Congratulations to Matilda Collins who recently scooped third place in the European Youth Cup Bouldering Championships.
Two hundred and twenty athletes from over 25 countries competed against each other in six categories throughout the competition, with the top performers meeting in the final in Delft in the Netherlands.
Matilda, who was selected for the GB team for the second year, beat off stiff competition to bring home the bronze medal. It’s an outstanding achievement, particularly impressive as it’s only the first year she’s been eligible to compete in the European Youth Cup and she is still younger than most of the other competitors. It has been over ten years since a GB girl had reached a Bouldering final from the lower year of their two year age category.
Bouldering involves climbing with no harness, over crash mats, and requires an expert mixture of strength, agility and problem-solving skills.
Matilda started the sport when she was just seven years old after a chance invitation to Craggy Island in Guildford. She was soon hooked, displaying an early talent that got her noticed by coaches. She now trains four times a week with a personal coach; and several times a year spends the weekend with the GB Development coaches at various climbing centres around the country.
Next weekend Matilda will compete in the British Bouldering championships in Manchester and she’ll be off to Switzerland in early summer to compete in the European Youth Lead Climbing Cup. As a consequence of reaching the final in Delft, she has been invited to the Youth World Championships and hopes to compete in that next year.
Back to all news
