If you stopped by the Ralph S O’Connor Recreation center between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. two Saturdays ago, November 6th, it was impossible to ignore the crowd of climbers swarming the wall.
The record number of 64 sign-ups for the 2010 Hopkins Climbing Competition proved to be more than double the amount of last year’s participants.
“The turnout this year was amazing!” senior Jennie Choi, who finished third the Women’s Advanced division, said. “Now that a college [rock climbing] circuit has been established for schools in the area, it seems like everyone is really hyped to come out to the competitions and have a great time.”
Hopkins is just the first of six schools in the Baltimore area that will host a competition, part of the new Collegiate Series. Students participating in the series are required to attend three or more of the individual competitions; the scores from their three best competitions are totaled at the end.
Winners of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Climbing Series are awarded prizes on the date of the last competition at Towson on April 16th, 2011. The University of Maryland-College Park will host the next competition in the series on November 13th.
At this year’s event, Blue Jays were well represented. First and second place in the women’s Advanced division went to Hopkins students Miura Hawkins and Trish Gibo respectively. At the Intermediate level, Kayam Chak placed first; Amanda Wade took top prize for the Beginner’s bracket.
In the Men’s Advanced bracket Parker Rhodes of Towson took first and Towson students Justin Smith and Scott Hossier won second and third, respectively. At the Men’s Intermediate level, Stephen Cattell placed first. Brian Jacobs won the Beginner’s bracket.
Andrew Padilla, the new Experiential Education Coordinator at the Recreation Center, deserves credit for his role in organizing, marketing, and soliciting sponsors for the competition.
The event’s sponsors contributed a wide range of prizes for the competition including copies of rock climbing magazines, movie tickets, and gift cards and certificates to nearby restauratns.
“The amount of excitement for this competition widely exceeded my expectations,” Outdoor Pursuits Director of Operations Margaret Roth said. “It was organized extremely well. Ralph S. O’Connor would be proud.”
It took six setters five full days to map the 35 climbs of this year’s competition. The sound of drills, sometimes four at once, echoed through the Rec Center during the extreme hours of the day. On the two days before the competition, the setters foreran the climbs to make sure the climbing grades were accurate.
“At one point I was setting so hard that I blacked out. I’m so proud,” acknowledged Head Setter Haris Ali with a grin. Ali was in charge of dictating the event’s rules to the climbers, something he knew better than anyone.
Hopkins alum Bob Harlow set the men’s final climb, which was a combination of technique, power, grace and a tricky crux sequence at the top. It was, without a doubt, one of the most demanding treks of the competition. For the Rec Center, the event served as a great way to get students more interested in using the wall.
“The large turnout brought great exposure to one of the Rec Center’s hidden gems. All the new routes were well set and will hopefully draw larger crowds in the year to come,” Climbing Wall Manager Terence Casey said.
Climbing Wall staff urges students to stop by the Rec Center at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesdays or Thursdays to learn the basics for free.
