By Gareth Wall
It was hot, the problems were hard and a bit under graded. All competitors had to push themselves during the pumpfest to a level they hadn’t pushed to before. The moans from sore competitors during the following few days brought a sadistic smile to my face. I had achieved where I felt I may have failed. Indeed the problems were hard, maybe too hard but judging the abilities of the top boulderers in the state or even in the country, is challenging.
I watched the pumpfest with apprehension as defeat was seen more frequently than success. By the time the finals began some competitors were so spent, they were trying to talk the amount of finals problems down from five to four, or even three. However, the more seasoned of the wall warriors wanted to be hurt and so the slaughter began: five problems. The finals were all or nothing to get your share of the cash and although more didn’t complete problems than did, there were some strong and oh so close efforts. In the end, all finalists got a taste of the cash with Marc, Jason and Sam cleaning up the most.
Marc and Jay were so close that literally only one pumpfest problem, a difference of four points, ended up separating them in a count back after tying two a piece in the finals. Sam cleaned up nicely in the women’s but I know our girls are closing the gap and hunting her down. She had better watch out.
After the finals all places remained the same as throughout the pumpfest, excluding Liana coming home strong and pushing Jing out of second spot by one problem.
A special mention goes to Claire and Naomi, so young, so talented and thrown into the spotlight on such a hard day for their first time. Well done girls, what a great effort to get into the finals. Your futures are calling and I can see you both in many more finals and even winning them in the future.
Well done to ALL competitors it was hot and hard but that’s what competition is about, pushing yourself to achieve your greatest. All results will be available on the Rockface website shortly.
The top five in each category are as follows:
| Name | Pumpfest Score | Finals Problems Completed | Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOMEN | ||||
| Sam Berry |
431 |
4 |
1 |
$605 |
| Liana Morgan |
339 |
2 |
2 |
$205 |
| Jing Yun Wong |
353 |
1 |
3 |
$105 |
| Claire Newbury |
238 |
0 |
4 |
$40 (+prize) |
| Naomi Stockley |
228 |
0 |
5 |
$40 (+prize) |
| MEN | ||||
| Marc Edwards |
510 |
2 |
1 |
$320 |
| Jason Girdlestone |
506 |
2 |
2 |
$320 |
| Chris Loane |
426 |
0 |
3 |
$120 |
| Francois Jourjon |
411 |
0 |
4 |
$120 |
| Anthony Goyder |
401 |
0 |
5 |
$120 |