On February 21st the Dublin University Climbing Club (DUCC) took part in the Irish climbing Intervarsities competition (hosted by TUD), taking home the trophy for the overall winning team.
The club’s individual competitors claimed a number of impressive finishes. In the advanced category, Matthew Smith got first in men’s advanced, Sean Brown came in second in men’s advanced and Arina Provatora came in third in the women’s advanced. In the women’s intermediates, Adelina Coptu and Dorina Coptu got second and and third, respectively, while John Jyo Coghlan came in third in the men’s beginners category.
With room for five finalists in each of the six divisions, namely men’s and women’s beginners, intermediates and advanced, there were thirty climbers who made it to finals on the last day. DUCC demonstrated its depth of talent, with its competitors claiming nine of the thirty places.
The club’s other finalists were Matthew Bourke (men’s advanced), Anca Nare (women’s advanced) and Thomas Creagh (men’s intermediates).
Olivia Johnston, DUCC Captain said of the intervarsities:
“I am unbelievably proud of our club members’ performance in the competition this year. Not only does this win demonstrate the skills that our climbers are constantly working on, but also the supportive atmosphere and sportsmanship that form the base of our club.”
“DUCC is a place of love for the sport and all its participants. Throughout both days I can proudly say that our climbers not only constantly cheered for our own competitors, but those of the other colleges as well. Although winning is of course on our mind when competing, I truly believe that the spirits would have been up that weekend, win or not. Not only does it feel great to have the trophy in our possession again, but it is also a reminder of the security and encouragement that all our climbers, no matter their ability and experience, can continue to find in the club.”
The Irish climbing Intervarsities is a competition run annually, with this year’s iteration taking place in Dublin Climbing Center, Tallaght. The competition consisted of two successive days of climbing, across two different disciplines (bouldering and rope climbing, including toprope and lead climbing), and included teams from 12 universities from across the island. By taking home this year’s overall trophy, Trinity’s climbers contribute to a tradition of success, bolstered by previous overall team titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019, as well 2022 and 2023.
