Most teenagers choose to play team sports like volleyball, basketball and football; however, rocking climbing has grown to be a popular trend among Bloomington South high school students.
Last year, Hoosier Heights began a year-round youth rock climbing team called the B-Team, and from what started out as ten climbers in the fall of 2010 has recently expanded to 16 climbers. This team is open to those ten to 18 years of age who want to improve their climbing abilities and show off their progress at competitions. The practices are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hoosier Heights Indoor Climbing Facility, though the climbers are encouraged to climb in their free time as well.
A usual practice for the team consists of a 10 minute warm-up where they climb two easy routes in the top off room, a stretching session to loosen up their muscles, a hour of climbing, a workout that usually consists of strength or endurance tests like pull ups, and then finishing off with about ten minutes of push-ups and sit ups.
Evelyn Rehrey, a junior at South and a new addition to the B-Team, said climbing ?builds a lot of muscle and it?s really good for you. It?s a fun workout and you meet a lot of people who have really positive attitudes.?
Bouldering is a competitive sport late summer to mid-winter where you complete ?boulder problems? without a rope or harness; generally the boulder problems are not too high off of the ground in order to prevent injuries. From spring to early summer climbers can compete during the top-roping season where you have a harness (a belt worn to keep climbers secure in the air) and belayer (a climbing partner who makes sure that the climber doesn?t fall by adding and removing slack from the rope being used).
Rebecca Garcia, a junior at South, has been climbing for nearly 13 months and prefers top rope and lead climbing opposed to bouldering. ?They?re better because you have longer routes and you get more opportunity to improve your technique,? said Garcia.
However, South sophomore Jamil Moore, who has been climbing for about eight months, says he likes ?doing boulder numbers because it?s a better test of strength and technique.?
The B-Team competes four to five times each year, having about two to three competitions each season. During a competition, both sport climbing and bouldering, climbers can gain points depending on the difficulty of the routes they climb and the time that they complete them in. Those who gain the highest number of points are placed first in the division. The competitions are held at various gyms ranging from Hoosier Heights to climbing gyms in Cincinnati.
?A competition depends on the gym and where it is at. At Hoosier Heights it?s really laidback and fun because A. It?s our home gym and B. Everyone is just nicer to each other,? commented Garcia.
Madi Taylor
Staff Writer
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