Meet Your 2024 Canadian National Team
10 women and 9 men have earned their spots on Canada's Olympic, National, and Development Squads for Boulder, Lead, and/or Speed
Lena Drapella/IFSC
Today, Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) announced the first group of climbers that will be joining Canada’s 2024 High Performance Program (HPP), an elite group of athletes training to represent Canada in IFSC World Cup and Olympic competition. Ten women and nine men have earned their spots on the team based on their results in previous international, national, and regional competitions. CEC is the national governing body for competition climbing in Canada, as recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee and International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC).
The athletes in the HPP are assigned to three different squads across three different disciples: Boulder, Lead, and Speed. The three squads – Olympic, National, and Development – differ based on athlete goals and the amount of support athletes receive. Olympic Squad members are aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics and win a medal. National Squad athletes have consistent IFSC World Cup results and focus most of their time in senior rather than youth competitions. Their goal is to place in the top 30% of competitors at World Cup events.
Development Squad climbers are those working their way up to World Cup-level competition. They show great promise but aren’t necessarily ready to compete at the very highest levels of the sport. If they’re in the age range, they can split their time between youth and senior events. They have the goals of being selected for World Cup events, placing in the top 20 at international youth events, and placing in the top 15 at continental events. Differences in support across the three teams is explained in the CEC-produced table below:
Alannah Yip, Sean McColl, and Oscar Baudrand have earned their spot on Canada’s 2024 Olympic Squad, the most elite team in the country. With today’s announcement, the National Squad has five members. In women’s, Madison Richardson is on the team for Boulder and Rebecca Frangos is on for Lead. In men’s, Guy McNamee has made the team for Boulder, Victor Baudrand for Lead, and Michael Finn-Henry for Speed. McNamee has also been accepted to the Development Squad for Lead, while Baudrand joins the Development Squad for Boulder. You can see the full lists of Olympic, National, and Development Squad members for 2024 below. There will be another intake for the 2024 HPP in early May, so all teams are likely to grow as the year progresses.
Olympic Squad
- Alannah Yip (Boulder & Lead)
- Oscar Baudrand (Boulder & Lead)
- Sean McColl (Boulder & Lead)
National Squad
- Madison Richardson (Boulder)
- Rebecca Frangos (Lead)
- Guy McNamee (Boulder)
- Victor Baudrand (Lead)
- Michael Finn-Henry (Speed)
Development Squad
- Babette Roy (Boulder)
- Evangelina Briggs (Boulder)
- Indiana Chapman (Boulder & Lead)
- Sophie Buitendyk (Boulder & Lead)
- Cedar Pidgeon (Lead)
- Chloé Earle (Lead)
- Erica Velev (Speed)
- Victor Baudrand (Boulder)
- Kindar McNamee (Boulder & Lead)
- Matthew Rodriquez (Boulder & Lead)
- Guy McNamee (Lead)
- Dylan Le (Speed)
- Ethan Flynn Pitcher (Speed)
You can read individual athlete bios here.
