This weekend, the Tour De Bloc made its way to Elevation Place in Canmore, AB. With competitors from across the country, the Canmore stop for the Tour de Bloc was a time for new faces to appear and for the old guard to show their stuff.
Birds eye of Elevation Place. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
In the men’s field, with a few top competitors absent, (notably Jason Hollowach, Josh Muller, and Sam Tucker), there was an opportunity for new faces to move into the final position. Qualifiers yielded a great group of finalists, with Scott Eveleigh finishing in first, followed closely by his older brother Marc. Dan Archambault, a long time competitor and owner of Rock Jungle Fitness in Edmonton, put in a strong showing to finish up in third place. Two young guns, Andrew Funk of Edmonton and Dima Kariman of Calgary came in 4th and 5th. The resident TDB Finals MC personality Pete Woods had to give up his regular role on the microphone to be a competitor. Pete’s dedication to training over the past couple years paid off, yielding the veteran 6th place. The field was rounded out with a couple of new faces on the tour, Calgary’s Aaron Sadlier and Canmore local Patrick Gibeau finishing in 7th and 8th.
On the women’s side, veteran and consistent competitor Stacey Weldon finished qualifiers in first place, followed closely by Calgary Junior climber Eva Thompson. Canmore’s Becca Frangos finished in a strong third place. Last year’s winner of this event, Allison Vest, finished in 4th. Three top climbers from Calgary, Alyssa Weber, Regan Kennedy and Samantha Li placed 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. A relatively new face on the adult circuit, Freya Hammond-Thrasher of Edmonton, put in a great showing to make finals in 8th spot.
Finalists getting ready. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
The scene was set for a dramatic finals event. Would Stacey Weldon with her deep competition experience prevail? Would Allison Vest show her power with a repeat win, or would one of the other very strong contenders emerge as victor? On the men’s side, would it be a depth of experience or a show of youthful exuberance that would prove to be victorious? Canmore has a long history in climbing and spectators showed up early for finals, leaving standing room only for those coming later.
Men’s finals started off with an exciting jump move to a hard-to-hold sloper followed by long pulls to an exciting ‘spotter’s nightmare’ dyno finish. The top five competitors finished this problem. Problem #2 was a long problem that included a tenuous left traverse up high. Dividing the field, this problem saw tops by Dima, Andrew and Marc, with Scott coming achingly close, just failing to match the finishing hold. Problem #3 proved to be the deciding factor for the men. It included a powerful opening sequence that shut down the first few competitors, until Andrew Funk came out and flashed it in great style. Marc and Scott were also able to complete the problem. After problem #3, Marc and Andrew were frontrunners with three tops, but Andrew had a slight lead with one less fall. Problem #4 was an endurance monster, and it proved to be too much for any sends, although Marc did come close, powering out near the end. This left Andrew Funk with his first ever Tour de Bloc Victory, with Marc Eveleigh in second and Dima Karaman putting in a great performance for third place.
Andrew Funk on Problem #1 with Alison Vest in background on #1. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
Patrick Gibeau on Problem #1. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
Scott Eveleigh on Problem #3. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
The women’s finals started with a footless traverse on underclings into a shallow hanging corner, and saw finishes by the top six. Problem #2 was a compression problem on slopers. This started to divide the field, there were four flashes, but Stacey Weldon and Becca Frangos each had a fall before topping. Similar to the men, problem #3 was the pivotal problem for the women. A slab problem, it involved a balancy sideways jump that shut down most of the field. Sam Li, using some heel hook trickery, was able to get to the bonus. Alison Vest wowed the crowd by being the first and only female to send. After problem #3, Alison Vest was in first place with three tops, followed by Alyssa Weber with two flashes, and the balance of the top six followed with two tops in three attempts. The difficulties on Problem #4 involved a powerful stemming mantle that challenged flexibility and core strength. Alyssa Weber was the first to send in a dramatic flash, which secured her 2nd, and left the possibility of a first place finish if Alison Vest was unable to complete. True to form, and showing her power, Alison topped the problem, repeating her first performance from last years final. Eva Thompson also completed problem #4 giving her a great final result of third.
Stacey Weldon on Problem #1. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
Regan Kennedy on problem #2. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
Samantha Li on Problem #4. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh.©
Overall, I thought Elevation Place put on a great show for this Tour stop. Qualification ran very smoothly with very few bottlenecks. The setting crew did a great job, the finals problems were well thought out and exciting to watch, with the exception of men’s problem #4, which in my opinion was just too long for a boulder comp. The overall setting style and the terrain involved a lot of pressing and mantling. Typically climbers are good at “pulling” rather than “pushing,” and I’m sure there were more than a few climbers who felt their triceps and backs in a new way the next day!
Taking over microphone duties for this comp was Sam Tucker, who usually a competitor but is currently sidelined with injury. Says Pete Woods of Sam’s performance, “Sam really killed it on the mic, great energy all night. I think I heard him swear a couple of times but not more than I’ve been guilty of. I’ll be happy to keep making finals knowing he’s there to fill in!”
If this event is any indication, 2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year for competition in Western Canada!
Bonar McCallum is the Head Coach of the adult competitive team at the Calgary Climbing Centre.
Special Thanks to Pam Eveleigh for her great photos of the event.
