Kiwi climber Zoe Ball scales a wall at the world youth climbing championships in Helsinki. Photo / Brendan McGrath, Crux Lab NZ
Nina Poletti for LockerRoom
Under the soaring walls of Helsinki’s Kiipeily Areena Ristikko, four Christchurch teenagers looked impossibly small. But for the Flying Geckos, simply standing in one of Europe’s largest climbing gyms was already a triumph.
Just weeks earlier, Xanthe Saunders was hobbling around in a moon boot, nursing two fractured bones in her foot. Zoe Ball had been battling competition nerves that threatened to overwhelm her. For Sophia Cook and Katie Chinn, the challenge was adjusting to routes far taller and more complex than anything they had attempted to scale in New Zealand.
Together, the Kiwi quartet journeyed halfway across the world to tackle the youth world championships in lead and boulder events – returning home with experience, resilience, and a deeper love for their sport.
“The walls in Europe are a lot bigger and have a lot of holds and moves we’re not used to,” says Cook, a Year 13 student at Rudolf Steiner School, who competed in the U19 division. “I learned that mindset makes the biggest difference under pressure.”
The Flying Geckos got a clear reminder of their underdog status in the fast-rising world of indoor climbing – a sport of ultimate power and precision.
The week-long competition brought together hundreds of young climbers from around the globe. Many of their Northern Hemisphere rivals compete year-round in professional programmes, while the less-experienced Kiwi contingent are powered by passionate volunteers, with limited resources and few competitions.
For all four climbers, the love of climbing began close to home. Chinn, Ball and Saunders were encouraged to give it a go by their parents, who’ve all dabbled in indoor and outdoor climbing. As a high school teacher, Saunders’ dad, Bruce, would take classes along to the gym and eventually his daughter decided to tag along.
“I just kept hanging around and got interested in it – I started competing five years ago and loved it,” says Saunders, a Hillmorton High student who represented New Zealand in the U17 category.
For Cook, climbing was a summer holiday option that stuck, before heading outdoors to Castle Hill and the Port Hills. “I got roped in by the Flying Geckos to go to the youth nationals and I’ve been competing ever since,” she says.
Milford has been a prime outdoor climbing ground for Cashmere High student Chinn, who followed her parents, Nicola and Andrew, into the sport when she was eight.
For Ball, competitive gymnastics created a solid platform to build on her climbing skills.
“I didn’t know climbing was a sport you could be competitive in, but once I met the rest of the girls, I quit gymnastics at 13 and started competing. Gymnastics has helped with the dynamic movements – I know where my body needs to be to catch a hold,” Ball, a student at Villa Maria College, says.
Cook, Chinn and Saunders were all identified as rising talents in 2021, selected in the NZ youth development team. Ball joined the team last year.
Climbing is a sport that generally flies under the radar in New Zealand but shot into the spotlight at the 2024 Paris Olympics when Kiwi speed climber Julian David raced his way to the quarterfinals, finishing eighth overall. While speed climbing is a race to the top where the fast climber wins, in boulder and lead climbing, the process is slower and more measured.
While both categories of climbing require a combination of strength, skill and problem-solving to navigate a wall, bouldering is typically shorter and more complex, with three or four metres of holds to climb up and over and with no ropes or harnesses attached.
Lead climbing is stretched over 15-20m high walls. Climbers must sustain their power and be efficient with their movements to get to the top in one go, clipping their rope to pre-placed anchors as they transition up the wall, with a belayer securing the rope from below.
While training in Edinburgh before going to Helsinki – and meeting up with the five other climbers in the NZ team – Saunders found her footing again after suffering two minor fractures in her foot.
“I put in a lot of effort to be stronger to have the experience I really wanted to have,” Saunders says. “My foot was pretty good in the climbing, but all the walking in between left it sore.
“The fractures have now healed, but the bone bruising is going to take a bit longer to settle down – so less walking for me for the next month.”
Once up on the wall, Saunders found a way to talk herself out of her nervousness.
“I’m a very emotional person, which can be a good thing or a really bad thing, I’m not good at being very zen so if I’m stressing out and shaking, I’ll start talking out loud to myself on the wall,” she says.
“I don’t always listen, but it helps to stay in the moment and focus on the next move or what the next hold looks like.”
Ball admits she’s had to learn to manage her emotions – with the help of a good book. “I feel pressure quite easily and find it hard to separate my emotions and climbing,” she says.
“If I’m having a bad competition, my emotions can impact my next climb, so I turn away from the climb, close my eyes and sit down for a bit. Before heading out on the mats I’ll read a book to distract myself. I’ll also memorise the route in my head and calm my mind before I take the first step onto the mat.
“When I first started competing, I would be crushed if I had a bad comp and wouldn’t want to do it again. But the more I practiced, I figured out strategies that worked for me. Having people around is so important – my family has been supporting me a lot with managing my mental health, which I’m grateful for.”
The step-up in route reading at international level was also a challenge for the young climbers.
“Route reading is really important – I misread the route on my second qualification climb which was a bit frustrating,” says Saunders, who finish 71st in the U17 lead climbing. “It’s worth taking the time beforehand so when you get on the wall you know exactly what you are doing.”
Cook was 60th in the U19 lead, and 68th in boulder. Ball was 64th in bouldering, while Chinn finished 71st in boulder and 75th in lead.
But all four climbers brought home plenty of lessons that go beyond their rankings.
“You should be doing it because you love it,” Chinn says. “You’ve got to find the joy in climbing and just have fun while doing the best you can.”
Saunders knows not to compare herself to others, but she takes inspiration from her heroes. “I really look up to [professional rock climber] Brooke Raboutou – she’s short and I’m short, so we need to do more dynamic movements than taller people.”
For those new to the sport, Cook encourages rookies to give everything a go. “Try different types of climbing and see what you like, even if a climb feels hard just give it a go. There are lots of likeminded people, everyone is so kind so ask for some tips – and have fun.”
A little bit of self-belief also goes a long way, especially for Ball. “Competing at the world champs, where I was miles behind everyone else, I felt a bit downbeat about the level I was at,” she says. “Watching people breeze through what I couldn’t even imagine doing was a bit tough, but after the competition I started thinking more positively.
“I’m proud of the way I dealt with my nerves…and kept smiling. Even if I wasn’t the strongest climber out there, I know I did my best on the day and threw everything I had at those boulders so I can be proud of that.”
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.