2012 SCS NATIONALS.

Atlanta in July.  Again.  Ugh.  For the 3^rd year in a row, SCS Nationals was held at Stone Summit in Atlanta, Georgia from July 5^th through the 8^th.  Please don’t get me wrong, Stone Summit is the best climbing gym in America and people in Atlanta are very polite and friendly.  It’s just us Pacific Northwesterners do not like super hot and super humid weather.  Sidney, however, says she loves coming to Atlanta but it’s only because she has had awesome results for the past two Nationals at Stone Summit.  Two years ago she finished 1^st in Sport & 1^st in Speed and last year she finished 3^rd in Sport & 1^st in Speed.  After winning Bouldering Youth Nationals earlier in the season, we had high hopes that she could continue her great results at Stone Summit and become just the 2^nd youth female in the last 6 years to win all 3 disciplines in the same year.  The only female to have accomplished that feat was Dana Riddle and she actually did it twice.

Sidney doing her impression of Sylvester Stallone in the movie "Cobra."  Photo courtesy of Sam Wolff.

Day 1 of the competition was Qualifier 1 for Sport and Qualifiers for Speed.  Even though there was a slightly tricky section at the top of Sport Q1, no major surprises emerged as 26 of the 37 FYC competitors flashed the route which included her teammates Melina Costanza, Cierra Graham and Laili Couper.

   

As a two-time defending champion in Speed, there were no surprises for Sidney as she posted a time of 7.26 seconds which was over a second faster than the 2^nd place qualifier, Karen Cheng at 8.60 seconds.  Melina surprised a lot of people, including herself, by posting the 3^rd fastest time of 9.66 seconds.  Cierra and Laili also made the top 16 and moved on to Semifinals.  Even though they are exactly the same routes, it was obvious right away that the left side was much easier and faster than the right side.  The left side was on slab while the right side had a slight overhang to it and because of the route sequence, you had to be strong to be able to huck the right side to get a good time.  From watching all the climbers, Sidney was the only one who could huck the right side for the entire route and posted what still would have been the fastest qualifying time of 8.00 seconds.  Except for Sidney, no other climber in her category would break the 9 second barrier on the right side for the entire competition.  What this set-up meant was that if you had a bad run on the left side, you were probably not going to advance or place very high.  

Little Sid, Big Syd and MC.  Photo courtesy of Sydney McNair.

Day 2 was Qualifier 2 for Sport and Semifinals for Speed.   Sport Q2 was much more difficult from the previous day’s Q1 as only 2 of the 37 climbers flashed it.  It was a pretty straightforward route with a crux halfway up that was a delicate balance sequence into a huge, flat hold that was shaped like a Razor clam shell.  Over 2/3’s of the climbers fell at or before the crux sequence.  Laili really held her own and while she did not get past the crux, still qualified for Semifinals in 12^th place.  Melina was doing all the right moves and sequences but you could tell she was not climbing with confidence.  She got past the crux but looked pumped towards the top and fell 7 or 8 holds from the finish, placing tied for 6^th going into Semifinals.  Cierra sequenced the route well and was climbing strong.  I thought she was going to flash the route but then she suddenly looked pumped near the top and fell 6 holds from the finish, placing 5^th going into Semifinals.  Bimini Horstmann had a couple of spots where it looked like she might fall but she climbed extremely well and flashed the route.  Sidney cruised Q2 and had the other flash so she was tied with Bimini in 1^st place going into the next round.

Speed Semifinals had some disappointments, a surprise and a little bit of intrigue.  Although they tried their best, Cierra and Melina could not significantly improve their times enough to get into one of the 8 Finals spots.  Cierra finished in 13^th place and Melina finished in 11^th place, respectively.  Laili improved her time by over 2 seconds and went into Finals in 5^th place.  I wasn’t shocked by that as I knew how hard she had been training her Speed technique since Divisionals but she was definitely surprised (and very happy) that she had made Finals.  Sidney was in the last pairing with Karen and her first run was on the left side.   Despite a bobble that cost her half a second, she still had a good time of 7.83 seconds.  That would have put her in 2^nd place going into finals as Audrey Miller posted a time of 7.61 seconds.  However, on Sidney’s 2^nd run on the right side, the rope hit the timer during her run and stopped the clock prematurely.  Per the rules, both climbers were allowed to rest for a couple of turns and then do both runs over with their best times counting towards Finals.  Getting two extra runs is a definite edge and Sidney took advantage by blazing up the left side in a time of 6.91 seconds.  She also improved her time on the right side to 7.83 seconds.  So with those times, Sidney would be paired with Audrey in Finals the next day.  This was not a surprise to Sidney or me as we had guessed that Audrey would probably be her fastest competition this year.  

Day 3 was Semifinals for Sport and Finals for Speed.  Sport Semifinals had a roof section and as everyone knows, Sidney loves climbing on the roof.  It was in the same area as the Finals route for FYC last year although the roof section was not as long this time around.  The route was tough right off the bat as it began on a wall that immediately started rounding off up into the roof section that was about 25 feet high.  Before getting to the roof, it took a detour onto a short vertical section that had a dynamic move to get back into the roof.  From there, the route did a half circle on the roof and up into another vertical section that went to the finish.  Very tough.  Laili gave it her all but had some sequencing problems from the start which caused her to get pumped very quickly and fell before the 1^st vertical section to finish in 17^th place.  In a group dominated by 2^nd year C girls, she was the 3^rd highest placing 1^st year C girl so congrats to her.  Jenna Wang, who qualified for Semifinals in 17^th place (the last slot), rebounded nicely and fell in the upper roof section to place in 6^th going into Finals.  Audrey, who was 8^th going into Semifinals, also fell in the upper roof section but continued her improvement by placing 5^th for Finals.  Cierra improved from 5^th to 4^th for Finals by climbing strong and getting through the roof section.  She snagged the first two holds of the vertical section after the roof but cut her feet and fell after she could not get them back up.  Bimini looked a bit tentative through parts of the route but fought through and fell 1 hold higher than Cierra.  Melina climbed with renewed confidence and cruised into 2^nd place going into Finals.  She fell a couple of holds higher than Bimini but I thought she was going to flash the route.  She had the heel hook and was going up to the next hold but a combination of being a little short with the reach and losing the heel ended the possible flash.  Sidney flashed the route and placed 1^st for Finals.  I say this all the time about Sidney but she really made this route look easy.  Watch her on this climb and judge for yourself, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85-w9RNRxl0&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=6&feature=plcp.

Sidney on the Semifinal route on her way to the only flash.  Photo courtesy of Sydney McNair.

For Sidney, Speed Finals was dramatic like the year before but for a very different reason.  Last year, she was the only first year C girl out of five competitors that were all extremely fast and could have won in Finals to be the National Champion.  Sidney pulled the fastest time on the last run of the comp to win.  This year, more so than usual, Sidney was an overwhelming favorite to win with Audrey being the closest competitor to her times.  It was a different kind of pressure and Sidney told me she didn’t really like that feeling.  There were 4 pairings for Finals with Sidney in the last one with Audrey.  The first pairing was Karen against Jamie Dunlavy.  Jamie, a U.S. Team member for Speed in FYD last year, posted the best time of the pairing at 8.02 seconds.  Besides Sidney and Audrey, that would be the best time of any competitor in the category and she placed 3^rd with a U.S. Team selection.  The next pairing was Laili and Grace Scott, with Laili posting the best run at 8.69 seconds. Laili improved her best time each round and ended up in 5^th place, one spot out of a U.S. Team selection.  Excellent job Laili!  The third pairing was Allie Upton and Bimini with Allie posting the best run at 8.20 seconds.  That would put Allie in 4^th place and the last U.S. Team spot.  Finally it was Sidney’s turn and she would be starting on the left side.  Sidney and I had talked at length about the importance of her getting a fast time on the left side because it would be hard for her to go faster on the right side.  Well, her worst fear came true when she had a big slip on her first run and ran a time of 7.93 seconds while Audrey fell on the right side for no time.  Sidney was well aware that Audrey would probably post a faster time than that and she would need to beat her heads up on the right side to win.  On the last run of the comp, Sidney exploded at the start to get a half body length lead that she never relinquished as she posted a blazing time of 7.36 seconds.  Audrey came in at 7.81 seconds which would have won if Sidney had faltered on the final run.  Watch her winning run here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtiXmiIB8Co&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=4&feature=plcp.  Although very happy to have won, Sidney was relieved more than anything and was glad that Speed was over.  After the awards ceremony, with the 2^nd leg of her quest to win all 3 disciplines this year complete, we went to have a quiet dinner and toasted her 3^rd Speed National Championship in a row.  Then it was back to the hotel to relax a bit and rest up for the final day of competition.

Sidney on the podium for Speed awards with Audrey and Jamie.  Photo courtesy of Sydney McNair.

Day 4 was the Final for Sport.  No roof section this time.  Just a long meandering extended pump.  It started with a tricky sequence where you needed to climb up through a few different angled walls with a big move to get to the face.  It then traversed to the right onto a slab section that went up.  Then an upward, overhung traverse to the left into a power move up onto a vertical face.  Only two young women made it past this point.  From there, it was a series of pinches and crimps up that led to a move to a big sloper that was roughly 10 holds from the finish.  No climber, male or female, made it to the sloper.  There were eleven competitors in Finals and the first to climb was Ivy Todd.  She fell at the beginning of the upward, overhung traverse (hold 45) and finished in 7^th place.  Next was Chloe Sands and she fell on the slab section (hold 34) to finish in 8^th place.  The 3^rd climber out was Emerson Nairon and she climbed really well.  She fell on the power move up onto the vertical face going for hold 46.  Had she controlled it, she would have at least been in 3^rd place but could not get it and finished in 5^th place, one spot out of the U.S. Team selections.  Taylor Wiener was next and she had trouble on the lower traverse to the right.  She fell at hold 24 to finish in 9^th place.  After her was Chloe Massenat, the shortest climber of the finalists who had impressed me all week with her tenacity.  Her reach finally caught up with her as she could not make the big move to get on to the first face.  She fell at hold 18 and finished in 11^th place.  Jenna came out next starting in 6^th place and that is where she would end up after falling right before the power move up onto the vertical face (hold 44).  Audrey was out next and she got usable surface on the power move up onto the vertical face (hold 46) to finish in 4^th place and the last U.S. Team spot.  I’ve watched this climb on youTube a few times and there were at least 5 moments where she easily could have or should have fallen.  She worked this climb HARD and overcame those shaky moments to really earn that team selection.  Great job!  Cierra was next and she climbed the best she had the entire competition.  She had a couple of sequencing issues along the way but she breezed through the power move to get onto the vertical face and the land of pinches and crimps.  Here, the pump finally caught up with her and she fell at hold 49 to finish in 2^nd place.  Coupled with her 3^rd place finish at Bouldering Nationals and a 13 place finish in Speed thrown in for good measure, by any account, Cierra had an awesome year!  I am very proud of her as she has come a long way in a very short amount of time.  The final 3 climbers started with Bimini.  She climbed really well and fell at the exact same spot as Audrey.  Since she was ahead of Audrey going into Finals, Bimini held the tiebreaker advantage and finished in 3^rd place.  After being so close to making U.S. Team in Bouldering, I was happy for Bimini that she was able to break through and make a U.S. Team.  Heartbreak then followed for Melina who was next.  After climbing so strong in Semifinals, she had a rope issue in the very beginning sequence that really seemed to throw her off her game.  Unfortunately, she was never able to recover and fell during the first part of the lower traverse on hold 23 to finish in 10^th place.  Everyone knows Melina and there was a huge collective gasp when she fell.  For those that were at our Divisional, I’m sure there was a definite sense of déjà vu as the exact same scenario unfolded there as she fell on a traverse in Finals to finish in 5^th place.  Melina still had a great year with her 2^nd place finish in Bouldering and her 2 high placings at SCS Nationals.  I’m very proud of her, too, but especially for how well she has handled adversity this past SCS season.  Sidney was the last competitor out and she climbed with power and precision.  She wasted little movement in cruising to the last pinch before the big sloper where she fell at hold 57 for the National Championship.  Take a peek, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwoh3dkHUoM&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=2&feature=plcp.

Sidney on the podium for Sport awards with Cierra and Bimini.  Photo courtesy of Sydney McNair.

Mission accomplished! Sidney reached her goal of winning the National Championship in all 3 disciplines in the same year which is an extremely rare feat.  She had the best year you can have as a youth climber up to Nationals and I am so proud of what she has achieved so far in her short career.  When you step back and look at her record at National events for the past five full seasons, it is truly amazing and consistent.  15 out of 15 National events in all 3 disciplines.  12 out 15 U.S. Team placements (four in each discipline) while never placing lower than 5^th place.  7 National Championships with at least 1 in each discipline.  That is a magnificent resume so far.  The future looks bright as she works as hard now as when she first started climbing and is still the same, humble person she has always been.  No matter what happens in the future, though, we’ll always have the memories of this past season.  Thank you for that, Sidney.

Post-Nationals picture of the group after the swim party and dinner.  From left to right, Natalia, Olivia, Cierra, Melina, Sidney, Zak, Leo, Emily, Kai, Mirko's sister, Mirko, Nathaniel.  Photo courtesy of me.

FIGURE IT OUT!

Serendipity. It basically means a "pleasant surprise." Well, Sidney had a serendipitous moment recently that resulted in her being on a Nickelodeon TV show.

A few weeks after ABS13 Youth Nationals this past March, I received an e-mail from Nickelodeon via USA Climbing. They were interested in having the National Champions from FYD, MYD, FYC and MYC audition for a possible spot on a show they were producing called "Figure It Out."  The premise of the show is that a young person has a secret talent and a celebrity panel asks yes or no questions to guess what that secret talent is.  Time was very short and they needed anyone interested to make a 4 minute audition tape and send it to them within a few days. Sidney really wanted to audition but unfortunately we were headed to Smith Rock the next day. Along came Chase (Sidney's older brother) to save the day! He interviewed her that night, edited a few videos and sent the audition tape to Nickelodeon within a couple of days. He did a tremendous job and I was very impressed. You can watch the audition tape here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfZzaHZHWc&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=0&feature=plcp.

We heard back from the casting director within a couple of days and he said they definitely wanted Sidney to be on the show! Needless to say, Sidney was super excited for this opportunity but she was also a bit nervous once the news sunk in that she was actually going to be on TV. Travel plans were arranged very quickly as the taping period of her show was 3 weeks after she was booked.

Sidney's mother, Lisa Grannell, chaperoned her on their whirlwind weekend trip to Southern California on the last weekend of April.  They flew out on a Friday and visited with some family.  The next day was the filming of the show and both of them said that it was pure chaos!  The car picking them up was late.  There was no set schedule so they were on the set all day not knowing when they would film.  They had a chaperone the entire time and were not allowed to talk to anyone so that Sidney's secret skill could not be found out before the taping.  They got to the food line too late and didn't get much to eat.  All of that would sound like they had a terrible time but they both said they had a blast because it was so cool to see behind the scenes of filming a TV show.

Late in the day, they finally filmed Sidney's show and she did awesome!  She was very relaxed and had a great presence during the taping.  She had a couple of nice interactions with the host and a celebrity judge.  She also got famously "slimed."  The game went down to the wire but the celebrity panel failed to guess her secret talent and she won the Grand Prize of a trip for four to Cabo San Lucas!  Wow!  Finally, she got to show off her secret talent by scaling a portable climbing wall they had brought onto the set.  Watch the full episode yourself here, http://t.nick.com/videos/clip/figure-it-out-523-bouldering-origami-full-episode.html.

They flew home the next morning so they barely got to see any sights or even get to swim in the hotel pool but they both had a great time and will share a lasting memory.  I couldn't be any prouder of how she handled herself and how mature she looked on the show.  Getting a free trip to Cabo was pretty cool, too.

Sidney getting "slimed" and loving it!  (Photo courtesy of Nickelodeon)