12,560
I found coming back, the core was the last thing to engage.
746
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:13,480
Yeah.
747
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:18,120
Even just climbing and lifting your foot up to the next hole
748
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:19,680
was hard work.
749
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:20,880
Yeah.
750
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:25,720
But I just did lots of super easy climbing and enjoyed it.
751
00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:28,560
And it came back.
752
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:29,040
Yeah.
753
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,320
But I reckon it would be one of my weaknesses.
754
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:33,240
It's healed now.
755
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:34,160
It'd be cool.
756
00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:35,040
Yeah.
757
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,640
But I mean, you were still able to start climbing six weeks
758
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:38,480
after?
759
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:39,760
Yeah.
760
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:44,360
Just you had to be like, OK, I can't do anything hard.
761
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,720
Just got to go easy.
762
00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:49,880
And if you're willing to do that,
763
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:53,240
then the process is quite good.
764
00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:55,120
How long do you feel like it took you to get back
765
00:41:55,120 --> 00:42:00,680
into pre-pregnancy shape?
766
00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:03,120
I reckon a year.
767
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:04,400
Yeah.
768
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:07,440
Because your baby is really little
769
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:14,480
and you may not get climbing one week or things happen.
770
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,040
And so I think probably the inconsistency
771
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:23,040
of climbing that first year is probably the major factor
772
00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:24,160
to getting back into it.
773
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:25,040
Yeah.
774
00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:27,480
I mean, actually, a year's not bad at all.
775
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:31,640
I kind of, I mean, clearly, I've had a very,
776
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,520
I've heard a lot of nightmare stories.
777
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,160
Yeah.
778
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,360
And having a supportive partner is probably
779
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:42,440
the next major thing that helps you get back
780
00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,920
into your climbing, sharing the load
781
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:51,640
and having support around helps.
782
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:52,360
Yeah.
783
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:53,840
Having a plan.
784
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:55,520
Yeah, a little bit less scared.
785
00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:57,800
Yeah, you'll be right.
786
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,400
Yeah, so moving on, you had also mentioned to me
787
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:05,840
that you own a gym, which I'm super jealous of
788
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:07,720
because that's something that I always
789
00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:11,560
was really something that I dreamed of a couple of years
790
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,280
back and then I took a look into the finances of it all
791
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:17,560
and I'm like, I don't have the money for that.
792
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:20,320
So yeah, if you don't mind, I would
793
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,280
love to live through you and learn about what that's
794
00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:24,760
like to own a gym.
795
00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:26,960
Yeah, yeah, tell me a bit about it.
796
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:30,040
I've worked in a climbing gym basically my whole life.
797
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:34,800
So I've grown up in a gym.
798
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:41,520
I got the opportunity to manage Villa Wood from the start.
799
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:46,600
So I was managing the gym for like about five years
800
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,440
when me and my husband were like, oh, maybe we
801
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:53,200
should look into opening a new gym.
802
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:56,880
It was kind of the start of the phase of a lot of bouldering
803
00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:01,800
gyms popping up or a couple had.
804
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:05,800
And then it was like the owners of Villa Wood were like, well,
805
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:10,120
why don't you just buy in and get some shares in here?
806
00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:12,480
Like you're running the place, you know how it works.
807
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:16,840
And I was like, yeah, that makes sense.
808
00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:22,640
So yeah, we bought like bought into like half the gym.
809
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,520
And that's been it ever since.
810
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,400
I think we've owned it for six years now.
811
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:33,640
We're going on to 13 years being open.
812
00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:35,760
So I've been there a while now.
813
00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:38,400
And since you also set for like world champs
814
00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:41,360
and big national level competitions,
815
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:46,720
do you also tend to set more comp style stuff in your gym?
816
00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:50,840
Yeah, so we host a lot of national and state events
817
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:52,520
at Villa Wood.
818
00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:58,880
So we try, so we have the lead walls to set comp style routes.
819
00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:01,080
And a lot of the Sydney climbers know
820
00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:03,200
that if you go to Villa Wood, you're
821
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,480
going to get like X, Y, and Z on these walls.
822
00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:10,280
You're going to get some hard comp routes to train on.
823
00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:18,920
So with my set team, we set comp hard lead routes all the time.
824
00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:23,080
But then we also have to think about the general public.
825
00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,720
So we set a lot of commercial style routes as well.
826
00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:29,880
Yeah, it's I think hard to get the right balance.
827
00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:31,840
I don't know what it's like in Australia.
828
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:37,940
But as far as I've seen in the US, lots of gyms around me,
829
00:45:37,940 --> 00:45:40,640
people will complain about there being too much comp
830
00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:42,080
style in the gyms.
831
00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:43,720
OK.
832
00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:47,840
Yeah, is that like a similar experience in Australia?
833
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:51,600
I think it would be the opposite, actually.
834
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:58,480
Yeah, not enough gyms are setting harder comp style routes.
835
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:03,680
Yeah, they're definitely marketed towards the beginner
836
00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:07,320
kind of commercial set.
837
00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:12,160
There would be a few gyms that definitely have
838
00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:15,760
set a few comp style routes.
839
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:19,080
And the difficulty has to be hard as well.
840
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:23,280
It has to be a certain level for the top guys to be like,
841
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:24,760
oh, yeah, I'm going to go to this gym
842
00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,280
because I know I'm going to get this to train on.
843
00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:33,720
But yeah, I think the gyms need to, you know,
844
00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:37,560
I think the harder you set, the harder your climbers are going
845
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,400
to move up the ladder.
846
00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:42,320
And there's going to be more people at that elite level.
847
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:48,320
I guess there's a difference between hard sets,
848
00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:51,200
not comp style versus comp style.
849
00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:54,520
I think here people want to see, I don't know,
850
00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,680
just hard pulling or really small holds
851
00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:02,840
or something like that rather than tricky comp style climbs.
852
00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:06,720
But yeah, there's always a lot of uproar about that here.
853
00:47:06,720 --> 00:47:07,400
Yeah, yeah.
854
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:11,240
So there's a lot of difference between setting hard
855
00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:15,200
and setting comp style hard for sure.
856
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,640
And with a lot of boulder gyms around,
857
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:23,240
that there is a lot more comp style problems being set.
858
00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:25,480
And some people just want boulders
859
00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:27,600
you can train on and get strong on.
860
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:30,920
So yeah, it's a fine line.
861
00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,480
We have a lot of boulder gyms in Sydney.
862
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:38,760
So we tend to set more of that hard style training
863
00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:42,960
focus at Villa Wood because I know it's different
864
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:50,000
and people come to train strength basically at Villa
865
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:51,560
Wood.
866
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,480
And then we have our big lead wars
867
00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:58,400
that we have all these kind of hard, hard climbs
868
00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:00,920
to train on.
869
00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:05,000
You could be doing laps or on site practice or yeah.
870
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:11,240
Do you also do any setting for like para climbers in the area?
871
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:15,440
We do a few different workshops for them
872
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:20,360
where we'll focus on setting for a couple of different classes
873
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:24,680
if we know there's a couple of climbers around.
874
00:48:24,680 --> 00:48:27,480
And they'll generally just get in contact with me
875
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,520
and be like, hey, I'm coming out for a weekend.
876
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,160
Yeah, but I've done it in the past
877
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:39,720
where I've set a wall for different classes.
878
00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:41,560
Yeah, it's hard to do all the time.
879
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,680
And generally, like para climbers
880
00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:52,480
will just jump on normal able-bodied climbers routes
881
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,400
and just give it a go because it will be weaknesses
882
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,080
that they need to train.
883
00:48:58,080 --> 00:48:59,320
Yeah, that makes sense.
884
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:03,040
I guess like when they go outside and climb,
885
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:06,720
it's not really set specifically with them in mind either.
886
00:49:06,720 --> 00:49:12,840
No, you have to work out a way to do it with your disability.
887
00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:14,840
Yeah, that makes sense.
888
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:15,760
Very cool.
889
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:20,440
I hope one day I can figure out how to get into the gym scene
890
00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:23,120
on my own gym, have some kind of vision.
891
00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:25,320
Yeah, get a few people involved.
892
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:25,840
It's always easy.
893
00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:31,680
Yeah, I would love to have a very comp-focused gym.
894
00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:38,120
I've seen one of the gyms in, I think, Hawaii.
895
00:49:38,120 --> 00:49:42,800
They set a different showcase comp-style boulder
896
00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:44,760
every week or so.
897
00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:47,000
And I think something like that would be really cool.
898
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:50,000
Yeah, I think a few gyms do that for sure.
899
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:55,760
They'll have their king line for the week
900
00:49:55,760 --> 00:50:00,400
where that one wall has just this one beautiful looking boulder.
901
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:03,880
And then it might get filled in later.
902
00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:04,920
Right, yeah.
903
00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:06,880
Do you guys do that or no?
904
00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:09,400
Yeah, we tend to do that as well.
905
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:13,520
Yeah, and it gives the setters a day to have a play
906
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:17,200
and kind of play with those different style boulder problems
907
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:19,960
or lead routes, which are the same.
908
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:21,160
Cool.
909
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:23,640
So I think now's a good time we can just
910
00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:25,960
get into some of the Discord questions.
911
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:29,560
These are ones submitted by people in the community who
912
00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:31,600
had questions for you.
913
00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:35,160
And it's just kind of like a grab bag
914
00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:37,680
of all of your experience.
915
00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:40,720
So the first one, have you ever felt
916
00:50:40,720 --> 00:50:45,680
like people have a conscious or unconscious bias against you
917
00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:49,760
or doubt your skills because you're a female setter?
918
00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:52,080
Yeah, what needs to happen to get more women
919
00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:54,840
sitting at the top level?
920
00:50:54,840 --> 00:50:58,120
Yeah, I think always it plays on your mind
921
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:02,080
that you're like, maybe I'm not good enough or maybe,
922
00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:06,840
you know, that's always, I think, as anyone knows,
923
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:12,040
that it's always you're a bit debating in your head.
924
00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:14,840
There's also been a couple of situations
925
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:20,200
where you've been sitting and it's like a move's gotten
926
00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:23,280
changed, even though you couldn't do it
927
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:27,080
or something like that.
928
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:33,320
And yeah, and like the second part of the question,
929
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:36,280
to get more females involved, was it?
930
00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:38,120
Yeah.
931
00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:41,800
Yeah, like I think there's a really good movement happening
932
00:51:41,800 --> 00:51:45,760
in Australia at the moment with having more workshops
933
00:51:45,760 --> 00:51:50,200
available and more sessions about chatting
934
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,160
with different women in the industry.
935
00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:58,840
And I think it's moving forward for us in Australia.
936
00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:03,440
I know earlier you mentioned that, I guess, to like move up,
937
00:52:03,440 --> 00:52:06,600
you would kind of, someone would be there to like,
938
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:09,400
I guess, watch your sets or judge your sets.
939
00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:11,480
I forget the term you used.
940
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:12,600
Assessment.
941
00:52:12,600 --> 00:52:13,560
Yeah, assessment.
942
00:52:13,560 --> 00:52:14,080
Yeah.
943
00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:18,120
So is that like a very stressful process,
944
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:22,560
like having someone judge it while you're setting?
945
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:29,800
No, I think we're pretty casual, I think, in Australia.
946
00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:36,760
So pretty well anyone that is getting assessed passes,
947
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:39,160
I would say.
948
00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:43,120
Yeah, I don't think we've failed many people.
949
00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:45,320
Because I think when we're selecting people,
950
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:50,040
too, we're selecting people who we think are good enough
951
00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:51,600
to be on the team.
952
00:52:51,600 --> 00:52:54,720
So they're generally going to pass.
953
00:52:54,720 --> 00:52:58,360
OK, that's good to know.
954
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:02,920
Next one, do you often get writer's block when setting?
955
00:53:02,920 --> 00:53:05,640
And what's your process to find inspiration
956
00:53:05,640 --> 00:53:08,000
if it doesn't come naturally?
957
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:10,480
Yeah, you definitely have days where you're kind of looking
958
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:15,080
at the holds and you're thinking, I'm blank.
959
00:53:15,080 --> 00:53:17,520
I don't know what to do.
960
00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:19,840
But I think the best thing is to just put some holds
961
00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:27,320
on the wall, move them around, and talk to your team.
962
00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:30,640
If you've got a few team members that are sitting with you
963
00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:32,520
like on the same wall or whatever,
964
00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:34,280
you've got to ask the questions.
965
00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:37,640
And you've got to have really good team dynamics
966
00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:41,280
to be able to ask and be like, hey, I'm
967
00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:42,920
a bit stuck on this move.
968
00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:46,840
Do you think I need to change the hold or put a volume on?
969
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:53,600
Or I think we all learn by talking and being a team.
970
00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:59,440
Yeah, do you feel like when you get a new hold set,
971
00:53:59,440 --> 00:54:01,080
do you kind of get into this thing
972
00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:03,680
where you only want to set with the newer holds?
973
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:08,160
Because I kind of imagine it like putting together
974
00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:10,760
outfits with different clothes.
975
00:54:10,760 --> 00:54:12,320
You get a new shirt or something,
976
00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:15,640
and all you can think about is wearing that new shirt.
977
00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:16,280
Yeah.
978
00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:17,520
I think so, yeah.
979
00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:22,080
If you're out the back looking for some holds to put up next
980
00:54:22,080 --> 00:54:24,520
and you're like, oh, they're the new ones.
981
00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:25,960
I want to sit with them.
982
00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:26,840
They're shiny.
983
00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:28,880
They're bright.
984
00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:30,240
Of course, yeah.
985
00:54:30,240 --> 00:54:34,840
But then you're like, oh, but maybe I
986
00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:37,480
could sit with these old classics because I know them
987
00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:38,800
and I know how they work.
988
00:54:38,800 --> 00:54:45,520
And yeah, so it fixes up with what you want to do, yeah.
989
00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:46,240
Next one.
990
00:54:46,240 --> 00:54:49,240
As a setter and as a gym owner, how often
991
00:54:49,240 --> 00:54:53,000
do you think gym routes or boulders should be reset?
992
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:55,640
Does it depend on the type or style or grade
993
00:54:55,640 --> 00:54:59,880
or the demographics of the gym users?
994
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:03,000
Yeah, I think it depends on how many people are coming
995
00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:09,080
through the gym and how dirty the holds are getting.
996
00:55:09,080 --> 00:55:12,640
And there's a lot of factors.
997
00:55:12,640 --> 00:55:16,520
As the size of the gym, so with Thillawood,
998
00:55:16,520 --> 00:55:19,160
we're quite a large gym.
999
00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:20,640
We have top rows.
1000
00:55:20,640 --> 00:55:21,360
We have lead.
1001
00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:22,120
We have boulder.
1002
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:28,640
So getting around the whole gym in terms of top ropes and leads
1003
00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:30,080
could take us six months.
1004
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:36,600
But the boulders, we get around in eight weeks.
1005
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:40,880
So it totally depends on the size of the gym.
1006
00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:42,960
But I think you need to be consistently
1007
00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:47,000
turning over those problems and routes
1008
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:51,680
to keep people interested and keep them fresh.
1009
00:55:51,680 --> 00:55:56,240
And keep your setting team going as well,
1010
00:55:56,240 --> 00:56:01,520
keeping them learning and trying new things as well.
1011
00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:05,720
Are you setting personally within your gym
1012
00:56:05,720 --> 00:56:08,520
or are you more of just an overseer
1013
00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:11,080
of what it should look like?
1014
00:56:11,080 --> 00:56:17,680
Yeah, I'm on the team as well and guiding the team along.
1015
00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,760
We set twice a week.
1016
00:56:19,760 --> 00:56:21,600
There might be days where I don't set,
1017
00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:26,160
but I'm still in there helping them test or guiding them
1018
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:29,960
with what needs to go up or stuff like that.
1019
00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:32,560
And then a couple of last questions
1020
00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:35,920
from Anita, who is one of the people I just
1021
00:56:35,920 --> 00:56:40,600
had on previously, like an RP3 Paraclimber.
1022
00:56:40,600 --> 00:56:42,400
I think you know her, right?
1023
00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:42,960
Yeah.
1024
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:44,240
OK.
1025
00:56:44,240 --> 00:56:47,480
Yeah, she was wondering, do you have anything
1026
00:56:47,480 --> 00:56:52,000
to do with the isolation setting at all, I guess,
1027
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:55,720
at the World Champs or the World Cups?
1028
00:56:55,720 --> 00:56:58,920
And basically, it would be great to have
1029
00:56:58,920 --> 00:57:01,680
a rope added to the future competitions
1030
00:57:01,680 --> 00:57:06,040
like they had in Bern if you set for future World Cups.
1031
00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:11,040
Yeah, I know that's always been on and off kind of issue.
1032
00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:14,800
It just totally depends what the venue has.
1033
00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:20,160
And we generally have to just build the wall
1034
00:57:20,160 --> 00:57:24,000
with whatever holds we have left.
1035
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:28,520
And there's always a discussion about getting a top rope up
1036
00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:30,720
so that the Paraclimbers can warm up.
1037
00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:35,280
And we always try and do the best that we can
1038
00:57:35,280 --> 00:57:38,840
and chat with the organizers and the IFSC.
1039
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:43,480
And it's their call to see what happens.
1040
00:57:43,480 --> 00:57:47,400
So like in isolation, the holds that are put up,
1041
00:57:47,400 --> 00:57:48,880
I guess, on a warm up wall are just
1042
00:57:48,880 --> 00:57:52,440
like whatever is left over from setting the comp?
1043
00:57:52,440 --> 00:57:53,320
Yeah, yeah.
1044
00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:56,240
Or if it's a gym, then there might be holds
1045
00:57:56,240 --> 00:58:00,800
that we can use from the gym to put up.
1046
00:58:00,800 --> 00:58:05,560
And generally, it's like if it's like a World Cup that's
1047
00:58:05,560 --> 00:58:07,680
like at an outside venue, then it's
1048
00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:13,640
just going to be like a straight slightly overhanging wall
1049
00:58:13,640 --> 00:58:17,240
that a lot of people have to try and get on to warm up.
1050
00:58:17,240 --> 00:58:18,680
So it's a hard process.
1051
00:58:18,680 --> 00:58:20,360
Yeah.
1052
00:58:20,360 --> 00:58:22,920
Yeah, you generally want to take your own kind
1053
00:58:22,920 --> 00:58:26,960
of jingle board or something to warm up on as well.
1054
00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:28,920
Yeah, because I didn't even think about it
1055
00:58:28,920 --> 00:58:30,720
until last time when it was mentioned
1056
00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:36,280
that at a typical isolation, there's only like a few,
1057
00:58:36,280 --> 00:58:38,640
like six people or eight people.
1058
00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:44,320
But then at Paraclimbing, it's like tens of, yeah,
1059
00:58:44,320 --> 00:58:46,320
a lot of people trying to warm up at once.
1060
00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:49,560
Yes, a couple hundred people trying to warm up.
1061
00:58:49,560 --> 00:58:54,080
And the timetable is staggered, so there's not
1062
00:58:54,080 --> 00:58:55,600
so many people at once.
1063
00:58:55,600 --> 00:59:00,600
But it's still hard work trying to warm up.
1064
00:59:00,600 --> 00:59:04,200
Yeah, definitely.
1065
00:59:04,200 --> 00:59:05,880
And then another question she had
1066
00:59:05,880 --> 00:59:08,480
was something you had mentioned earlier
1067
00:59:08,480 --> 00:59:13,600
about qualifications and finals happening in one day
1068
00:59:13,600 --> 00:59:16,520
at the IFSC World Cups.
1069
00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:21,000
I guess, could you first of all explain the current process
1070
00:59:21,000 --> 00:59:26,360
and then what it's changing to, and then the pros and cons
1071
00:59:26,360 --> 00:59:29,160
of setting in one day versus the other?
1072
00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:33,360
Yeah, I haven't generally been too much involved with that.
1073
00:59:33,360 --> 00:59:36,920
The IFSC has a committee that they discuss all this with,
1074
00:59:36,920 --> 00:59:41,680
so it's not really up to the root setter, of course.
1075
00:59:41,680 --> 00:59:45,920
But yeah, the process before was all qualifications in one day
1076
00:59:45,920 --> 00:59:48,800
and then finals, so now it's been split.
1077
00:59:48,800 --> 00:59:51,200
So there'll be some classes on one day
1078
00:59:51,200 --> 00:59:54,280
and then the next classes on another day.
1079
00:59:56,960 --> 01:00:00,040
Generally, hopefully, it's good for the setting,
1080
01:00:00,040 --> 01:00:04,720
so it means that we can be tweaking those routes overnight.
1081
01:00:04,720 --> 01:00:06,240
It means we'll be working at night,
1082
01:00:06,240 --> 01:00:09,960
but most of the time we are, that we
1083
01:00:09,960 --> 01:00:13,280
can switch up some of the routes and make them
1084
01:00:13,280 --> 01:00:17,080
a little bit fairer for the classes.
1085
01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:21,120
And we have four or five days to set these in advance,
1086
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:24,680
so we know what we want to do overnight,
1087
01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:27,160
so it's not like we're trying to think of it that night.
1088
01:00:30,160 --> 01:00:32,440
I think generally it might be a good thing.
1089
01:00:32,440 --> 01:00:36,680
It would be good to see it in action and give it a go
1090
01:00:36,680 --> 01:00:40,040
and then go from there, how it's going to look.
1091
01:00:40,040 --> 01:00:44,760
Is that starting out at the first Para World Cup
1092
01:00:44,760 --> 01:00:45,440
of this year?
1093
01:00:45,440 --> 01:00:46,280
Yeah.
1094
01:00:46,280 --> 01:00:47,200
I'm pretty sure.
1095
01:00:47,200 --> 01:00:49,560
I don't know the timetable or anything yet,
1096
01:00:49,560 --> 01:00:54,320
but I would say that's the new rule.
1097
01:00:54,320 --> 01:00:57,160
Are you scheduled to set for any of those this year?
1098
01:00:57,160 --> 01:00:59,200
We haven't been given the schedule yet.
1099
01:00:59,200 --> 01:00:59,800
Oh, right.
1100
01:00:59,800 --> 01:01:00,320
Yeah.
1101
01:01:00,320 --> 01:01:03,800
No setups have been selected for any events.
1102
01:01:03,800 --> 01:01:06,120
It's coming up soon.
1103
01:01:06,120 --> 01:01:07,120
I know, yeah.
1104
01:01:07,120 --> 01:01:11,240
I'm a bit like, oh, I kind of want to know where I'm going
1105
01:01:11,240 --> 01:01:13,440
and plan the year.
1106
01:01:13,440 --> 01:01:17,280
But I guess there's a lot of people
1107
01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:20,920
and there's a lot of events, so trying to organize all that
1108
01:01:20,920 --> 01:01:22,560
would be a pretty big job.
1109
01:01:22,560 --> 01:01:24,080
That'd be pretty stressful, though.
1110
01:01:24,080 --> 01:01:25,960
It's coming up pretty fast.
1111
01:01:25,960 --> 01:01:28,440
The Paraclimbing, we've got a few months.
1112
01:01:28,440 --> 01:01:29,800
I think it's May.
1113
01:01:29,800 --> 01:01:32,640
So yeah, it's the first one.
1114
01:01:32,640 --> 01:01:34,640
First one's in Salt Lake.
1115
01:01:34,640 --> 01:01:39,600
So yeah, the Salt Lake one's always a fun event.
1116
01:01:39,600 --> 01:01:43,920
I've done that one once, and it was really fun.
1117
01:01:43,920 --> 01:01:45,160
Yeah, I hope you get selected.
1118
01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:47,480
That'll be a lot of fun.
1119
01:01:47,480 --> 01:01:49,520
Yeah, yeah, it'll be fun.
1120
01:01:49,520 --> 01:01:51,760
And I might be at Salt Lake, so.
1121
01:01:51,760 --> 01:01:52,880
Oh, cool.
1122
01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:54,280
I mean, it's a lot closer for me,
1123
01:01:54,280 --> 01:01:58,920
but I'm hoping to make it out to a few World Cups this year.
1124
01:01:58,920 --> 01:02:00,840
The Salt Lake one's really good because it's
1125
01:02:00,840 --> 01:02:05,000
bolder in speed and the power of it as well, so you
1126
01:02:05,000 --> 01:02:06,120
get to see a lot.
1127
01:02:06,120 --> 01:02:08,040
Yeah, it's a big one.
1128
01:02:08,040 --> 01:02:09,560
OK.
1129
01:02:09,560 --> 01:02:11,920
I think that's all of the questions I had.
1130
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:13,920
Thank you for joining me.
1131
01:02:13,920 --> 01:02:14,880
Once again, thanks.
1132
01:02:14,880 --> 01:02:18,560
Yeah, anything else that you want to get out there,
1133
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:20,520
shout out?
1134
01:02:20,520 --> 01:02:22,000
No, I don't think so.
1135
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:24,480
I think we covered a lot of stuff,
1136
01:02:24,480 --> 01:02:26,720
and it was good to have a chat about.
1137
01:02:26,720 --> 01:02:29,000
Well, it was nice chatting.
1138
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:31,680
And do you want to let people know where they can find you
1139
01:02:31,680 --> 01:02:34,720
or contact you if they have anything else?
1140
01:02:34,720 --> 01:02:39,160
Yeah, I'm on Instagram, Carly Climes.
1141
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:42,360
You can send me a message, ask away.
1142
01:02:42,360 --> 01:02:44,800
Happy to have a chat anytime.
1143
01:02:44,800 --> 01:02:45,320
Awesome.
1144
01:02:45,320 --> 01:02:48,560
I'll leave the links in the description.
1145
01:02:48,560 --> 01:02:50,200
But yeah, thanks again.
1146
01:02:50,200 --> 01:02:51,840
It was amazing to have this talk.
1147
01:02:51,840 --> 01:02:53,000
Yeah, no, thank you.
1148
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:54,000
It was fun.
1149
01:02:54,000 --> 01:02:57,280
Thank you so much for making it to the end of the podcast.
1150
01:02:57,280 --> 01:02:59,920
Don't forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed.
1151
01:02:59,920 --> 01:03:03,080
Otherwise, you are a super fake climber.
1152
01:03:03,080 --> 01:03:05,360
If you're listening on a podcasting platform,
1153
01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:07,600
I'd appreciate if you rate it five stars,
1154
01:03:07,600 --> 01:03:09,520
and you can continue the discussion
1155
01:03:09,520 --> 01:03:12,520
on the free competition climbing discord linked
1156
01:03:12,520 --> 01:03:13,880
in the description.
1157
01:03:13,880 --> 01:03:27,520
Thanks again for listening.
