On Saturday evening, Tour De Bloc kicked off its 13th season in Vancouver at The Hive.
Qualifications during the day were packed with competitors from all categories and the atmosphere was jovial but competitive. No big upsets during the day, with most of the men and women competitors who were expected to make it in the final round performing well. Near misses included Ayesha Khan on the women’s side and JJ Mah and Kaleb Thomas on the men’s side. The biggest surprise of the day came from Jani Zoraj, a 13 year old female competitor who recently moved to Vancouver from Croatia. Unfortunately Jani was unable to compete in the open category because of her age but based on her points total in qualification she would have placed 1st going into the Women’s open finals!
Celeste Wall looking on amongst an eager crowd. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
The final round kicked off Saturday night, with 7 female competitors and 10 male competitors in the Open Category. Spectators trickled in after a sunny day in Vancouver to form a well-sized crowd and the MC, Dustin Curtis, gave it his all to pump up the typical west coast crowd.
Dustin Curtis giving it his all in the mic. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
The night started with the Women’s open final featuring a number of local competitors including Tiffany Melius, Alannah Yip, and Sophie Buitendyk as well as visiting climbers Alison Stewart-Patterson from Victoria, Allison Vest from Canmore, and Kumari Barry from Australia. At the end of it all, Sophie Buitendyk stole the show, with three tops to seal the win with her efficient climbing style. This will certainly not be the last time we see her on the top of the podium this year in BC.
Alannah Yip on #3. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
Sophie Buitendyk on #2. Photo by Ken Chow ©
With a small intermission to change out the problems, the Men’s final started off with Gavin Johnson pumping up the crowd with big moves followed by Ivan Luo, who looked stronger than ever. The crowd surged when Simon Parton just barely stuck problem #1 to really set the bar for the competitors to still come out of isolation.
Gavin Johnson styling #2. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
Ivan Lou making it the farthest on #3. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
With Matt Johnson and Eric Sethna coming out last, the bar was set high. In the end, the competition came down to attempts, with Eric Sethna flashing three out of four problems to take first. The differentiation between Simon Parton and Matt Johnson came down to attempts on getting to the bonus hold, with Matt needing one more attempt than Simon to reach the bonus hold on problem #1, placing Simon in second place and Matt in third. The most impressive moment of the night, however, goes to Ivan Luo, who stuck an incredibly fast double dyno on Men’s #3. What a show!
Matt Johnson on #1. Photo by Ken Chow ©
Eric Sethna on #3. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
Eric Sethna topping #4. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
Overall, the competition was a great success. The Hive team and all its volunteers put on a great show and continued to provide a very entertaining competition. The setting team worked quickly behind the scenes and made an concerted effort to change up the problems after the female competitors were finished, which was an improvement from last year. Once again, the world-class facility at the Hive Vancouver delivered an entertaining night and a great kick off to the Tour De Bloc and BC competition season!
Special thanks to Ken Chow and Shane Murdoch for the photos.
