Build My Own FeedBD athlete Paul Robinson places second at Earth Treks Roc Comp
Black Diamond athlete Paul Robinson went up against a field of the best boulderers in North America on April 23-24, managing a proud second-place finish. Below is Paul's report from the comp.
This past weekend was the Earth Trek Roc Comp in Maryland. Unlike many large-scale competitions, this one had three rounds: the first was a redpoint round, the second round was very similar to any onsight competition and the third round was similar to the finals of a World Cup. This style of competition was a great way for the routesetters to separate the field and truly pull out the strengths and weaknesses of the individual competitors. In the first round, I tried to save as much energy as possible for the two big rounds the next day. I qualified for the semifinals in sixth place and knew that I would need to climb perfectly in semifinals if I were to make it to finals that following evening. The semifinal climbs were a combination of power, technique, and all out burl. During semifinals I managed to climb great and was thrilled to see that I was going into finals in first place!
I felt a little fatigued going into finals but the psyche of making it that far was what helped me succeed in the final round on Saturday night. The finals was a packed house and there was barely enough room for the competitors to sit while waiting to climb. The finals climbs were again set amazingly and separated the field perfectly. I managed to get second place overall to Chris Sharma who climbed flawlessly during the finals! Daniel Woods was in 6th place in semifinals and then stepped it up to get third place in the final round.
The competition was awesome and I am psyched for the World Cup in Vail that is coming up in just over a month! I am going to be training really hard for this competition and hope to be at my peak when June 4th rolls around!
— Paul
United States / English 
