Pumpfest 2013 - Going Mental

This year's segment of Pumpfest by the NTU ODAC was held at City Square - the mall must be very supportive of climbing events! The walls were simpler in design, mostly flat planes, so there was a need for some volumes to be brought in. My initial thoughts were on the limitations the wall might bring, but it also gave me something to look forward in terms of volume and 3D movement on routes and really looking at how the route setters were going to manipulate this piece of artwork.

A brief insight on routes during the Intermediate Men Qualifiers on friday evening did seem slow and cautious. Most route endings were static, balance ends, and there were alot of sit-ins and careful rock overs. So when I went to Climb Asia to do my round of warmups, I made sure I stretched my legs and practiced my sit-ins as well as balance moves. Sit-ins are a very funny thing. I used to be really good at them until I first pulled my gluts/hamstring on a route in Pumpfest 2009. It hasnt been the same since and it really required alot of stretching to get it to work the way it used to.

We had 5 routes and I managed to top 4, flashing 3 of them and having 3 attempts on a dyno route. Surprisingly the routes were very much different from the IM qfy, and I was rather pleased with the routes and the way they felt. The dyno did catch my off guard. It was a rather awkward jump sideways and you had to make sure the first hand catches the tile before pulling to ensure the trailing arm gets enough height to catch the next better tile. I faltered on a compression route, in which I secretly blame the sidewall as my contact strength is not that good, given my sweaty palms.   But most importantly, I didnt trust my heel hook and was deciding between throwing for it instead of going static. Well, I could do the move, but the forearms were too pumped to latch on.



Grimacing on route 3 of OW qfy, the only route I didnt complete.

The most challenging route would have to be the last. It wasnt so straight forward like the others and we had to plan and execute those moves without any given footholds. Plus it required more contact strength and body control. (Marisa flashed this route - and I was really proud of her!) Entering the scene as one of the first few climbers really felt good and there wasnt any pressure despite it being a qualifying round. I think I would like more of this! haha. PLUS I get to watch my friends climb after.



OW qfy results

Finals was the same ifsc format. Initially we had no observation, but finally the setters/judges relented. YES! The first route was a flat volume climb, the second a reachy/dyno move, and the last a traverse. I managed to qualified 3rd behind two indonesian girls: nadya and fitria. Climbing before me were liting and felicia, and upcoming talent vanessa. These are the girls who I know are going to give me some indicator on the route difficulty and attempts I was to take.

I took a different approach from the day before and skipped warmup on the walls. Instead, proceeding to the isolation zone where I focused on stretching my legs as usual and monkeying around on the bars behind. Some of the other finalist had gone to warmup, and I was beginning to feel a tinge of regret. So I put on my shoes, and monkeyed behind the walls. HAHA. I knew that the walls were flat and less inclined, so small footholds were definitely a must, hence i took the effort to work on some footwork stepping on some small corners, rocking over on my sit-ins and pushing up into mantles. When all those did not seek to calm my nerves, I just layed down in the isolation, closed my eyes, and visualised. I recalled the previous days' warmup, how my body felts,the moves I did. And after about 5-10 minutes, my heartbeat slowed down, I became more relaxed and calm, and I knew I was ready!

I believed that there must come a point in time during a competition that you must be ready to take on the challenges outside. If not, you would never know what it is like to perform at your best and see how far it can take you. After 3 years and about 12 times being in a local open final, all the experiences I had gathered from qualifying last to qualifying first has certainly build up my mental strength, more so than my physical. This Pumpfest Open finals, I felt stronger in mindset, and higher in confidence. Of course there were pockets of shaky nervousness. :p Hey, I'm human!

The first route was a real challenge, hearing from the cheers from the audience. I would like to say that I breezed up the route owing to my humongous sit-in, right at the start. (If anyone has a video, let me know!) I guess I've gotten a decent amount of practice on volumes to scramble up this one. Particularly during this comp, I really took an effort to note the good edges, the possible ledges that I could hold and step, and the possible body positionings I might be in. I think I might be getting at something here!

I underestimated the move for the bonus on the second route. Somehow I was overcautious and hesitated in jumping/leaping for it. The stretch out to it was abit too much for me. :p I must admit I was pretty annoyed with myself when I realised the ending was easy. It could have been a flash.. but knowing that only liting and I had topped the previous route, I knew I was still in the running for podium. The last route got me quite shaken when I heard the girls topping the route one after the other. I knew I at least had to finish it, to remain on podium. But I settled for nothing less than a flash for this one. And I did! - with shaky legs and overgripping some tiles. :p I ended the route feeling more relieved than happy that I clinched the gold. LOL. okay, gotta work on this style factor/body control during moments of stress and pressure.



Victory fist pump on Route 3 of Open Women Finals



Prize winners for OW



OW Finals Results

OM finals results