Two Adelaide teens climb to bouldering world stage
Two Adelaide high schoolers will battle it out to take home an international championship for one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.
Two Adelaide high schoolers will jet off to Italy to represent Australia on the world stage in the World Climbing Youth Championships.
Jonathon Mason and Finn Hickey are the first males in the state to qualify for the trendy sport’s top competition.
Bouldering and Sport Climbing are among the fastest-growing sports in the world, with participation surging since climbing made its Olympic debut at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021.
Jonathon and Finn earned their places on the Australian team after standout performances at the national championships on the Gold Coast. Their results place them among Australia’s top young climbers, with Jonathon currently ranked second nationally in Under-17 bouldering and Finn ranked third in Under-19 bouldering.
But the trip comes at a cost, the athletes’ families needing to raise around $13,000 to cover travel, accommodation, competition and preparation expenses.
The pair have been committed to the up-and-coming sport for years, training together with the Adelaide Bouldering Club, and are eager to compete against the world’s best young climbers in Arco, a small town in Northern Italy known for its limestone cliffs.
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Jonathon, who began climbing at the age of 10, says the sport’s unique combination of physical and mental challenges first drew him in.
“Every climb is like its own unique problem,” he says.
“I’ve always liked the puzzle-solving aspect of it”.
Beyond the competition, Jonathon says that the climbing community is one of the sport’s best attractions.
“There’s not really another sport like it in terms of the positive reinforcement that the community has,” he says.
“You’ll be doing different climbs with different people that you’ve never met before, but you’re like old friends.”
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He adds that part of the attraction for bouldering is how easy it is to connect with other climbers on social media.
“It’s cool that you can post it,” he says.
“Like, here’s a cool climb I did, and the community around it is so positive. ”
At only 15 years old, he says that balancing training with school life requires commitment, training four to five days a week for hours at a time.
“My schedule is just school, and then go climbing, and then go home,” he says.
Looking ahead to the world championships, he says that he is excited by the opportunity to meet with and learn from the best climbers in the world.
“I’m probably not going to do well at an international level, but it’s cool that I get to go there and have this opportunity to learn so much. I can become a much better climber and maybe one day have the chance to do well at an international competition”.
The national event where the pair qualified for the world championships occurred at Ballina, a small town on Queensland’s Gold Coast in May.
The World Climbing Youth Championships will be held in Italy, in July.
The families are seeking support from local businesses, sporting organisations, community groups and government bodies to help these young athletes realise their dream of representing South Australia on the world stage.
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