Macleans College rock climbers reach round one series finals

The competitive Macleans College rock climbing team recently took part in round one of the College Climbing Series.

This is a series of four competitions, in which students compete in top rope climbing and bouldering.

Round one was held at Vertical Adventures in West Auckland and was a top rope competition. Macleans College had 18 students participating in a field of over 120 competitors. In the preliminary round of the competition, students have a certain amount of time to try to complete as many climbs as they can, with points awarded for the difficulty of the climb and for whether or not the student tops the climb. The five best climbs per student are totalled, and the eight highest qualifiers in each age group progress to the finals.

If students make the final, they must attempt a climb with only a few minutes to view it, and they are then kept in isolation so that they cannot see anyone else attempt the climb. If more than one competitor tops the climb, then the fastest climber wins.

Macleans College had some fantastic results, with a number of students making the finals and one making the podium.

Congratulations to the following students for making the finals and for achieving these results in the finals:

Junior boys competition:

• Klaas Kamp (Kupe House) placed fourth
• Ashton Phillips (Kupe) placed sixth

Senior girls competition:

• Tara Barrett (Upham) placed sixth
• Jazmyn Crowther (Rutherford) placed seventh

Senior boys competition:

• Louis Li (Mansfield) placed eighth
• Cullen Campbell (Batten) placed first

After this first round of competition, Macleans College is sitting second overall out of the 30 schools that competed.