UCLA’s climbers beat USC teams
On Dec. 1 the UCLA rock wall team headed to USC to take part in
a climbing competition put on by an Internet company called Zilo.
UCLA registered two teams of four climbers each. The competition
took place in the center of campus next to the statue of Tommy
Trojan.
The team competition consisted of a team speed climb (all four
team members climbing at once, combined times scored), an arm hang,
a relay team speed climb (each climber climbs up, comes back down,
hands the rope to the next team member, etc.), and a final team
speed climb worth double points. There were four teams total, with
the other two representing USC.
UCLA’s team of sophomores Scott Henderson, Randy Lu and
Mike Woo, and senior Kristian Hansen, won all four events, and took
first place in the competition. The other UCLA team took a close
second, with the USC teams coming in third and fourth. Each member
of the winning team took home $50, and prizes from Boblbee ““
a hat and hard shell backpack ““ worth $225.
Next came the individual competition. Sixteen climbers were put
into a tournament bracket and competed in head-to-head, single
elimination competition. After three flawless rounds, the finals
came down to top-seeded Lu and second-seeded Hansen. It was a close
race, but Lu beat out Hansen by a half second, taking first place.
Lu came home with an additional $50, among other prizes, while
Hansen won $25 and more prizes.
The UCLA climbers celebrated their victory at USC by taking a
team picture from the top of Tommy Trojan until campus security
kicked them out. The USC climbing competition will be broadcast
over the Internet in a few weeks at Zilo.com. UCLA will have its
own climbing competition on Dec. 8 at the Rock Wall in the Wooden
Center.
The club update runs every Thursday. Club presidents can send
club information to [email protected] by
Wednesday at 2 p.m. to get it in that week’s edition.