After a decisive victory in the first competition of the season, the A&M climbing team will compete against local climbers in the second annual Chalk & Awe bouldering competition at Stone Co. Climbing on Saturday, Nov. 4.
The competition is unique because it will not only involve university athletes, but will also include athletes from the greater Texas climbing community, Holly Roper said. Roper is an electrical engineering graduate student and the team president. The team is expected to have a competitive chance at making the finals round, Roper said, which will begin at 6 p.m.
Many team members found community at Stone Co. before trying out for the A&M club, industrial distribution sophomore Peyton Martinez said. The Aggies hold Wednesday practices at the only climbing gym in College Station.
“I do feel pretty confident about the competition because Stone Co. is my home gym,” Martinez said. “I am very comfortable in that environment.”
The Chalk & Awe meet is a redpoint competition, meaning athletes will have 35 routes to complete in a set time period, according to StoneCoClimbing.com. Endurance will be important for the competition sessions that go for three hours without breaks, Jenna Pirazzi said. Pirazzi is a material science and engineering senior. The team builds endurance during practice periods at the Student Rec Center by climbing 44-foot routes over and over, she said.
“It’s a brutal way to get there, but it’s efficient,” Pirazzi said.
The competition is split into three sessions and a majority of the A&M athletes are in the 10:30 a.m. session, Roper said. The Wednesday practice before the competition will focus on prepping the athletes physically, electrical engineering senior and head coach Cole Lusk said.
“We did great at BTHO, and I am really proud of the team for that,” Lusk said. “We’re gonna carry that momentum into Chalk & Awe.”
Follow the team @TAMUClimbing and Stone Co. Climbing @StoneCoClimbing on Instagram for more updates.
Elizabeth Robertson is a recreation, park and tourism sciences junior and contributed the piece from JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.