As climbing evolves i see more #athletes who perform at a high level in #bouldering #lead and #speed.
As i work with athletes of regional and national youth teams i can see a rising level of performance. While i really enjoy the skillsset of these young guns it was a difficult year considering the amount of #injuries i have seen.
While there already are discussions about for example ‚bad fall risks‘ in bouldering on the worldcup stage – i also see a rising number of injuries linked to loadmanagement/volume/intensities in the youth.
Young athletes are more vulnerable to those injuries for example while growth spurts. Their body changes a lot during puberty. And i think we need to protect the next generation.
We all are responsible to help the next generation find their way: parents, trainers, physios, doctors, role models in the sport.
Lets invest in prevention to increase the amount of healthy, painfree climbers!