Nordic Champion 2011

The Nordic Championships 2011 will be remembered as well organised and colourful event in Turku Bouldertehdas.

My role as a part of the BT-team was to work as a door man and during the finals present the finalists. The day was long and demanding, but everything went fine. Good job everybody! Here we have some pictures from the day. 1) Competitors in the isolation, listening the general competition info and rules. 2) Daniel (mr. Flash) Andersson, qualifications. 3) And Robert manteling his way to the top in finals.

 

Just before the awards I started to ask some questions from Robert, but we didn't get really far so we finalized the interview two days later. The funny thing was that I didn't know that five minutes later I would announce him as the winner of the Nordic! I call it intuition! Anyway, here it is, check it out:

1) Tell us about yourself Robert?

Robert Rundin -87. Have been climbing for 9 years this fall. I've worked with climbing for 8 years. I live in Stockholm with my girlfriend Daniela Ebler who also work with climbing.

2) How did you start climbing?
Robert: I was recognized as a talent when i started and fell in love with climbing. I went to the gym every day and spent hours just climbing. I climbed my first 8a back in -05 and I haven't really tried to raise my redpoint level outdoors since then, but I've raised my onsight/flash level to the same.

3) Your training principles?

Robert: 

I work full time in Stockholms best climbing gyms as a routesetter. I climb 5-7 days/week, climbing the boulders I build daytime and then having a session with friends in the evening. I've been building for a lot of competitions in Sweden and I'm familiar to the competition scene. I'm comfortable in the environment.

This year is the first time I've trained with a goal: Worldcups. Now I made a training program that I tried to follow, and that's more than before when I just climbed for fun.

4) Many of the competing climbers are usually quite nervous before the competition attempts (lead on-sight & boulder). How do you control your emotions? Do you train for it?

Robert:

Of course I'm nervous on some competitions and sometimes it gets to me. The best way to learn how to control your emotions in competitions is to compete. You always learn something new from every comp.

5) How about the psychological side of competitions? According to the book Revelations by Jerry Moffat, he says that he read guides for mental control and positive thinking to fix his confidence and psyche for competitions. Did you have this kind of feeling before the competitions: "Today I will win this comp. I'm in perfect shape. I've been working really hard. I'm happy and this is fun" ? Or did it just happen?

Robert:   I guess it just happened, I've been feeling strong and climbing better the last couple of months. I knew I would do fine if I climbed well. But anything can happen in climbing. After the qualification I felt strong but I was really mad that I didn't do problem #4. In the final I felt the same way, strong and confident. But as anybody else I can have shit days. But it feels good because I know that I can get stronger and I know what I need to get better at.

6) You are going to Fontainebleau soon. Have you got any tick list on your mind?
Robert: Yeah, I'm really psyched to go. The plan was originally to go to the first Worldcup in Milan. But in lack of a response from our federation I bought a ticket to Font instead. I was there two years ago and then I just climbed a lot. from 7b down. This time I'm keen to try some of the classics:

- Everything in Cuvier Rempart
- Duel
- Control technique
- Hypothese
- Karma
- ...the list is long =)

7) Do you have some other sports or hobbyes? Running, darts, poker, playing guitar, swimming, art, books?

Robert: Hobbies... hmm. Climbing, girlfriend, climbing, coffee (used to be a barista), climbing, biking (fixed or one wheel), climbing

8) During the Stockholm Nordic competition finals 2010 you put up quite a show. Do you climb the better the more there is cheering?

Robert: Thanks, yeah that gym is sort of my second home. So I felt comfortable and everybody was cheering like crazy. Of course I climb better when people are screaming at me. It's a really good boost.

9) General feedback about the climbing facility Bouldertehdas? Or the competition arrangements?
Robert: The boulder gym was smaller than the gyms I'm used to be in. But the boulder problems were good and the arrangement was really good. All cred to the gym and the people arranging it.

10) Free word
Robert: A big thank you to Solna Klätterklubb and Daniela Ebler for organizing everything. Really nice of them to sponsor so many people to go compete. Thanks to all great Swedish climbers for a nice trip. And thank you everybody who contributed to a nice Saturday night.

I'll see you around, at the crag or at the next competition.
Best regards//Robert Rundin

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I personally like the best how Robert answers 7th question:D

Keep it up!

Some more pics from the day: Route making, isolation, Christian, Olli, qualifications, finals and of course our young rising stars.

Ilellä on kyllä muikea ilme:)