Climbing up the walls ... and loving it

Alison King | 10th May 2010

Rotorua teenagers are scaling new heights six years after taking up their ropes.

Tayla Atkin, 13, and Alex Jones, 14, have had to wait all that time to be old enough to represent New Zealand in the youngest category at the World Youth Championships.

The pair are both members of Rotorua Climbing Club, climbing at The Wall and outside as often as they can.

"I'm really excited about it - competing against people from other countries, training really hard and being with the team," Tayla said.

"I quite like the height and doing all the moves - just being up in the air. I think I want to be climbing until I'm 80. If it becomes an Olympic sport I'd like to go to the Olympics, keep winning competitions and keep enjoying it."

Alex was unsure what it was exactly she liked about climbing, but said she loved looking down below when at the top of the wall.

She was "secretly" hoping she would be picked for the squad, and like Tayla, was stoked to get the nod.

Rotorua Climbing Club coach Lossie Maafu said the pair had worked hard for their inclusion.

"They've been waiting a very long time for this," Ms Maafu said.

"They've been climbing for six years but have had to wait until they reached the under-16 category, which they've just bumped into this year.

"They train with me three times a week and compete on weekends.

"I'm really proud of them; absolutely stoked as they've put in a lot of hard work. This will be an awesome experience for them."

The two Western Heights High School students are in the 12-strong New Zealand Junior Team, which competes in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September.

They are the only Kiwi reps in the Youth B (under 16) female grade.

 They are due to go to Europe to train in mid-August before moving on to Edinburgh for the World Youth Championships, held September 9 to 12.

The pair have been at the top of the sport for a number of years, and between them have won every major climbing event, including the 2009 National Cup Series, the 2009 National Championships, and the 2009 Oceania Championships, held at Port Macquarie, Australia.