Brit-power: Bowes takes bronze in IFSC Paraclimbing Cup 2015

Dave Bowes wins bronze in the IFSC Paraclimbing Cup and silver in the European Cup, held under the imposing shadow of Mont Blanc in the stunning alpine town of Chamonix, France (9-12 July).

Four athletes from the GB paraclimbing team travelled over to take part in the second of the IFSC paraclimbing events this season.

Dave Bowes and his well deserved medal. Photo: Andy Coltart

This spectactular and superbly managed event was held in conjunction with the senior male and female World and European cup leading and speed. The competition venue is held in the main Chamonix square on a specially constructed wall. It’s an open venue enabling huge crowds to gather and provide valuable support for the athletes.

The paraclimbing event was staged over two days with Friday being the qualifiers. Split down into 5 categories: Male and Female Neuro Physical Disability A&B, Blind B1 & B2 and Amputee Leg.

All climbers had to complete 2 climbs with scoring based on how high they got. There was a total of 10 countries competing. From Team GB Dave Bowes and Phil Mitchell both qualified with Sianagh (Left Arm Amputee) and John (Blind B2) after very valiant efforts not getting through.

Phil Mitchell on the impressive world cup wall. Photo: Mark McGowan

Sianagh was at a disadvantage because a category was not available for her so she was put in with the NPD A’s. Sianagh in her usual very strong and positive way continued to compete saying that “every competition is an excellent learning tool”. Conditions were also difficult for John because the wall used for the qualifiers is very dated and in very poor light and very little colour contrast between the wall and holds making it difficult for both the climber and sight guider.

The final was staged the following day, Saturday, out on the main wall in the town square. There was a short parading and then a short observational period before being taken into isolation. The wall this year was steeper than 2013 with 4 sections of varying steepness…the middle being the steepest. This turned out to be a very gripping final for both the GB athletes because both Dave and Phil drew with other athletes with the final score based on the time.

First GB athlete out was Phil who climbed very powerfully up to the middle section but could not pull through this to gain the smaller holds on less steep ground. Phil said that “it was incredibly reachy”. Phil was pipped literally by seconds by the Israeli athlete Matan Berman. Dave Bowes climbed superbly but again stopped in his tracks by the very steep section. However fully taking on the advice of head coach Mark McGowan to climb fast, when times were checked Dave had just pipped Israeli Athlete Daniel Bar David.

Despite the difficulties outlined with the qualifiers venue it was great to see the Para climbers participating in such a big event and in such well set out proceedings. The paraathletes undergo the same strict ruling and procedures as all other athletes which is important for mental preparation at such an event. It was well thought out to stage it at a time when crowd paratipcation would be maximized.

Team support
It was great to have team physio Mark Wilkinson from Paragon Physiotherapy. Mark has been doing work with the team for a couple of years but this was his first oversees event. Mark looks at the team members as athletes rather than climbers. This enables him to identify areas of weaknesses the team members might assume are not important.

Sponsorship
Thank you to Wild Country for sponsoring the team whose support enables us to get to the events and to enjoy good travel and accommodation which goes a huge way to mentally preparing the athletes. The GB Team are also sponsored by the Route Setting Association.

What's next?
The next IFSC paraclimbing event is in Sheffield on 3-5 October 2015. Details here.

Opportunities
The team is now in strong position to be supporting a bigger number of athletes. If you climb or don’t climb yet the BMC has a superb opportunity for you further it or try it with the domestic BMC paraclimbing series starting in September. This provides an opportunity to enjoy the sport but also pursue a dream and become part of the GB paraclimbing team.

A brief guide to categories
Neurological Physical Disability (NPD) is a disability caused by the function of the brain. For example in Dave Bowes case he has a brain injury which effects the functioning of his muscles, coordination, nerve system, balance. The category A & B is based on profiling carried out by the IFSC doctors, A being the higher functioning.

Blind categories are based on the level of vision with B1 being the least amount of vison and B3 the most amount of vision. Athletes are put into categories based on sigh tests carried by medical professionals

Arm amputee athletes will have varying lengths of their arm missing. Climbing does not categorise people based on length of amputation so one athlete may have all their arm missing as in Sianagh’s case or may just have below the elbow missing. It is also important to note the term amputation is used. Some climbers may have been born limbless. The IFSC does not allow use of prosthetics on arms.

The same as above applies to leg amputation. The IFSC allows the use of prosthetics on legs. Some of these categories may seem imbalanced but until paraclimbing has enough athletes to populate categories climbers will continue to compete to support the movement.