Scott, Misuraca win gold at inaugural Para climbing national championships

Photos: Climbing Canada

LA PRAIRIE, Que. – Miranda Scott of London, Ont., and Chaz Misuraca of Stratford, Ont., placed first in their respective categories on Sunday to conclude the inaugural Para climbing national championships at the Canyon Escalade on Montreal’s south shore.

Last year the International Paralympic Committee announced that Para climbing would be added to the Games program for Los Angeles 2028. Many among the 30 Canadian and American competitors this weekend have cranked up their training to chase those spots over next three years.

In the women’s RP2 (range of power: moderate impact) the 38-year-old Scott took the title finishing ahead of two Americans, Carlie Cook in second and Elise Morley. Quebec’s Caitlin Phillips also reached the final for fourth place.

‘’During the inspection of the climb, there was a section of the wall I was worried about that required to extend my left leg, which is my weak one,’’ said Scott, who had practiced the sport before her spinal cord injury in 2019. ‘’I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to span that but I made the split and the holds were great.’’

Before the competition, there is a six-minute observation period in which the rock climbers study how they’ll negotiate the various steps on the 12-metre wall they scale. In the competition, each climber has a maximum six minutes to negotiate the course. The competitor who reaches the highest point wins.

Misuraca won a showdown over fellow Canadian Terry Hoddington of London in the men’s visually impaired category. In the VI, the competitors are connected via head set to a caller who provides guidance from the ground as they climb the course.

In the final, Misuraca didn’t complete his climb in the six minute time frame but wound up going higher than Hoddinott.

‘’It was unfortunate I didn’t reach the top,’’ said Misuraca, whose eyesight has gradually deteriorated due to a rare disease. ‘’But if I had went faster I would have risked falling earlier so I was a bit disappointed with not finishing in time. But now looking back on it I climbed extremely well and it was one of my best performances overall.’’

In the men’s RP3 (Range of Power: Noticeable impact), 25-year-old Shamus Boulianne of Kelowna, B.C., took the silver after ranking first in Saturday’s preliminaries. Andrew Coutts of the U.S., snared the gold.

‘’I could have been better, I’m a little upset with myself,’’ said the computer science graduate at UBC, missing most of his fingers on one hand. ‘’I ran into a tricky sequence, I thought I knew what to do but came off. I’ll be studying the video to see what happened.’’

Quebec climbers Jesse Speed and Kevin Bolusi took silver and bronze in the men’s AL2 (Unilateral Lower Limb Amputee – prosthetics allowed) and Emily McDermott of London, Ont., was third in the women’s RP3.