What does the CCPG hope to achieve?
There are seven people on CCPG all with different skills and expertise. Each of those people, if asked this question, would give a slightly different answer. I have a year as Chair, in that time I hope that the CCPG, by its decisions and progress made, will have earned the trust of the athletes, the BMC members, the BMC Board of Directors and all our partners that we can deliver a leading system for competitive climbing. Within 12 months we need to build a future-proof system These include developing the GB Climbing strategy looking forward to Paris 2024 and beyond, and ensuring we raise the profile of GB Climbing through the website and social media reach. We will then be able to use that profile to attract more commercial sponsorship.
How will the Tokyo 2020 postponement impact competition climbing? I imagine it’s been a very difficult situation for the athletes that were preparing for Olympics qualification events or to compete at the games. That’s a question better suited for the athletes and their coaches and how they will adapt their preparation and plans for next year. For the CCPG, it is very different. It has bought us a bit of extra time which will give GB Climbing a chance to get fully prepared for the Olympics.
What do you think the most important change to competition climbing will be in the next 10 years? Training methods and knowledge about training for competition climbing will develop even further. Hopefully, in 10 years the combined medal, which is the case for Tokyo, will have been widened out so that there are individual gold medals for each of the disciplines (lead, boulder, speed) as well as the combined. I would hope that Paraclimbing will have acceptance and be part of the Para Olympics, and that Ice Climbing will be a winter Olympic event.
Have you ever been in a climbing competition? I have never taken part in any official competition. That is not to say that I wasn’t competitive when climbing outdoors. The closest I got was about a decade ago, with Nick Colton (BMC deputy CEO and now head of GB Climbing), we took part in an Urban Climb event. It was a race, with points, and involved climbing set routes on Manchester’s buildings. It was a fantastic day out.
Who is your favourite competition climber? It’s always a joy to see someone climbing well whether in a comp, in training or outdoors. Over the years, I have climbed a lot with Steve McClure. Well, he climbs his routes and I struggle on mine. Watching Steve climb is always inspiring.
Which is your favourite competition to watch? The one competition I always look forward to is our British Bouldering Championships at Cliffhanger in Sheffield. I’m also amazed and inspired by the various national and international paraclimbing competitions.
GB Climbing is supported by the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland and Secur-it. The GB Paraclimbing Team is supported by Oakwood Climbing Centre and Quay Climbing Centre. The GB Ice Climbing Team is supported by Montane. Many UK walls also support the GB Climbing through free or subsidised entry.
Who is leading the CCPG?
The CCPG is chaired by Rab Carrington and Vice-Chair is Performance Sport Specialist Paul Davies.
Rab has been extensively involved with the work of the BMC for the past 15 years. Most recently he chaired the Competition Review Group as part of our Organisational Development Group. Rab is a BMC Patron and has previously been a Vice President (with responsibility for Competitions) and President and has also chaired Mountain Training England.
Paul has over 20 years’ experience within the UK High Performance Sport system with direct experience of leading staff and athlete teams at six major games (Paralympic, Olympic and Commonwealth), he has worked with a diverse range of sports including Rowing, Triathlon, Netball and Wheelchair Basketball. Paul has spent 10 years in senior leadership positions, including seven in the role of Performance Director, as well as many years in other leadership and managerial roles which includes extensive work with volunteers.
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