ORKNEY CLIMBING CLUB

the club held it,s first ever climbing competition on sat 12th dec 09

we had two categories 9yrs and under and 10 yrs and over.

winners in the 9/under were 1st hannah peace,2nd sarah harper 3rd tia whitton.

the winners in 10yrs/over were  1st laura coghill,2nd kara griffith,3rd kelly marwick.

the competition highlighted the enthusiasm of the junior members,about 15 of them took part.

if there is enough interest this could become a regular event,and we will introduce coaching sessions for them, as with a little bit of help we could end up with an extremely talented bunch of junior climbers in orkney.

there is then the possibility of them being involved in the national junior indoor competitions in scotland.

please let ian/don/bobby/tim know if you are a junior member and are interested in coaching to improve your ability/performance.

hi folks ,thanks to alan for the great photos.

many routes were climbed at both places by mick tighe and the marines in the 70's but were never recorded and then again in the 80's alan and friends did many routes as well which they never recorded either.it would be respectfull to mention this if recording any" new" routes as they have probably already been climbed.

a couple of weeks ago ian tim and don along with richard from outdoor ed had a meeting with mark harrison the picky manager and kieran henderson from ed/recreation dept.it was very positive with an area at the rear of the picky being identified,mcofs will back a new wall here which will access sports scotland funding,the remainder will need to be raised by the club via grants etc.the idea still needs to be approved by the trustees and by various other bodies.

it will help if club members and families lobby councillers and mp,s by letter e-mail etc,this would help establish a need for the facility,as financially it has to be a viable proposition.there is still a long way to go so don't 'hold your breath'.we will need to raise probably between £150,000-£200,000 .the area is enclosed on three sides so requires the building of a fourth to make it weather proof.

it is an exciting possibility which is going to require a lot of effort from club members.

nb at this stage letters to the local papers will not be helpfull,so please hold back on this avenue till things are on a more solid footing.

cheers,don

Just to say thanks to Alan for the pics of roseness they are on the mair photos album if anyone wants to check them out

details ,will be updated ,venues may change at short notice due to winds and tides so keep in touch to avoid disappointment. thursday nights at kgs may be cancelled at short notice if the weather is good,we will try to let everyone know,but check the web site in case we can't contact you

if any members have photos they want added to the photo gallery please send to ian rendall-e-mail/cd and he can add them for you .

many thanks to ian rendall club secretary for doing a brilliant job of setting up/designing the new club web site.

also thanks to tim deakin club president for the last 3 years? -for keeping the club up and running -ta muckle!