Team Rock Places 2nd in the Nation at Bouldering Nationals

We are excited to announce that Team Rock, the competitive climbing team at The Rock Club, has placed 2nd in the nation at the USA Climbing Youth Bouldering National Championship.

Climbers from all over the nation converged at the Salt Palace, in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 9-11th, 2018. In order to qualify to compete, climbers had to place in the top 6 at the Divisional Championships in January. “Even making it to Divisionals is very difficult these days,” says Team Rock Head Coach, Meghan McDonald. This year, Team Rock was able to qualify 12 climbers to Nationals, the most in the team’s history. Climbers then competed individually and were awarded team points for their placements.

Team Rock placed 2nd with a total of 495 points, just shy of first-place Team ABC who scored 586 points. Perhaps the most incredible part of the story is that Team Rock had only 12 athletes while other teams in the top five placements had up to 20 athletes. In a sport where the number of athletes matters, it is remarkable that a team with 40% fewer people was able to do as well as it did.

It has truly been an incredible journey over the season and over the years. This is a culmination of a lot of dedication from athletes, parents, coaches, and The Rock Club. Learn more about their incredible journey: Team Rock Places 2nd at Bouldering Divisionals 2018 and Team Rock Wins Bouldering Regionals 2018.

“THIS IS KIND OF INSANE! A podium finish at Nationals has been on lock-down for nearly a decade by the same top 4 teams. To have a break-out performance like this is a dream come true for us – to current Team Rockers, veterans, and our community at The Rock Club,” says Meghan. After placing 5th the past two seasons, this is Team Rock’s strongest finish in its 10-year history – not a bad way to celebrate the big 1 – 0!

We are so incredibly proud of Team Rock. Everyone works so hard day in and day out, coming to practice, putting in the effort, and always supporting each other. We may have only part of the team at nationals but this is without a doubt a team effort – coaches, parents, volunteers, climbers, and fans all play a huge role in the team’s success! Big congratulations to all!