Fifteen-year-old Lucia Nedelec of Chemainus is reaching new heights as she prepares to represent Team BC at the upcoming Youth Boulder Regional Championships April 26 and 27 in Winnipeg.
Nedelec, who trains at The Hangout climbing gym in Duncan, earned her spot at the upcoming Youth Boulder Regional Championships after placing 11th overall at the Youth Boulder and Difficulty Provincials in Richmond earlier this year. The result secured her one of only 14 invitations extended by Sport Climbing BC to Youth B female athletes from across the province. The Winnipeg competition, hosted by Climbing Escalade Canada, is a key stepping stone toward qualifying for Nationals, set to take place in Vancouver later this year.
“She is feeling good about it, training every second day or so,” said her father, Sheldon Nedelec.
Bouldering is a form of climbing that emphasizes short, challenging climbing routes without the use of ropes or harnesses. It requires strength, focus, and creative problem-solving, skills Nedelec has been honing with every competition.
Nedelec's dedication to the sport has been unwavering. As a member of the Hangout Competitive Youth Climbing Team, she has spent the past season travelling across the Island and Lower Mainland for competitions. Her climbing resume already includes events in Victoria, Langford, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Campbell River, Port Coquitlam and Richmond.
“Lucia has been pouring her heart and soul into her passion for bouldering and her hard work is paying off,” said her father, Sheldon Nedelec, on a fundraising page set up to raise the money to cover her competition and travel expenses.
“The Hangout Climbing Centre is where she and her big brother Winter have been climbing and training for about 2.5 years,” he said. “Their coach, Kieran Klettke, has been awesome, and he'll be joining Lucia and my wife Zoe on the journey to Winnipeg.”
He added that the support of the gym’s owners has also made a difference.
“The owners of the gym too, David Murray and Texas Tom have been super supportive. Tom had Winter and Lucia re-shingling a house all of last weekend to raise money for the trip.”
Lucia's dedication is evident both on and off the climbing wall.
“I love to see them putting out so much effort, both in terms of training and taking on hard jobs to make the money required to buy the plane tickets, hotels, meals and to bring the coach along,” he said. “As a dad I am super proud to see their consistent hard work translate into success at this scale, which is exactly what they set out to do.”
He also credits the team’s approach to mental preparation.
“Aside from the necessary physical development, the Hangout Competitive Team has a strong emphasis on the mental game required for these high level competitions, and for the practice of climbing as a philosophy," Nedelec said. "There can be a lot of perceived pressure and some very real timelines at play during the comps, which can be really intimidating. So far, her mental game has been unshakable.”
The Youth Boulder Regional Championships, taking place in Winnipeg on April 26 and 27, will bring together top athletes from across Western Canada. For many of them, including Nedelec, the event offers a chance to test themselves against the best in the country while gaining valuable experience.
As one of the 14 Youth B girls selected from B.C., Lucia Nedelec will represent not only her team, but also the Cowichan Valley climbing community and young athletes across Vancouver Island.
