Disabled climbers reach for the stars

The first national disability climbing competition was held today (Sunday 25 April 2010) at Climb UK Rochdale

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The first national disability climbing competition was held today (Sunday 25 April 2010) at Climb UK, Rochdale

Competitors travelled from as far as Aberdeen to take part in the competition, co-hosted by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) Climb UK and Link4Life.

The aim of the event was to provide disabled people with an opportunity to have a go at climbing in a competitive environment.

Jonathan Stead travelled from Huddersfield with his autistic daughter Hannah, 9, he said: “This is the first competition we have been to and Hannah loves it, climbing is her favourite thing.”

There were three different categories of entry to accommodate people with different levels of mobility and the competition was also open to people with sensory impairments and learning disabilities.

Competitors had to climb three roped climbs and three boulder problems and were given a score on each one dependant on height gained. The climber with the best score in each category won.

The competition builds on the work that Link4Life's disability officer, Graeme Hill, is doing to broaden the range of activities available for disabled people in the borough, he said: “Today has been really fantastic, we wanted to give disabled people the chance to compete. Hopefully this will become an annual event.”

Ian Dunn owner and director of Climb UK said: “It is amazing to see people enjoying competing regardless of their handicap or disability.

“Today was really to test the waters and see if there is a demand for a national competition like this. We had no idea what the interest would be but after what I have seen I am convinced this will become an annual event.”

Mr Dunn added: “Although it is a competition everybody has a personal goal and no matter whether it is the easiest wall or the hardest everybody has that same sense of achievement when they reach the top. It is very rewarding to see people developing their skills.”