Rain stops DWS Comp at The Quay but show still went on
- Thursday 13th August 2020 at 9.19am
Sept 3rd; 2015
Despite the typically wet British Bank Holiday weather at The Quay, Exeter the show – in this case the second annual DWS comp – continued with Emma Twyford and Matt Varela Christie taking the top podium positions in the senior event.
Emma Twyford winning the Female Open comp. Photo DeepWaterSoloExeter
Anyone hoping for the same fairy-tale ending to the comp as last year when the sun burst through for the finals were sadly disappointed given that rain actually stopped the comp for a while this year. Competitors and audience, however, refused to have their spirits washed away and the show went on. Three competitors climbed simultaneously over the two-day event with the semis and finals taking place on Sunday 30th. In addition to the male and female open competitions, Under 16 boys and Under 16 girls comps were also run. The rain actually came part way through the semis on the Sunday morning and Head Judge, Mick Cooke, took the decision to suspend the competition. The route setters did sterling work getting a little cover over the wall with umbrellas and tarpaulins but then the sun did, weakly, reappear enabling the women's semi to be completed, followed by the men's. Dull but dry weather allowed the finals to go ahead and a new format was very much enjoyed by even larger crowd than the previous year. The finals comprised of both speed climbing as well as a difficulty element which, although not a format that the climbers were used to, made it a very entertaining event for an audience who had not allowed the rain to put them off cheering on the climbers. Emma Twyford took the female title and Matt Varela Christie collected the male metalwork.
The EP-UK Wall. Photo DeepWaterSoloExeter
The Entre-Prises UK-designed wall stood fully 7m above the quay. The problems were set by Gaz Parry, Gav Symonds, Mike Langley and Ben West .
The scene. Photo DeepWaterSoloExeter
A full list of the highest placed 6 competitors in each category is below:
Under 16s Girls
1st Emily Phillips
2nd Rebecca Stephens
3rd Imi Bagnall Smith
4th Ellie Cox
5th Lucy Rattue
6th Crystal Hulls
Under 16s Boys
1st Tom Frost
2nd Joe Czubkowski
3rd Aidan Dunne
4th Frederick High
5th Solomon Kemball Dorey
6th Hamish McArthur
Open Female
1st Emma Twyfrod
2nd Rhoslyn Frugtniet
3rd Jennifer Wood
4th Sarah Pashley
5th Frances Bensley
6th Ellie Rymer
Open Male
1st Matt Varela Christie
2nd Vincent Bouchet
3rd Matt Cousins
4th Nathan Phillips
5th Wiz Fineron
6th Max Ayrton
For further event news see the DeepWaterSoloExeter FB page by clicking through here…