Here Are Your 2023 Canadian Lead Climbing National Champions
Tight competition in both the women's and men's categories ended in first-place finishes for Cedar Pidgeon and Kindar McNamee
British Columbia’s Cedar Pidgeon and Kindar McNamee are the 2023 Canadian Lead National Champions. Competition in Monday’s finals at the Richmond Oval in B.C. was fierce, with podium spots being determined by the thinnest of margins.
In the women’s comp, the top three athletes all fell going for the 39th hold, leaving their semi-final results to determine podium rankings. Pidgeon earned gold, B.C.’s Sophie Buitendyk won silver, and Ontario’s Molly Dreher won bronze.
In men’s, twin brothers Kindar and Guy McNamee were the only two climbers to top the route. Because Kindar placed higher than Guy in the semi-finals, he earned gold and his brother silver. Guy was last year’s double-champ, winning gold at both the Lead and Boulder National Championships. Ontario’s Matthew Rodriguez earned bronze at this year’s event, falling as he reached for hold 30.
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 and Lead events contribute to national athlete rankings, which ultimately determine who gets invited to be in the national High Performance Program (HPP)Â and represent Canada in IFSC World Cup and Olympic competition.
Cedar Pidgeon, 17, is one of Canada’s most promising young climbers. She earned bronze at both last year’s Canadian Lead National Championships and this year’s Canadian Youth Lead National Championships. In August, she placed 10th at the IFSC Youth Lead World Championship in Seoul, South Korea. Pidgeon has been a climbing prodigy from a young age, sending V11 outdoors when she was just 11 years old, the youngest climber ever to do so in Canada. Heading into yesterday’s Lead National Championships, Pidgeon was ranked 5th nationally in Lead.
Kindar McNamee, 21, is one of Canada’s top competitive climbers. He has considerable experience in IFSC competition, participating in World Cups in 2019, 2022, and 2023. He placed second at the Canadian Boulder National Championships last year and fourth at this year’s event. At the North American Cup Series event in Richmond in September, he won gold in Lead. Before yesterday’s event, McNamee was ranked 4th nationally in Lead.
A few big names in Canadian comp climbing did not participate at this year’s Lead National Championships including Sean McColl, Oscar Baudrand, Victor Baudrand, Rebecca Frangos, Alannah Yip, Indiana Chapman, and Chloe Earle.
Women’s Results
- Cedar Pidgeon (38+)
- Sophie Buitendyk (38+)
- Molly Dreher (38+)
- Mia Laprise (30+)
- Sienna Chow (25)
- Alison Timmer (25)
- Cedar Hendry (24)
- Makayla Koci (24)
Men’s Results
- Kindar McNamee (Top)
- Guy McNamee (Top)
- Matthew Rodriguez (29+)
- TJ Foley (25+)
- Evan Lau (23+)
- Nathaniel Smith (22+)
- Dylan Bokenfohr (18+)
- Benjamin Tonnos (18)
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