blurr ambassador Stacey Weldon was kind enough to send through her thoughts after the first in the series of World Cup events she'll participate in this season. From Stacey...
I couldn't be more happy with my performance at the 2015 IFSC Toronto Bouldering World Cup. It's easy to get lost in he numbers in this game, and two spots out of semis might be disappointing, but I'm learning to focus on how I climbed, not the number I ended up in.
The first Boulder was a slap in the face, and I couldn't get off the second hold. I felt defeated right away, but was able to regroup and refocus, flashing the second problem. The third problem was on the steepest part of the wall, and steep climbing is definitely one of my weaknesses. The problem looked doable, but I just couldn't manage to stick the second move.
The fourth problem looked like it had been designed specifically for me. Volumes in a corner. I flashed it easily. The fifth problem was a huge volume on slab with horrible feet. Only three girls in the entire comp were able to complete it, and I couldn't stick the first move.
This is the first comp I have been in where they split the qualifiers into two groups, and had them run on different problems. 3/5 were basically identical for each group, but the other two were quite different. This definitely made me a little nervous, but focusing on things you can't control is a waste of energy. Ten from each group advanced to semi finals. I ended up 12th in my group, and tied for 23rd overall.
Overall I'm super psyched with the entire experience, and I think it's a great start to the World Cup season. I've spent the last few days in Colorado getting ready for the Vail World Cup, which starts tomorrow.
