Pringle Wins International Competition: S.F.Youth outduels foe in final round
By Sharael Feist
Oct. 20, 1998
People from all over the world were climbing the walls last weekend in San Francisco, as Mission Cliffs, a South of Market area climbing gym became the site of the Touchstone Junior International Climbing Competition. The event featured climbers ages 19 and younger, from countries including Austria, Canada, South Africa and the United States, competing in the first international youth indoor climbing competition held in the U.S.
Unlike some “blind” competitions, where the climbers aren’t allowed to see the course before they attempt to climb it, competitors were given a brief chance to preview their route.
San Francisco climber Ethan Pringle and Canadian Tyler Moffat were neck and neck for first place in the semifinal and final rounds of the 12- and 13-year-old boys category. Both Pringle and Moffat “flashed” the final round – they made it to the top of the route without falling, but in the tie-breaking super-final round, Pringle managed to outdo Moffat to take the title.
“I liked this event because I got to meet people from all over the world,” said Pringle, who also won the national title in August. “The routes were sustained – hard all the way through.”
According to Pringle, his greatest difficulty in the competition were the footholds – or lack of good footholds. There were barely enough, he said.
In the women’s competition, the highest-ranked woman in the nation, Beth Rodden, scurried her way up the walls to first place. Rodden, from Davis, California, has been climbing competitively for four years. She says she doesn’t have a coach, but gets a lot of support from her parents.
“I liked that this event was all in one day and really run well,” Rodden said. “The most difficult thing for me was staying focused.”
In addition to the portion of the competition focusing on degrees of difficulty, the event also featured a speed-climbing competition.
Castro Valley climber Ben Polanco blew away his rivals by scampering to the top of the route in a record 6.62 seconds to secure first. Polanco is know for his jumping maneuvers – called “dyno” moves – and is nicknamed “the Flea” because he attempts such risky jumps to get to the top of the route quickly.
Though the level of competition was tough, organizing the contest itself was no easy feat. Rob Rodden, president of the Junior Competition Climbing Association (JCCA), said he wanted to complete the competition in one day, and he needed nearly 70 volunteers to pull it off.
“Having a one day event makes it more reasonable for people to travel,” Rodden said. “It was a landmark event. Holding an international competition in the U.S. was virgin territory. Although we had to overcome some hurdles, it went very well and we hope to do it again in a year or two.”
Event organizer Hans Florine said that the competition went well and that it was the most enthusiastic crowd he has even seen. But at an event this large, there is always something bound to go wrong. Florine joked about how they lost the official results to the speed-climbing competition and finally found them two hours later – in the trash.
More climbing action is set for the near future, as the adult International Invitational competition is slated to take place at Mission Cliffs on November 14.