Canadian Boulder National Champions Crowned in Surrey
Stiff competition in both the women's and men's categories made for an exciting comp, with some razor thin separation between podium finishes
Photo by: Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC)
Zach Richardson and Anna Kelley are Canada’s 2023 Boulder National Champions. At yesterday’s finals at The Hive in Surrey, B.C., Richardson topped three of the four problems in the least number of attempts to win gold. Kelley was the only woman to top three problems, earning her the highest spot on the podium.
The Canadian National Championships are run by Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC), the national governing body for competition climbing in Canada, as recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee and International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The results of the Boulder event (and the upcoming Lead event) contribute to national athlete rankings, which ultimately determine who gets invited to be in the national High Performance Program (HPP) and represent Canada in IFSC World Cup and Olympic competition.
Men’s Final
The men’s final was about as close as a round of bouldering can get. Richardson, Guy McNamee, Hugo Dorval, and Lucas Uchida all topped the first three problems of the night. Guy’s twin brother, Kindar, topped problems #2 and #3 but only managed a zone on problem #1. On the fourth and final problem of the night, Kindar topped the bloc but his brother, Richardson, Dorval, and Uchida all only reached zone. This left the top five competitors with an identical three zones and four tops. Separation – and podium rankings – were to be determined by attempts to top and attempts to zone.
Richardson placed first, as he needed only five attempts for his three tops. He flashed problem #3 and topped problems #1 and #2 in only two attempts. Guy McNamee, last year’s Boulder and Lead National Champion, earned silver, as he took one attempt more to secure his three tops. Dorval won bronze, needing one more attempt than McNamee to achieve his three tops.
Richardson, a 22-year old from Ontario, was ranked tenth nationally in bouldering prior to yesterday’s event. He competed on the IFSC Boulder World Cup circuit in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. He placed seventh at the Boulder National Championships in 2021 and fifth at last year’s event. Richardson was part of CEC’s HPP in 2023 as a member of the National Development Squad.
“We have a lot of strong climbers this year so that honestly kind of takes the pressure off – you just have to try your hardest because anyone can win,” said Richardson to CEC following his win at yesterday’s Boulder Nationals. “The boulders were quite doable, and when you can tell each round is coming down to tries, it is so scary. I felt so shaky, and I knew that any little slip was going to cost me positions, so I was just praying to stay on the wall the whole time and I just got lucky and didn’t fall.”
Women’s Final
Although competition was also close in the women’s category, Anna Kelley separated herself from the field of competitors by being the only woman to top three of the four problems. The 16-year-old flashed problems #1 and #3 and topped problem #2 on her second go. She didn’t reach zone on problem #4 but this didn’t matter – no other competitor reached the zone hold on the nails-hard problem either.
Quebec’s Emilia Callanan and Ontario’s Madison Richardson came in behind Kelley, both with two tops and three zones. Callanan needed one less attempt than Richardson to achieve her two tops, earning her the silver medal.
Heading into the National Championships, Kelley was ranked ninth in the country for bouldering. Last year, she won gold at the Boulder Youth National Championships and bronze at the National Championships.
“I felt pretty good on all of my boulders,” said Kelley to CEC after her gold medal win. “Yesterday [the qualification round] was a lot rougher for me, so I’m glad that I was able to get through that. It’s nice to see that my training has paid off. I’ve had a lot of rough competitions lately so it’s nice to get a win.”
Some big names in Canadian comp climbing did not participate at this year’s Boulder National Championships including Sean McColl, Oscar Baudrand, Victor Baudrand, Alannah Yip, Indiana Chapman and Babette Roy. With the Boulder event wrapped up, the Lead event is being held tomorrow and Monday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Men’s Results
- Zach Richardson (3T4z 5 6)
- Guy McNamee (3T4z 6 6)
- Hugo Dorval (3T4z 7 7)
- Kindar McNamee (3T4z 7 8)
- Lucas Uchida (3T4z 10 7)
- Matthew Rodriguez (2T4z 8 4)
Women’s Results
- Anna Kelley (3T3z 4 3)
- Emilia Callanan (2T3z 3 3)
- Madison Richardson (2T3z 4 3)
- Cedar Hendry (2T3z 5 4)
- Evangelina Briggs (1T3z 2 4)
- Brooke White (0T3z 0 9)
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