Finally found some time to upload some of my videos=) more to come!
NUS- The North Face Boulderactive 201 OW Finals
Friday, June 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Kinetics Climbing
It has been one month into my new job, i am now working in Kinetics Climbing as programmes manager. This is my first full time job and i really do hope i can do a good job out of it. It hasnt been easy because i still have tons to learn. Work life is indeed very different from a student's life. As a full timer, it also means i have a lot of responsibilities. This is probably up one notch from organising Boulderactive 2011.
SEACF 2011- Represented Singapore in the South East Asia circuit- malaysia. This is a series of competitions organised by the countries taking part in this year's SEA games 2011 in Indonesia. For the first time, Climbing has been included in the SEA Games and Singapore will be sending a team of climbers up to do Singapore proud.
This particular comp really opened me up to the world of international competitions, i remember my first international comp was at the Asian Indoor Games, where i represented Singapore in Speed Climbing. A lack of training facilities proved not to help in the event because we had only been training on the speed wall up to the height of 6m? Whereas the actual event saw the wall being 15m in height. I realised i shouldnt focus on Speed because it really required alot of time to train which i didnt have. Almost every climber out there did climbing full time, while we singaporeans do it part time because we all have our other committments, be it in studies or full time jobs.
I didnt do very well, i kind of expected it, because i hadnt been training. I had been working from opening to closing for the past one month, managed to squeeze in 1-2 climbing sessions, but because i am still very new to lead climbing, it wasnt enough, i knew i had to climb outside ALOT MORE. I got pumped out really fast and didnt even have the chance to shake it out and resume my climbing, i literally climbed my way up to failure. I still love lead climbing more than bouldering and i really hope to get better at it and be challenged each time i start climbing.
I realised there is no point complaining because i should be thankful that i am working in a climbing gym with a wall facing me everyday. Although i cannot be climbing everyday, i have to make the most of whatever free time i can squeeze out from work. I had past the stage of complaining because there is simply no point in it.
But i am still looking forward to being more settled down in my job and being able to find time to climb hard again, and hopefully by nxt year, to the GREAT OUTDOORS!!! I still very much want to visit Fontainbleau...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
I am back!
As usual, have been putting off updating my blog for the past few months. So much has happened. I have finally finished schooling with NUS by Dec 2010.
Didnt want to stop studying and decided to go ahead with signing myself up for the following courses, which began in Feb and ended in March. Trust me, Taking all these 3 at one time was as good as studying for a semester in NUS.
1. National Coaching Accreditation Program ( NCAP)
- took this with Jay, Lynette and Jonathan Hwa..it was nice to take it with a group of climbers because NCAP does not have a technical course specific for the sport of climbing, so this NCAP level 1 was really general. Overall, the course which lasted about 8 weeks was a little of a bore towards the end. I still remember the very 1st session with C KUNALAN who has made a mark in Singapore's Sports history by being the most successful track & field athlete in Singapore, C Kunalan's achievements date as far back as 1966. He was one funny figure but higly respectable. After attending 2 of his sessions, i thought things would get better. Unfortunately not, as the sessions went on, i didnt feel like attending the sessions. Most of the material shared by the Facilitator could easily be read in the course file. But i did learn the importance of conducting feedback sessions after a training session. Nevertheless, i managed to pass and am now a certified NCAP level 1 coach=)
2. Instructor Training Course ( Sport Climbing)
- Attended this with Ian, Yu Seung, Pamela, Dean, Kean Kok. I was very thankful to be able to attend this ITC with a group of people i knew. Well, at least most of them. Hence it didnt take very long for us to break the ice for this group. I definitely learnt LOADS in this course. Questions i long had were answered by my awesome instructors. Joanne Soo was the main course trainer while Jay, Garick and Margaret were assisting. Great dynamics between this group of trainers because all of them had a wealth of experience in climbing as well as mountaineering. I thoroughly enjoyed myself during these 4 intensive sessions. I finally learnt how to tie my knots properly, something which i always cant seem to remember after my Level 2 course. ( whoops)
- Did my first assessment with Amir, i made some careless mistakes in my Escape from System station as well as Abseiling station, was asked to defer and retake these 2 stations. Further which i passed!=) Being tested and during practice was a totally different feeling. During practice in my ITC sessions, i could well "escape" from the belay system with ease, but when it came to the assessment, like how one feels the "butterflies" in one's stomach before something important. yes, it came to me as well, i was practically shaking as i climbed up a fairly easy route to set up my test station. As usual, the Abseil station saw me shaking once again. this time we were given pretty new and interesting scenerios that caught us off guard. i managed to finish it, but i left 1 "danger" point which Amir didnt like; which was leaving myself very little rope to lower off my student properly. Hence the need to redo this station as well.
- Managed to rebook my reassessment, and yes, i passed, just completed 2 of my OJTs and left with 1 more before i can become a certified Sport Climbing Instructor.=)
3. First Aid ( Standard First Aid Certification)
- This was compulsory as a pre- requisite before being certified a NCAP level 1 and ITC sport climbing. So yea. went ahead to do the course with Ian=) This was probably another course which i enjoyed thoroughly. Had one too many laughters especially during CPR. The instructor was hilarious in telling us to "blow harder"..."mouth so big, cannot blow properly". This would always cause the class to break into peals of laughter, and it was strange that the instructor never really realised that he shd change his use of words=)
Since the start of 2011, everything has been extremely memorable for me...i shall start with Gravical organised by SMU. Because i was involved in the ITC, which took place during the Gravical weekend, i could not take part in Women's Open category, and decided to form a team with some climbers. There was an open team event which was at night and all of us were free. My team consisted of Ivan, Jay, Aaron Tan and myself. I had heard alot of rumours telling me that my team was a threat to everyone else because of the strong male climbers inside. I brushed them aside and told myself not to be complacent because "anything can happen during a competition".
The event started....the first 3 routes proved no feat for my team. But as we got to the 4th problem, i began to have problems with the start. Starting to feel the pressure because another team before us performed pretty well and they were probably as strong as my team. I slipped at the last tile because i heard someone shouting "no bolt hole"..that was one epic moment. i got distracted, turned around and slipped and that caused immense stress to me which was brought over to the 5th problem where most females could not even start. I think i forgot to say that Females would get double points for the team. And so far, for at least 3 teams before us, every male had completed all the problems. It was really up to the female to add the points. i spent at least 4 attempts trying to move off from the start tile to the 2nd but to no avail. Time was ticking. I told myself not to give up and decided to give it one good hard pull, and i got it, but i panicked too much and couldnt finish it. Plus i was very tired from the many attempts to start, although i didnt finish the problem, i managed to get the bonus, hence allowing my team to win champion. I didnt feel happy because i was under too much pressure at that time. It was a horrible feeling to feel like i was bringing the team down. But 1 thing i learnt during this event, i cannot work under pressure. ( it was my first time taking part in a team event, i was too used to the individual category that i forgot how "teamwork" felt)
Boulderactive 2011: This was probably one of the highlight in my life so far. Firstly, I was one of the project directors who worked along side with Jack ( an awesome working partner)..we had started prep work for this event since july 2010. and when the time drew nearer for the event to be hosted, again, i was under quite abit of pressure. Both of us wanted this event to be one of the best Bouldering competition in the Singapore Climbing scene. And to make it work, we had to do alot of new things. We had an international Climber- Masatoshi Sugita to be our chief route setter for the Open Category. ( We intially invited Yuji Hirayama- renowned free climbing legend, but because of the unfortunate earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan very recently, he was forced to cancel his flight down, but nevertheless, another great Jap Climber came down). We had no regrets inviting Masatoshi ( known affectionately as Obi) down, his routes were a refreshing sight not only for the climbers but for the audience as well. The routes were well planned and everyone had fun climbing it as well as watching it.
And probably the best end to Boulderactive 2011? I won 1st for the Open Women's category. I was totally caught off guard by this unexpected win, because i was ranked 5th during my qualifiers. I was not only physically but mentally drained from being in charge of this event to climb properly. i just told myself to have fun as i took part. But Praise God, the flash of my first problem was what led to me winning. I had never quite dreamed of winning 1st place before in any competition, because i knew i wasnt very strong. I had always looked up to other female climbers like Beatrix and always wondered how they ever got up there, always ending the competition with a podium finish. I had always wanted to be as strong as her, if not stronger, but i know it will take time to train up, but during this comp, I guessed my mental strength paid off. I was able to "switch off" any pressures during the competition and just focus on my climb and enjoy it. And i totally love it when i can climb without having many tiles around me. ( i always have a "mental block" when i climb in a gym because of all the tiles ard me, and me trying hard to avoid hitting them. but during a competition, whatever tiles are on the wall, were for my use, hence i was able to go all out. )
Now that Boulderactive is over and all my courses have been done, i have abit of time to myself to concentrate on work. Time to work and start earning and saving....I cant wait to get out of Singapore and climb outdoors again.
Didnt want to stop studying and decided to go ahead with signing myself up for the following courses, which began in Feb and ended in March. Trust me, Taking all these 3 at one time was as good as studying for a semester in NUS.
1. National Coaching Accreditation Program ( NCAP)
- took this with Jay, Lynette and Jonathan Hwa..it was nice to take it with a group of climbers because NCAP does not have a technical course specific for the sport of climbing, so this NCAP level 1 was really general. Overall, the course which lasted about 8 weeks was a little of a bore towards the end. I still remember the very 1st session with C KUNALAN who has made a mark in Singapore's Sports history by being the most successful track & field athlete in Singapore, C Kunalan's achievements date as far back as 1966. He was one funny figure but higly respectable. After attending 2 of his sessions, i thought things would get better. Unfortunately not, as the sessions went on, i didnt feel like attending the sessions. Most of the material shared by the Facilitator could easily be read in the course file. But i did learn the importance of conducting feedback sessions after a training session. Nevertheless, i managed to pass and am now a certified NCAP level 1 coach=)
2. Instructor Training Course ( Sport Climbing)
- Attended this with Ian, Yu Seung, Pamela, Dean, Kean Kok. I was very thankful to be able to attend this ITC with a group of people i knew. Well, at least most of them. Hence it didnt take very long for us to break the ice for this group. I definitely learnt LOADS in this course. Questions i long had were answered by my awesome instructors. Joanne Soo was the main course trainer while Jay, Garick and Margaret were assisting. Great dynamics between this group of trainers because all of them had a wealth of experience in climbing as well as mountaineering. I thoroughly enjoyed myself during these 4 intensive sessions. I finally learnt how to tie my knots properly, something which i always cant seem to remember after my Level 2 course. ( whoops)
- Did my first assessment with Amir, i made some careless mistakes in my Escape from System station as well as Abseiling station, was asked to defer and retake these 2 stations. Further which i passed!=) Being tested and during practice was a totally different feeling. During practice in my ITC sessions, i could well "escape" from the belay system with ease, but when it came to the assessment, like how one feels the "butterflies" in one's stomach before something important. yes, it came to me as well, i was practically shaking as i climbed up a fairly easy route to set up my test station. As usual, the Abseil station saw me shaking once again. this time we were given pretty new and interesting scenerios that caught us off guard. i managed to finish it, but i left 1 "danger" point which Amir didnt like; which was leaving myself very little rope to lower off my student properly. Hence the need to redo this station as well.
- Managed to rebook my reassessment, and yes, i passed, just completed 2 of my OJTs and left with 1 more before i can become a certified Sport Climbing Instructor.=)
3. First Aid ( Standard First Aid Certification)
- This was compulsory as a pre- requisite before being certified a NCAP level 1 and ITC sport climbing. So yea. went ahead to do the course with Ian=) This was probably another course which i enjoyed thoroughly. Had one too many laughters especially during CPR. The instructor was hilarious in telling us to "blow harder"..."mouth so big, cannot blow properly". This would always cause the class to break into peals of laughter, and it was strange that the instructor never really realised that he shd change his use of words=)
Since the start of 2011, everything has been extremely memorable for me...i shall start with Gravical organised by SMU. Because i was involved in the ITC, which took place during the Gravical weekend, i could not take part in Women's Open category, and decided to form a team with some climbers. There was an open team event which was at night and all of us were free. My team consisted of Ivan, Jay, Aaron Tan and myself. I had heard alot of rumours telling me that my team was a threat to everyone else because of the strong male climbers inside. I brushed them aside and told myself not to be complacent because "anything can happen during a competition".
The event started....the first 3 routes proved no feat for my team. But as we got to the 4th problem, i began to have problems with the start. Starting to feel the pressure because another team before us performed pretty well and they were probably as strong as my team. I slipped at the last tile because i heard someone shouting "no bolt hole"..that was one epic moment. i got distracted, turned around and slipped and that caused immense stress to me which was brought over to the 5th problem where most females could not even start. I think i forgot to say that Females would get double points for the team. And so far, for at least 3 teams before us, every male had completed all the problems. It was really up to the female to add the points. i spent at least 4 attempts trying to move off from the start tile to the 2nd but to no avail. Time was ticking. I told myself not to give up and decided to give it one good hard pull, and i got it, but i panicked too much and couldnt finish it. Plus i was very tired from the many attempts to start, although i didnt finish the problem, i managed to get the bonus, hence allowing my team to win champion. I didnt feel happy because i was under too much pressure at that time. It was a horrible feeling to feel like i was bringing the team down. But 1 thing i learnt during this event, i cannot work under pressure. ( it was my first time taking part in a team event, i was too used to the individual category that i forgot how "teamwork" felt)
Boulderactive 2011: This was probably one of the highlight in my life so far. Firstly, I was one of the project directors who worked along side with Jack ( an awesome working partner)..we had started prep work for this event since july 2010. and when the time drew nearer for the event to be hosted, again, i was under quite abit of pressure. Both of us wanted this event to be one of the best Bouldering competition in the Singapore Climbing scene. And to make it work, we had to do alot of new things. We had an international Climber- Masatoshi Sugita to be our chief route setter for the Open Category. ( We intially invited Yuji Hirayama- renowned free climbing legend, but because of the unfortunate earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan very recently, he was forced to cancel his flight down, but nevertheless, another great Jap Climber came down). We had no regrets inviting Masatoshi ( known affectionately as Obi) down, his routes were a refreshing sight not only for the climbers but for the audience as well. The routes were well planned and everyone had fun climbing it as well as watching it.
And probably the best end to Boulderactive 2011? I won 1st for the Open Women's category. I was totally caught off guard by this unexpected win, because i was ranked 5th during my qualifiers. I was not only physically but mentally drained from being in charge of this event to climb properly. i just told myself to have fun as i took part. But Praise God, the flash of my first problem was what led to me winning. I had never quite dreamed of winning 1st place before in any competition, because i knew i wasnt very strong. I had always looked up to other female climbers like Beatrix and always wondered how they ever got up there, always ending the competition with a podium finish. I had always wanted to be as strong as her, if not stronger, but i know it will take time to train up, but during this comp, I guessed my mental strength paid off. I was able to "switch off" any pressures during the competition and just focus on my climb and enjoy it. And i totally love it when i can climb without having many tiles around me. ( i always have a "mental block" when i climb in a gym because of all the tiles ard me, and me trying hard to avoid hitting them. but during a competition, whatever tiles are on the wall, were for my use, hence i was able to go all out. )
Now that Boulderactive is over and all my courses have been done, i have abit of time to myself to concentrate on work. Time to work and start earning and saving....I cant wait to get out of Singapore and climb outdoors again.
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