Family, climbing
Chauncenia, 2nd Place National Womens Open
02/16/09 16:14
Photo appeared on deadpointmag.com
Chauncenia placed 2nd in the women’s open category at the ABS Nationals 10, February 14, 2009. Open is the category for any age 16 and older, any status, professional or amateur. Generally speaking, it’s an adult competition.
Chris Wall, Chauncey’s coach from the Boulder Rock Club, has done a fantastic job training her over the last year and she worked very hard leading up to this competition. Robyn Ebersfield of Boulder also did some late tune-ups on Chauncey the last two weekends before the ABS Nationals. We appreciate the great coaching she’s had.
After getting skunked on the first women’s open problem, Chauncey was hopping mad and fired back flashing problems #2 and #3. A flash is when you top the problem on the first attempt. She was the only woman competitor to top problem two and only she and Alex Johnson flashed problem 3. Alex Puccio topped problem three but not on her first attempt. All three women made it to the zone hold on problem four. Alex Puccio and Alex Johnson both topped problem one, which Chauncey got skunked on. So, that gave all three two tops. The margin was just attempts made and it was a very close fight between the top 3 women.
Here are some videos of Chauncey’s climbs:
The first video is of the women’s second problem in finals. Chauncenia was the only one to flash and top this problem.
Problem 3:
Problem 4:
Speed finals
08/31/08 04:23
The final day of the world competition was today.
Chauncey went into today’s speed event in 9th place.
That matched her against her team mate, Amanda
Sutton, in the head-to-head bracket which was
unfortunate.
Chauncey and Amanda both raced really well and it was very close. Amanda beat her by 0.3 seconds in the two combined route times. It was a great display of sportsmanship and I was very proud of Chauncey’s racing - she raced with heart and all her effort.
The winners side of the bracket plays out head to head, but after getting knocked out, they rank the ones who got knocked out based on time. That gave Chauncey 10th overall in speed.
So, the final results for the world championships for Chauncey were 24th in the difficulty event and 10th in the speed event.
We’re going to check out in the morning and then take the train into Sydney and stay there for the next two days. We head back on Wednesday morning. This may be the last update I make for a bit, not sure what kind of connection, if any, until we get back to the states. Thanks for reading.
Chauncey and Amanda both raced really well and it was very close. Amanda beat her by 0.3 seconds in the two combined route times. It was a great display of sportsmanship and I was very proud of Chauncey’s racing - she raced with heart and all her effort.
The winners side of the bracket plays out head to head, but after getting knocked out, they rank the ones who got knocked out based on time. That gave Chauncey 10th overall in speed.
So, the final results for the world championships for Chauncey were 24th in the difficulty event and 10th in the speed event.
We’re going to check out in the morning and then take the train into Sydney and stay there for the next two days. We head back on Wednesday morning. This may be the last update I make for a bit, not sure what kind of connection, if any, until we get back to the states. Thanks for reading.
Catching a breath
08/30/08 14:24
Sorry for the terse updates lately, there just hasn’t
been a spare moment and we’re not as mobile as we
would have liked to be - the gym’s a long distance
from the hotel and reachable only by bus or train
(taxi’s are ridiculously expensive.)
I wanted to fill some things in from the last several updates.
One thing, on Chauncey’s 2nd qualifier, day 2, she was on deck to climb - maybe a minute away - and pulled the strap of her shoe (a Sportiva Solution shoe), and the strap broke. So, there was a last-minute panic to fix that. One of the US team coaches, Mike Doyle, jumped on it, found some athletic tape and had her strapped back together in time for her to get on her route. Chauncey had been a little nervous up to that point, but said she thought that actually helped her because it released some tension when it got fixed and she was all ready - afterall, lightening just struck and she survived! :-)
She had a second pair of shoes but not with her in her bag at the route. So, lesson learned there - keep both pairs with you. She switched to her 2nd pair for semi finals.
The semi-finals route was just atrociously difficult, especially the first half. It was tiny crimps and slopers on a slight overhang (see the album). She was completely pumped by the time she got to the first major feature, she she skipped a small crimp on the underside of the roof (a point hold), and launched for the dish over the lip of the roof and missed. So, she actually made it as far as at least half the field, but because she didn’t control the crimp on the hold below where she got, she didn’t get points for that hold. So, that left her exactly where she came into the semis, in 24th.
She’s getting ready this morning for speed finals. As I mentioned in the last update, she has to go head-to-head with another US team mate, so one of them will get knocked out this round and one will advance to the next round. You keep climbing as you win, but when you lose a matchup, then they rank the losing side of the bracket by time. That’s what I’m told anyway.
I just heard a scream out of the bathroom as the girls were getting ready this morning. The 240 to 120 converter just blew up while Ali was blow drying her hair and flames were coming out. Everyone’s alright. Defied death again.
Photos from Semi finals lead.
I wanted to fill some things in from the last several updates.
One thing, on Chauncey’s 2nd qualifier, day 2, she was on deck to climb - maybe a minute away - and pulled the strap of her shoe (a Sportiva Solution shoe), and the strap broke. So, there was a last-minute panic to fix that. One of the US team coaches, Mike Doyle, jumped on it, found some athletic tape and had her strapped back together in time for her to get on her route. Chauncey had been a little nervous up to that point, but said she thought that actually helped her because it released some tension when it got fixed and she was all ready - afterall, lightening just struck and she survived! :-)
She had a second pair of shoes but not with her in her bag at the route. So, lesson learned there - keep both pairs with you. She switched to her 2nd pair for semi finals.
The semi-finals route was just atrociously difficult, especially the first half. It was tiny crimps and slopers on a slight overhang (see the album). She was completely pumped by the time she got to the first major feature, she she skipped a small crimp on the underside of the roof (a point hold), and launched for the dish over the lip of the roof and missed. So, she actually made it as far as at least half the field, but because she didn’t control the crimp on the hold below where she got, she didn’t get points for that hold. So, that left her exactly where she came into the semis, in 24th.
She’s getting ready this morning for speed finals. As I mentioned in the last update, she has to go head-to-head with another US team mate, so one of them will get knocked out this round and one will advance to the next round. You keep climbing as you win, but when you lose a matchup, then they rank the losing side of the bracket by time. That’s what I’m told anyway.
I just heard a scream out of the bathroom as the girls were getting ready this morning. The 240 to 120 converter just blew up while Ali was blow drying her hair and flames were coming out. Everyone’s alright. Defied death again.
Photos from Semi finals lead.
Semi-finals
08/30/08 06:07
It’s after 10pm right now and we just got back to the
hotel from the finals in lead/difficulty.
First semi-finals, girls 16-17, Chauncey ended up 24th and didn’t make the 8 cut for finals. Sasha, Marah and Tiffany made it to finals. Of them, Sasha did well and got high on the route. I think she finished 4th but I haven’t seen the official results.
In speed climbing today, Chauncey and the US team did well. Chauncey ended up 9th coming out of qualifiers. From here on, they go head-to-head elimination brackets. They take the top 16 and bracket them 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 and so on. Unfortunately, that pitts her against Amanda Sutton (TX) in the first round tomorrow. So, only one of them will get to go on.
We have another early morning tomorrow for speed finals, so need to get this posted and go to bed.
First semi-finals, girls 16-17, Chauncey ended up 24th and didn’t make the 8 cut for finals. Sasha, Marah and Tiffany made it to finals. Of them, Sasha did well and got high on the route. I think she finished 4th but I haven’t seen the official results.
In speed climbing today, Chauncey and the US team did well. Chauncey ended up 9th coming out of qualifiers. From here on, they go head-to-head elimination brackets. They take the top 16 and bracket them 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 and so on. Unfortunately, that pitts her against Amanda Sutton (TX) in the first round tomorrow. So, only one of them will get to go on.
We have another early morning tomorrow for speed finals, so need to get this posted and go to bed.
Chauncey Q2 Sequence
08/29/08 05:29
I broke down the video of Chauncey’s Q2 route into
this sequence.
We get up at 5:15a tomorrow, 5:45, breakfast, 6:15 on the bus. Chauncey will climb early in the running order tomorrow unless it’s stacked (younger category goes first on the same route.) We won’t know until tomorrow when the comp starts.
The gym has been like an ice-box in the mornings. It’s been warmer outside than inside. So, she goes into isolation by 8a and will need to stay warm. She’ll be ready with extra layers.
In the sequence of shots I just put up you can see she wore a long sleeve T under her uniform top today and it was more comfortable for her and was able to stay looser and warmer today than yesterday.
We get up at 5:15a tomorrow, 5:45, breakfast, 6:15 on the bus. Chauncey will climb early in the running order tomorrow unless it’s stacked (younger category goes first on the same route.) We won’t know until tomorrow when the comp starts.
The gym has been like an ice-box in the mornings. It’s been warmer outside than inside. So, she goes into isolation by 8a and will need to stay warm. She’ll be ready with extra layers.
In the sequence of shots I just put up you can see she wore a long sleeve T under her uniform top today and it was more comfortable for her and was able to stay looser and warmer today than yesterday.
Qualifiers 2 results
08/29/08 04:12
Wanted to put this update out real quick - don’t have
time right now to handle pictures.
On the US team 16-17 girls, all the girls except Jesse Youngwerth made the cut for the semi-finals. Chauncey was at 25th after Q1 and improved today at 20th. Based on all the other competitors results, that put her at 24th for both Q1 and Q2. They take 26 into the semis.
Like yesterday, there were quite a few flashes and so, even if you got very high on the route, competitively that knocked you down a long ways. So, despite being at 24th overall going into the semi finals, there is not a tremendous separation in these girls yet.
Tomorrow is a marathon day. We leave at 6:15a for the gym. The semi-finals for lead are in the morning. The qualifiers for speed are in the afternoon and the finals are in the evening for lead. They only take 8 to finals from semis, so tomorrow is another huge cut. They run finals for speed on Sunday morning.
We have a team meeting in a few minutes, so will try to get Chauncey’s climbing sequence knocked out tonight before I go to bed so you can see what the climb looked like.
On the US team 16-17 girls, all the girls except Jesse Youngwerth made the cut for the semi-finals. Chauncey was at 25th after Q1 and improved today at 20th. Based on all the other competitors results, that put her at 24th for both Q1 and Q2. They take 26 into the semis.
Like yesterday, there were quite a few flashes and so, even if you got very high on the route, competitively that knocked you down a long ways. So, despite being at 24th overall going into the semi finals, there is not a tremendous separation in these girls yet.
Tomorrow is a marathon day. We leave at 6:15a for the gym. The semi-finals for lead are in the morning. The qualifiers for speed are in the afternoon and the finals are in the evening for lead. They only take 8 to finals from semis, so tomorrow is another huge cut. They run finals for speed on Sunday morning.
We have a team meeting in a few minutes, so will try to get Chauncey’s climbing sequence knocked out tonight before I go to bed so you can see what the climb looked like.
US Female A for Q2 running order
08/28/08 13:58
The US team running order for the Q2 route today for
female 16-17 is:
Tiffany Hensley 27
Marah Bragdon 30
Jesse Youngwerth 34
Chauncey Cox 36
Sasha Diguilian 39
So, instead of all being up front today, they’ll be towards the end. The advantage to being near the front of the running order is you don’t have to wait and are more fresh. The advantage to being at the back of the running order is that you can watch an learn from those ahead of you.
For this “flash format” for the Q1 and Q2 routes, there is no isolation and competitors are free to watch the routes of their fellow competitors. Once semi-finals starts, then isolation begins and they are not allowed to watch any competitors until they’ve climbed the route themselves.
This running order will put the US team girls climbing late morning or early afternoon.
Forgot to mention yesterday that Chauncey was spreading what she thought was Nutella on some bread for breakfast and it turned out to be vegimite. Wow, you should have seen her reaction to that! :-)
Tiffany Hensley 27
Marah Bragdon 30
Jesse Youngwerth 34
Chauncey Cox 36
Sasha Diguilian 39
So, instead of all being up front today, they’ll be towards the end. The advantage to being near the front of the running order is you don’t have to wait and are more fresh. The advantage to being at the back of the running order is that you can watch an learn from those ahead of you.
For this “flash format” for the Q1 and Q2 routes, there is no isolation and competitors are free to watch the routes of their fellow competitors. Once semi-finals starts, then isolation begins and they are not allowed to watch any competitors until they’ve climbed the route themselves.
This running order will put the US team girls climbing late morning or early afternoon.
Forgot to mention yesterday that Chauncey was spreading what she thought was Nutella on some bread for breakfast and it turned out to be vegimite. Wow, you should have seen her reaction to that! :-)
Qualifiers 1 results
08/28/08 03:18
The US Team with only a few exceptions had a solid
performance today. The competition itself is running
very well and on schedule. Today started with a
pretty low-key opening ceremony outside the gym. The
spectating was actually much better than I thought it
would be which I’m relieved about. The gym is
accomodating the onslaught pretty well. The walls
themselves are very tall - no doubt, world-class and
will work these kids good. Also, the wall where they
will do speed is very tall and wide, front and
center, so I think the speed climbing will be a very
good event from the looks of it. The qualifiers for
speed don’t start until Saturday.
Chauncey’s 16-17 category had 42 climbers in the field. The Q1 route they climbed was very technical, mostly vertical and very little separated the field today. For example, Tiffany Hensley timed out on the last hold of the route, so she completed everything except the last clip and came out of Q1 in 16th. So, there were quite a number of flashes. For non-climbers reading, a “flash” is when a climber complets the route without a fall.
Chauncey and Jesse Youngwerth are tied right now at 25th and both had solid climbs but came off about 3 holds from the top. Just that much made a huge difference in placement given how competitve the field is.
I have a sequence of Chauncey’s upper half route in the photo album from today, if you want to see a non-video sequence of her climb.
Others on the US team, Marah Bragdon and Sasha Diguilian, both flashed. Here’s Marah on Q1:
and Sasha:
We’re hoping they’ll give an overhanging, burly route to them tomorrow, because even some of the girls who flashed today (not US), did not look as strong as our girls and I think a good, powerful, endurance type route would really play to our strengths and adjust things again.
They’ll be taking the top 26 into semi finals and the combination score of Q1 and Q2 are evenly weighted. So, it’s live to fight another day mode tomorrow.
Chauncey’s friend from Boulder, Kirky Olsen, in the 18-19 category, finished Q1 in 21st.
After the 16-17 girls US team had all finished, Chauncey, Ali, and I figured out where the train station was that was nearest to the gym, walked to the train, and figured out how to get back to the Olympic Park from the gym. So, we came back around 1:30 and it took about an hour to get back. The entire team had taken two chartered buses to the gym about 6:15 this morning. The buses weren’t coming back until after the round was finished this afternoon.
When the girls and I got back, we went over to the Aquatic center for a late afternoon swim. The girls just floated around mainly in the fun pools. I was able to swim in the warmup pool while they had the main pool closed for team use. Then about 4:30 they opened up a couple of lanes in the main pool and I swam in it again. I could get used to having an Olympic pool available.
Pictures from Q1 events today.
Chauncey’s 16-17 category had 42 climbers in the field. The Q1 route they climbed was very technical, mostly vertical and very little separated the field today. For example, Tiffany Hensley timed out on the last hold of the route, so she completed everything except the last clip and came out of Q1 in 16th. So, there were quite a number of flashes. For non-climbers reading, a “flash” is when a climber complets the route without a fall.
Chauncey and Jesse Youngwerth are tied right now at 25th and both had solid climbs but came off about 3 holds from the top. Just that much made a huge difference in placement given how competitve the field is.
I have a sequence of Chauncey’s upper half route in the photo album from today, if you want to see a non-video sequence of her climb.
Others on the US team, Marah Bragdon and Sasha Diguilian, both flashed. Here’s Marah on Q1:
and Sasha:
We’re hoping they’ll give an overhanging, burly route to them tomorrow, because even some of the girls who flashed today (not US), did not look as strong as our girls and I think a good, powerful, endurance type route would really play to our strengths and adjust things again.
They’ll be taking the top 26 into semi finals and the combination score of Q1 and Q2 are evenly weighted. So, it’s live to fight another day mode tomorrow.
Chauncey’s friend from Boulder, Kirky Olsen, in the 18-19 category, finished Q1 in 21st.
After the 16-17 girls US team had all finished, Chauncey, Ali, and I figured out where the train station was that was nearest to the gym, walked to the train, and figured out how to get back to the Olympic Park from the gym. So, we came back around 1:30 and it took about an hour to get back. The entire team had taken two chartered buses to the gym about 6:15 this morning. The buses weren’t coming back until after the round was finished this afternoon.
When the girls and I got back, we went over to the Aquatic center for a late afternoon swim. The girls just floated around mainly in the fun pools. I was able to swim in the warmup pool while they had the main pool closed for team use. Then about 4:30 they opened up a couple of lanes in the main pool and I swam in it again. I could get used to having an Olympic pool available.
Pictures from Q1 events today.
US Female A Running order
08/27/08 13:37
The running order for the USA girls in Chauncey’s
category, A, for the Qualifier 1 (Q1):
4, Tiffany Hensley (CA)
7, Marah Bragdon (NY)
11, Jesse Youngwerth (CO)
13, Chauncey Cox (CO)
16, Sasha Dijulian (VA)
They’ll have 6 minutes on the climb. Q2 is on the following day.
Saturday, the lead semi-finals are in the morning, then speed qualifiers, and then lead finals Saturday night. Saturday could be a marathon day.
Sunday morning is speed finals.
4, Tiffany Hensley (CA)
7, Marah Bragdon (NY)
11, Jesse Youngwerth (CO)
13, Chauncey Cox (CO)
16, Sasha Dijulian (VA)
They’ll have 6 minutes on the climb. Q2 is on the following day.
Saturday, the lead semi-finals are in the morning, then speed qualifiers, and then lead finals Saturday night. Saturday could be a marathon day.
Sunday morning is speed finals.
Sydney Day 4 - Featherdale
08/27/08 02:03
Today we trekked out to Blacktown, a western suburb
of Sydney (even further west than where we are in the
Olympic Park.) Our destination was the Featherdale
wildlife park which touted kangaroos and other
Australian animals. We went with Holly and Shannon
Lochridge (TX) and Kirky Olsen (CO). Kirky’s going to
school at CU/Boulder. Here’s a shot of Kirky and
Chauncey on the train ride to Blacktown:
It exceeded all our expectations mainly because it was so up-close and personal with the animals. We were able to pick up and hold a wallaby which is like a kangaroo, but smaller with coarser hair. Read More...
It exceeded all our expectations mainly because it was so up-close and personal with the animals. We were able to pick up and hold a wallaby which is like a kangaroo, but smaller with coarser hair. Read More...
Sydney Day 3
08/26/08 00:24
Today wasn’t a huge touring day. At noon, the US
climbing team shuttled off to a gym to workout
together this afternoon. So, this morning the girls
and I walked around the Olympic Park some more. About
a city block from the hotel is a track and field
venue, though it doesn’t look big enough to have been
the main track and field spot...maybe a warmup track.
Outside the venue was a huge sculpture, The Sprinter
which was really nicely done. It was moved there
after the Olympics - during the Olympics apparently
it was with several other sculptures of gymnists and
other sports figures and they were perched on 30
meter pedestals.
Read
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Read
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Sydney Day trip #2
08/25/08 04:13
We had a great day again in Sydney. This morning we
headed into the city by ferry east on the Parromatta
River from the Olympic Park and our destination was
the Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) in downtown
Sydney. On the east side of the Circular Quay and
Sydney Cove is the Opera House.
Read More...
Read More...
Sydney Day trip #1
08/24/08 15:28
I just put a few pictures up in greater
resolution of our day trip into Sydney
yesterday. The city is awesome - everything it
was touted to be (including expensive :-)
Also, just put up an album of some shots at the Olympic Aquatic center across from our hotel.
Also, just put up an album of some shots at the Olympic Aquatic center across from our hotel.
We Made It to Sydney
08/24/08 04:59
I had to get this Latitude Longitude captured on my GPS. It’s taken all day to even let it sink in that we’re in Australia.
Our flights were all on time, thank goodness, and we have a generally smooth time all the way. The girls slept well on the plane. Read More...
Chauncey makes US Climbing Team
07/17/08 19:12
Chauncey placed 4th in sport and 3rd in speed
climbing at the USA Climbing nationals in Sunnyvale.
Read
More...
Read
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Pics from ABS9 Bouldering Nationals
02/29/08 15:13
My buddy, Steve Woods,
was kind enough to shoot some shots of Chauncey
in the ABS finals - her debut in the pro/open
category. I put a link to the gallery of these
shots on the left ABS9 2008 ABS Nationals.
There's also a very nice pictorial
video of the event up on the Climbing
Magazine web site.
American Bouldering Series USA Climbing Nationals
02/18/08 19:31
We just got through with the American Bouldering
Series nationals in Boulder, CO at The Spot. This
year Chauncey and Taya both qualified. Chauncey's in
the 16-17 year old category and Taya is in the 12-13
year category. The climbers were culled through a
regional championship process and came from all over
the country and even some from Japan and Canada.
This is from The Spot's web site and gives a panoramic of a crowded night at the spot.
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This is from The Spot's web site and gives a panoramic of a crowded night at the spot.
Read
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Nationals results
07/06/07 20:58
Day 3: Chauncey was disappointed that she got stuck
on a spot and blew a lot of energy. She finished out
of the running for the US Team in sport climbing and
finished 8th, but the flip side is she won 1st place
in speed.
Day 2: Taya climbed well but didn't make it to finals. Chauncey went on to finals in sport climbing. Chauncey also ran her qualifiers for speed and made it to the finals in speed.
Day 1: Chauncey's going into the semi-finals tied for 1st place. Valerie said Chauncey climbed very strong.
Tayanita made it into the semi-finals - looked like there were about 3 clusters of ties in the top 15 or so.
Nakoa unfortunately didn't make it to the semis, but for his first time at nationals did well.
The results can be found here:
http://www.scsnationals.org/07/details/index.htm
Day 2: Taya climbed well but didn't make it to finals. Chauncey went on to finals in sport climbing. Chauncey also ran her qualifiers for speed and made it to the finals in speed.
Day 1: Chauncey's going into the semi-finals tied for 1st place. Valerie said Chauncey climbed very strong.
Tayanita made it into the semi-finals - looked like there were about 3 clusters of ties in the top 15 or so.
Nakoa unfortunately didn't make it to the semis, but for his first time at nationals did well.
The results can be found here:
http://www.scsnationals.org/07/details/index.htm
2007 Climbing Nationals
07/05/07 21:06
The 2007 national climbing competition starts
tomorrow in Ann Arbor, MI. Chauncey, Taya, and Nakoa
are all competing. Ali's up in Wyoming riding horses
and having a blast setting off fireworks :-)
The above picture is Chauncey in the 2006 nationals in Portland, OR.
The above picture is Chauncey in the 2006 nationals in Portland, OR.
Divisionals - Finals
06/10/07 12:50
Today was the finals of the southwest divisional
climbing championship. Climbers from Southern
California to Colorado competed for invitations to
represent the southwest division at the nationals in
Ann Arbor in July. Read
More...
Divisionals - Day 1
06/09/07 20:53
First day of qualifiers at the southwest divisional
climbing championship in Albuquerque is finished and
Chauncey, Taya, and Nakoa all did well and advanced
to the finals tomorrow. Chauncey crushed it and got
first in her category, Taya climbed great and got
3rd, and Nakoa was on two really stiff routes and
made it by the skin of his teeth at 9th. Read
More...
2007 Teva Mountain Games
06/06/07 13:38
I took Chauncey up to the Teva Mountain Games in Vail
last weekend. One of the events is climbing
(bouldering to be precise.)
Chauncey entered both the High School climbers exhibition and the amateur competition. She won her category of the amateurs, but by raw score she would have won overall female competitors (and most males, too.)
This pic is of her before her first climb.
Read More...
Chauncey entered both the High School climbers exhibition and the amateur competition. She won her category of the amateurs, but by raw score she would have won overall female competitors (and most males, too.)
This pic is of her before her first climb.
Read More...