With 6 men and 6 women going through to the final, there were a lot of tired and hot faces lying around in isolation at the end of the qualifiers, but they were soon psyched again for the prospect of two very close finals. Coming out in reverse order Mark Croxall, and Katy Piddock kicked off the proceedings with some fiendishly crimpy and technical blocs. After 3 blocs it was still anyones game with 3 competitors in the running for both the men and the women.
In a very tense final bloc for the men, none of which topped out, Nigel Callander and Gaz Parry were left tied for 1st place, so the result was decided by countback to the qualifiers and because Nigel qualified in 1st place ahead of Gaz he took top spot on the podium, with Gaz relegated to 2nd. Jon Partirdge rounded out the podium.
The girls again went down to the final problem with reigning champion Leah Crane showing great consistency throughout the final, but with Mina Leslie-Wujastyk leading the way through the first two blocs and Shauna Coxsey and Katy Whittaker snapping at their heels. Shauna who was in her first BBC's as a senior after winning the junior title 3 years on the trot climbed excellently, but was just pipped by the experience of Leah and Katy. Leah cruised to the top of the last problem to retain her title for the second year.
The event was a great success again and was a great spectacle for the spectators who gathered in Millhouses parking enjoying the sunshine and excellent display of competition climbing from all the competitors."
See a photo gallery here...
