Talented teen climber aiming high
Tayla Manning is at the top of her game – and a climbing wall.
Manning, 17, is the under-18 champion and women’s open champion in rock climbing disciplines of bouldering and lead.
Bouldering is trying to get to the top of a 4.5 metre rock wall, in the least number of attempts. There is no harness or ropes, so if Manning falls she lands on a crash mat.
Lead climbing, which uses a harness, is about getting higher than anybody else, coach Peter Lofthouse said.
‘‘This gym (New Plymouth YMCA) is very small. It’s only six metres. Most lead climbing walls
are 12 to 15 metres high.
‘‘We do really well and we hold our own based on the facilities we have here in Taranaki and how small a group we have. It’s a testament to the guys. They are passionate about the sport and train really hard knowing they don’t have top notch equipment to train with.’’
Taranaki is one of the smallest clubs in the country, but had three players representing New Zealand at the rock climbing World Youth Championships in Italy in August – Manning, Matt Jones and Ariana van Lith.
Manning competed in the combined category, which is bouldering, lead and speed, which is literally the fastest to the top of the wall. Her speed lets her down because she can’t train for it, because of the lack of facilities in Taranaki, she said.
‘‘But when you can train for it it’s one of the easiest to get better at. I want to get into the top 10 in combined in New Zealand to go to the Oceanias (championships) and qualify for the Olympics.’’
The New Plymouth Girls’ High School student has been competing for four years. She got into the sport when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper for kids’ classes, she said. ‘‘I like the challenge. It’s good figuring stuff out like how to get to the top. It’s also a really friendly sport.’’
There are about 160 competitors across all age ranges in New Zealand.
The combined form of climbing will be a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in 2020.