Pumpfest 2013

Second bouldering competition for the year, and it seemed like forever from the previous one. The last major competition was National Schools Sport Climbing Championship. Didn’t have any photos, and also was a bit burnt out from the many weekends of competitions that month, so I totally forgot to blog about that competition. I’ll probably leave NSSCC for now and post about Pumpfest 2013. As usual, I brought my camera down and took a spectator spot and stationed there to cheer for my students and grab a few shots here and there, mostly from the Intermediate Women category.

The Chief Routesetters for the event were Ben Toh and Suzanna Tan from SCA and Jups from Climb Asia.

Results, again were pretty good 🙂

U17 Boys

2nd Place – Boaz Teo (Springfield Sec)

U17 Girls

1st Place – Lim Xinhui (Springfield Sec)

2nd Place – Nur Erika (Springfield Sec)

5th Place – Nur Lyana (Springfield Sec)

6th Place – Nur Raudah (Springfield Sec)

7th Place – Rizka Goh (Springfield Sec)

8th Place – Siti Zulaikha (Springfield Sec)

Novice Men

3rd Place – Lim Kai Zhuo (Temasek JC)

Novice Women

3rd Place – Dayna Hui (Temasek JC)

5th Place – Xu Xin Pei (Temaek JC)

Intermediate Women

6th Place – Gwendolyn Chow (Temasek JC)

Awesome job to all climbers 🙂

Jan 13

Gravical 2013 summary

Kickstarting the new competition season, we have Gravical 2013 organised by the Singapore Management University (SMU). I was there, tasked as a Coach, to take care of my students and provide advice where needed. In the midst of watching the competition, the shutterbug me also took the chance to whip out my camera and take some shots, from the perspective of a spectator. I’ve done my fair share of climbing competition photography as an official photographer, and have decided to take a break from shooting climbing competitions and only shoot “unofficially”. The competition official photographer probably falls under the category of: overworked, underpaid (or not paid) and under-appreciated crew of the competition. A shout out to my fellow routesetters, for routesetters, unfortunately are the ones that also fall under the category mentioned above.

I was unable to take any photos on the second day of the competition as I was being mobilised back to camp for duties. I have decided to make this series of photos in black and white so I hope it is still pleasant to most of you. I have taken the chance to try some daring compositions and angles, to see if it works out well.

I must say that I am really pleased with the results:

Springfield Secondary School (U17 Category)

Girls

Lyana – 4th

Boys

Yu Jiehui – 4th

Boaz – 7th

Temasek Junior College (Novice Category)

Girls

Gwendolyn Chow – 1st

Janice Lim – 3rd

Xiaowen – 6th

Temasek Polytechnic (Intermediate Category)

Girls

Nadiah – 1st

Esther – 6th

Through my coaching, I hope I have in some way, positively impacted my students’ lives, be it climbing or non-climbing related. That is my philosophy of coaching. I must say, Gravical 2013 has really spurred a lot of thoughts in my mind. Watching the youths competing is refreshing and energizing, albeit tiring as I have to be on site for the whole competition. I have vague recollections of how it feels like to be a competitor and there are actually thoughts of competing in the next bouldering competition. But, I will first have to find time to have disciplined training, which is a tough thing to do at this moment. But I do hope to be able to feel how it is like to be a competitor once again, just for the fun of it 🙂

Sep 27

Numero Uno – International Photography Awards

So … after a long while, I have finally restarted a blog.

Why “frictionaddiction” ? Well, cos it sounds cool and all the other cooler names that I can think of are all taken up :lol:. Besides, friction is my best friend (sorta), as you can see why in my “About” and the post below:

I shall start the blogroll with a recent good news that I received.

I have a set of images that was awarded Honorable Mention in the Editorial:Sports category.

Garick Bay was awarded in the International Photography Awards Competition. International Photography Awards (IPA) has announced the winners of 2012’s competition.

Garick Bay was Awarded: Honorable Mention in Editorial – Sports category for the winning entry “The Magical Forests of Fontainebleau.”

This set of images were taken when I went for my holidays in Fontainebleau, France. I was exhilarated as this is the first time I am submitting my photos to a competition, and getting something out of it ! This is rather reassuring, as for the first time, I am getting recognition for my images by people outside of my circle ! You know, friends do the usual “Wow this is an awesome shot !” and the pat on the back. Not discrediting my friends who have supported and encouraged me, but getting good feedback from a professional organisation is really encouraging !

Without further ado, I shall present the set of images: