Stacey Weldon
Competitor, Coach, Role Model
Bouncing blond pigtails quivered with excitement as she eagerly followed her older brother, Chris, into the newly opened Calgary Climbing Centre. 11- year-old Stacey Weldon had found her life’s passion. Involved in a number of sports, including gymnastics and soccer, Stacey was a natural. “I have a really chaotic mind, and climbing is the only time when my mind is empty and free,” says Stacey when asked what it is that makes climbing so special to her. She is one of four siblings in the Stacey clan, all of whom developed a keen passion for rock climbing at a young age.
As a member of Walson Tai’s first youth climbing team at the Calgary Climbing Centre, Stacey found her way onto the competition scene. She was at the top of her age category in her first year, where she stayed for the remainder of her youth career, winning multiple national youth championships. Internationally, she made it to the final round of three Youth World Cups, first in Amsterdam in 2000, again in France in 2002 and in her final year as a youth in Scotland in 2004. With a Canadian appearance in the final round of international competition being a rare occurrence, her track record has made her one of the most successful youth in Canadian competition climbing history.
She took her enthusiasm to the neighbouring Rocky Mountains. At 14, she climbed Shep’s Diner 5.13a, on the slick, water polished walls of Grotto Canyon. After high school she travelled south to Hueco Tanks and other American climbing areas before going to university and graduating with a bachelor of science in nursing. Returning to Hueco Tanks after her graduation in 2011, Stacey climbed Dark Age, V11, and joined Thomasina Pidgeon as one of Canada’s strongest female boulderers.
With a passion for shar ing her love of climbing with young climbers, Stacey has focused on coaching. “I’ve always had a desire to give back to the sport that has given me so much, and coaching is one of the ways I can do this,” she says, “Shar ing my sport with the new generation of climbers, and watching them grow as athletes and people is rewarding.” Stacey has coached in Vancouver, Calgary and Canmore, and has coached the Youth National Team overseas.
She has been plagued with injuries from a young age, despite a successful youth career. “Name a joint, and I’ve hurt it at some point,” she says, “My first surgery was for a knee cartilage tear when I was 14.” With an overwhelming amount of injuries taking Stacey out of the game for months to years at a time, her philosophy towards climbing and injuries is positive. “I have learned to listen to my body over the years. In the past I would take Advil and muscle relaxants to numb my pain in order to keep climbing. My stubbornness turned a mild shoulder injury into chronic pain lasting almost three years. I’ve learned to be good to my body, to rest often and do opposition exercises,” said Stacey.
With some hard-earned wisdom under her belt, Stacey descr ibes a revelation she had while competing in last year’s Tour de Bloc National Championships. “I had lost all motivation, and it seemed like I had completely lost my love for climbing. It was a strange and confusing time,” she said. In the months leading up to the competition, she slowly eased her healing ankle back into her climbing shoe. Without any for m of ser ious training, she entered into her first national championship in years. True to for m, she won second place.
After years away from the competition scene, Stacey is making the ultimate comeback. Returning back to her roots, she joined the newly formed Adult Competition Climbing Team, a fully-funded team, thanks to the generosity and vision of Walson and Rhonda Tai. “It is great to be training with a crew of super strong and motivated athletes,” Stacey said. Coached by experienced Rockies route developer and visionary Bonar McCallum, along with chiropractic, physiotherapy, and dietician support, Stacey describes the team as a huge motivating factor for her future goals. “My number one goal is to stay injury-free this year. For an injury prone athlete like myself, having this sort of support has really allowed me to push myself harder,” says Stacey.
Turning down a full-time nursing position, she works part-time at the Canmore Hospital. Her dream is to compete on the ifsc World Cup boulder ing circuit starting in April, 2013, in China. It’s inspir ing to witness the deter mination the 28- year-old has. With a number of podium finishes under her belt this season, it will be exciting to see what she will accomplish with the proper athletic support, and training. “I’m psyched to have the next generation of strong girls nipping at my tail,” Stacey says, speaking to the deep field of competitors in this season’s Tour de Bloc ser ies, “It reminds me of when I was 16 and chasing the top female competitors.”
Stacey’s refreshing and enthusiastic outlook on rock climbing has established her as one of Canada’s premier role models for youth climbers. She has most definitely inspired this author’s life long passion for the spor t.