BB Youth Squad selection 2018

Selecting a squad of 20 youth aged 8-15

The Boulder Brighton Youth Squad

Over the past few years our youth squad has progressed hugely. In the first days most of the squad members were keen but inexperienced climbers, entering competitions for the first time. These days, Team BB is a force to be reckoned with on the local and national competition circuit, and we even have a couple of members in the national GB squad! Our squad is of mixed ages with a focus on fun, commitment and potential for the future. Team members are expected to train twice a week with the squad as well as some additional independent training, and make at least 4 of the 5 Blokfest competitions over the season around the South East.

2018 BB Youth Squad Selection Day:

Selection for this year's BB Youth squad will take place on Wednesday 5th September. There will be a set of specially set problems to try on the night any time between 4pm and 8pm, from easy to hard! The scores from this will help us select a Squad of 20 young people aged 8 to 15.

Coaching: Mid-September through to May

• Saturday morning 09:15-11:15
• Wednesday 16:15-17:15 or 17:30-18:30
• There will be some strength and conditioning work involved as well as homework between sessions!

Competitions:

The primary focus of the squad is competing in the year's Blokfest competition series. A Boulder Brighton instructor will be at each Blokfest event and the BMC Youth Open competitions to organise and coach the team, but parents will still be needed to help supervise the competitors. Dates will be released as soon as they are available.

Youth Squad costs and commitments

The charge of £50 per month includes unlimited entry to the centre, a squad t-shirt, twice weekly coaching and support at competitions. Ideally we are looking for squad members to climb three or more times each week, although care should be taken with the form of those sessions to avoid injury and we will advise on how to best approach them.

Start of 2018 squad training

The first session after the trials day will be Saturday, 15th September at 9:15am. We would like to invite families to come along for a meeting with the instructors at the same time in our upstairs room. We will take any questions you might have and give families the chance to meet each other as you may well find that at competitions you can share the travel. We will also have some advice about training and what is safe so that you can keep an eye on your child as they develop.

Trips outside BB

To further broaden the skills of our squad we will run some outdoor bouldering trips. The weather is best right after the competition season ends so we will aim to run these from April on. I would also like to visit some of the other walls around us and we will replace some of our Saturday training sessions with visits to other centres.