As the temperatures reach 100 degrees in Atlanta Georgia, the nation's best youth climbers are beating the heat by climbing indoors at the USA Climbing National Championships.  Once again the nation's largest climbing gym Sone Summit hosts climbers from across the US for the biggest event of the year.  The Vail Athletic Club Climbing Team trains indoors year round for this opportunity to compete against the strongest, most talented climbers from across the states. Starting with the local competitions, climbers must qualify to compete at the Regional Championships in Albuquerque, NM in order to receive an invitation to the Divisional Championships held in Boulder.

This year the VAC team advanced six athletes to the Divisional Championships, several athletes for their first time ever.  Included in this elite crowd was Logan Jauernigg, Erik Warmenhoven, Annika Heid, Julia Heid, Sabine Heid and Amalia Manning.  Logan, Erik and Annika all qualified for Nationals and an opportunity to compete against the top 35 climbers in the country at this weekend's big event in Georgia, but unfortunately Erik was not able to attend.

This roped climbing event is based on difficulty, with each climber being scored on how high up the wall they are able to advance using only specific, marked holds on an indoor climbing wall.  This event resembles the World Cup event showcased in Vail at the Teva Mountain Games and is currently being considered for the 2020 Olympics by the International Olympic Committee.  The top finishers at this event are selected to be on the USA Youth Climbing Team and represent our country at the Youth World Championships in Austria.

The Vail Athletic Club is one of the smallest climbing gyms in the nation, yet continues to produce nationally ranked climbers every season for the past five years.  The VAC Climbing Team program is composed of three teams, the Devo team for 5 & 6 year old beginning climbers, the Jr. A-Team for 7 to 17 year old beginner/intermediate climbers and the A-Team for the most elite, competitive climbers.  In addition to learning all of the basic climbing techniques and safety protocols, these children learn responsibility, proper judgement and develop self-confidence and strong communication skills. They train year round indoors and climb outdoors on real rock all summer long.  For more information on this program or to get your child involved please contact Head Coach Larry Moore at 970-477-3239.