Rock Climbing Team Incorporates Walk-ons in Unique Year

In the midst of preparing for an uncertain spring season, the rock climbing team faces a unique challenge – integrating a bevy of walk-on recruits into an intense training regimen in the midst of COVID-19. 

Senior and team captain Steven Cornford said he relished the interest in the team growing across campus. 

Head Coach Elliot Gaunt expressed his excitement about gaining new climbers.

“It’s been great,” Gaunt said. “It’s a lot of fun having new athletes come in. … They can plug into a community that’s already been established and we can pour into them and help foster growth in them.”  

Joining a team that is adapting to an unprecedented climbing environment – an environment shaped by COVID – can be challenging for newcomers. But one of the freshmen, Cam Johnson, said that the upperclassmen have helped him adjust to the team. Johnson  began climbing two years ago.

“They’ve taken me under their wings, shown me how the team works and how to be a better leader myself,” Johnson said. 

Rock climbing requires trust between the climber and the spotter. Without a spotter or something to  hold on to, a climber risks falling and becoming seriously injured. Without relationships built within the team, the athletes will be less likely to trust each other in practice and competition. 

To augment those relationships, the student leaders and coaches have created a fun atmosphere to foster team unity, often taking weekend trips or participating in other activities outside climbing, Mars said. 

Rock climbing provides individual benefits as well as team cohesion, however. For Johnson, rock climbing is an opportunity to boost his personal confidence. 

“I’ve learned to think the best of myself and push my limits,” Johnson said. 

While rock climbing offers many beneficial skills to the athlete, it also requires large amounts of time and dedication. The team practices for 2 hours from 6 to 8 a.m. several times a week. 

“The training is pretty intense,” Cornford said. 

According to Cornford, the team practices in three-week cycles of training that includes endurance, power-endurance and strength. The first two training cycles utilize the climbing wall, while the third relies on actual weight training.

“There’s something to be said for acquisition of discipline and getting up early, 3-4 days a week, to  practice for two hours and still have classes,” Cornford said. “Some people have jobs after class too.”

Outside of practicing at the gym, Cornford stated that the team sometimes trains at Boulder Field on the Blue Ridge Parkway and New River Gorge in West Virginia. 

After COVID-19 cancelled spring championships and impacted the lives of athletes around the country, Captain Gwen Mars and other climbers had to adjust to losing practice and competition opportunities this summer.  

“It was really disappointing to be honest,” Mars said. “I think we really wanted to go to nationals. It was going to be a big thing. … Not doing the sport for a while, you lose progress really fast. That was hard.”

In addition to the abrupt end of the spring season, COVID-19 issues continue to affect the climbers. The team must constantly screen the athletes and follow guidelines to avoid infection. COVID-19 also limits how many athletes can train on the wall at a time. 

Cornford also said that recently the rock wall closed for a week because of a positive case, meaning the team could not practice for that week. In addition, the fate of this upcoming spring season remains unknown. Virtual climbing may be the answer. In this arrangement, the athletes would record their submissions for competition in the presence of a witness. 

Despite the unknowns, the team looks forward to next season. 

“Hey, (last season) is in the past,” Mars said. “We really have to try hard to get to nationals .” 

Christian Shields is a Sports Reporter.