Maria Celkova competing at The Hive in 2013. Photo courtesy of Maria Celkova ©
This weekend, local climber Maria Celkova will be competing at the Canadian Open National Bouldering Competition this weekend taking place in Montreal. For the past few years, Maria has taken a continued interest in competing locally and she has placed very well in a number of competitions. Last year, she found herself competing in the Word Cup circuit for the Slovak Team and this year she will be going back for more. Squamish Climbing Magazine thought it would be good to check in with Maria as she heads to Montreal this morning.
Hi Maria! Thanks for talking to us. So your heading to Montreal today. How do you feel?
Hi Tim, I feel excited, but also a little bit apprehensive.
Have you been doing anything in anticipation of this event?
I actually haven’t been doing any specific training for nationals; which is really too bad since I think comp specific training helps a lot. My back’s been giving me a hard time since provincials so I’ve actually just been struggling to get any climbing in at all.
Maria Celkova and Alannah Yip working out the moves. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
This may be the final bouldering comp in Canada for the year but you competed in the World Cup last year. Are you planning to compete this year?
Yes, I’m definitely planning to compete at the world cup this year. That’s been my goal all along and I’ve planned my climbing season around peaking specifically for those events. This year I’m really gonna be going for it.
Why choose to compete in the world cup?
I don’t know. I don’t really have a good explanation for that because to be perfectly honest I’m not the best competitor and sometimes I really let big events stress me out. Last year I did 4 world cups and by world championships at the end of the season I felt like I was getting the hang of it. So this year I want to compete because I want to see if I can improve on that some more.
For those who have never been, what it is like being part iof such an international event?
It’s a one of a kind experience. For me the WC events just seem to have a really unique energy.
Maria competing on a rope. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
For Montreal, will you be going with a group or meeting people down there?
I’m actually going to be travelling by myself, but once I get to Montreal I’m sure I’ll be meeting up with fellow BC team members.
Are you looking forward to spending some time in Montreal.
I’m looking forward to seeing the gym I hear it’s amazing. I haven’t had the chance to climb there yet so I’m pretty excited for that, but even more importantly I’m looking forward to seeing my climbing friends from other provinces.
This comp is over two days. Is that a better format for competitors?
I really like it when competitions go over two days It gives me a chance to recover a little bit between rounds. I like being able to reflect on the errors I made, how to fix them and then having the chance to start fresh again the next day. While it’s true that Nationals are over two days, both qualifiers and semi finals are on Saturday. I think the semi finals are the hardest round of competition, so I really wish the break was right after qualifiers.
The crowd will be big but may not know British Columbians. What do you anticipate?
I’d like to hope that they still cheer for me. It’s hard being an outsider.
Maria on Seven Spanish Angels. Photo courtesy of Maria Celkova ©
You have competed in competitions in Canada for a while. Is the scene changing?
Yes, definitely. I think that there’s a lot more people showing up to compete and the route setting is always evolving and improving. In the last two years the competitions in BC have become more frequent and that’s something that I’ve really appreciated.
Whats it like being on the Slovak team for the World Cup?
Being on the Slovak team is great. It’s a really small team that’s pretty laid back. They’ve been really welcoming and I’ve managed to grow my Slovak vocabulary to include climbing terms.
Maria competing at Climb Base 5. Photo courtesy of Maria Celkova ©
Does the team stick together during the cup?
More or less. It kind of depends on everyone’s travel arrangements.
Will you have time to climb outside before you go?
I really hope so. I have a list of Squamish boulder problems that I would really like to do this summer.
Thanks Maria! Good luck this weekend and we hope you have a great time meeting up with competitors from other provinces. Squamish Climbing Magazine will do its best to provide results for this event and the live link for Sunday’s final. Good luck to all our BC and Alberta competitors!
Maria is a local Vancouver climber.
Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
