I am so extremely happy to be doing rock climbing again. I first started doing the sport when I moved to Singapore in grade 6 and was part of the school’s first team to go to a competition. However, we did it off campus and due to COVID the activity shut down. Thankfully the activity has restarted. Unfortunately, it is on campus which is a shame because the school’s walls are not great but for the first time ever we have a professional coach who is teaching us techniques and setting us challenges. I really love the sport as I have been doing it for so long. I think perseverance is so important in climbing and so is having the right mindset as you keep trying to climb up the wall. There are few feelings of satisfaction quite like reaching the top of a difficult climb and I am glad I get to start enjoying that again. I was a little out of practice at the start but I think most of my skill has returned but there is always room to improve. Due to the limited size of these walls, I think my main challenge is bouldering as the coaches as able to challenge us in that respect which is good as that was always my weakest spot. Hopefully, competitions restart as it was a great experience last time as there was very little competitive spirit but rather supporting each other to do your best so it was a really friendly environment.
I think something that I want to work on is obviously my own climbing as that is the purpose of the activity but also the teamwork within it. Rock-climbing requires a lot of trust as you belay one another and ofter try to guide each other up the wall. I really want to help those I work with succeed as I know they will do the same for me.