Guy McNamee was the Canadian boulder champion in 2020 (Photo: Ken Chow)
On the people behind their success
Definitely our coaches for having our backs. They helped get us into climbing and taught us the small things which were the basics of climbing. They taught us different movements in climbing that are very important for a beginner. They believed in us and helped push us to become better.
Our parents: they’ve paid for all the expenses like training, gym training fees, and travel fees and accommodation. But more importantly, they were there for us emotionally. If we didn’t make the team, were upset, or we didn’t do as well as we hoped, they supported us.
On advice for new climbers
Make sure you have a passion for the sport. Have fun with it first. Make sure that you actually like it before you get deeper into the sport. People get too invested in competitions, which causes them to get burnt out because they’re forgetting to just enjoy what they’re doing.
On what’s next for them
Right now, we’re just going to improve and keep training since there are no competitions. People don’t really know when the comps are coming back. We had two years left in our youth career, which are gone now. So it’s into the open category now.
Also training and climbing outside. Last year, we did quite a bit of climbing outdoors because competitions have been on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Many people suggested we go outside to test our abilities there. We tried it and enjoyed it immensely. We hadn’t done that much before, because our main goal has been competitions. That’s another part of climbing that’s been entirely separate from us for a long time.
We feel like it’s kind of important to remember that goals aren’t necessarily there to accomplish. They’re there to push you. Like, if you have a goal and you complete it, then what’s really the point?. It is good to make challenging goals, so you keep working hard, making yourself get better.