Approach Team Tryouts

Saturday 1/4/25 9:00am-11:00am
Alternate date: Saturday 1/11/25 9:00am-11:00am

Ascent Team

Team Mission:

• Instill positive values such as respect and sportsmanship into the young climbers in our community. 

• Build character through hard work and goal setting.

• Infuse a passion for climbing in a fun, supportive environment.

• Support the growth and development of climbing-related skills, strengths and techniques.

• Emphasize a respect for the importance of safety while climbing.

• Create a group of ambassadors that represent the ELEV8 climbing community when traveling and climbing in other locations.

Team Composition

The team will be split into two age groups. The younger team will consist of ages 12 and younger, and the older team will consist of ages 13 and older. Each team will be coed, led by two coaches.

Team Tryouts

Tryouts will consist of a group climbing session in which climbers will be evaluated based on their ability level, attitude, willingness to try, coachability and fit within a team dynamic. We will also ask that each athlete write a short essay to be handed in at tryouts.

Tryout Dates:

Team ELEV8 tryouts are combined with all athletes trying out at once, whether for the Ascent Team or the Approach Team. There are two tryout dates. Choose one and sign up.

• Wednesday 8/28 5:30pm-7:30pm

• Saturday 8/31 9:00am-11:00am

  TRYOUT SIGN UP LINK
  

Decisions about tryout results will be sent out by Monday, 9/2/2024.

Essay:

Each athlete will be asked to write an essay of why they would like to be on the team, to be handed in on the day of tryouts. We will be looking for characteristics that represent our team mission. When composing the essay, you can use the following questions as guidelines:

Why do you want to be on the team?

What makes a good teammate?

What would you bring to the team dynamic?

How do you hope to improve your climbing / what are your climbing goals?

Governing Organization

USA Climbing is the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States. The state of Michigan falls within Division 6, Region 62, along with Indiana, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The other region in Division 6 (Region 61) consists of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Divisions

Category Name (Birth Year)

U20 (2006)

• Rope competitions will be done via Lead.

U19 (2007 or 2008)

• Rope competitions will be done via Lead.

U17 (2009 or 2010)

• Rope competitions will be done via Lead.

U15 (2011 or 2012)

• Rope competitions will be done via Top Rope.

U13 (2013 or later)

• Rope competitions will be done via Top Rope.

Season

The season will begin the second week of September, and will continue through April. At that point, athletes who qualify for regionals, divisionals, etc can continue to train for those events under the guidance of our coaches. Exact dates for USAC-sanctioned competitions have yet to be released, but must be released at least 30 days prior to the event.

The first portion of the season is focused on bouldering, with bouldering competitions throughout the region from October through December. A regional competition and a divisional competition are held in January and February, respectively. The second portion of the season is focused on roped climbing, with rope competitions starting in February through April. A regional competition and a divisional competition occur in April and May, respectively. Nationals for all disciplines occur in late July. 

GENERAL SCHEDULE:

Start of Bouldering Qualifying Events: October

End of Bouldering Qualifying Events: December

Bouldering Regionals: January

Bouldering Divisionals: February

Start of Lead/Top Rope Qualifying Events: February

End of Lead/Top Rope Qualifying Events: April

Lead/Top Rope Regionals: May

Lead/Top Rope Divisionals: June

Youth Nationals: July

Training

Teams will meet twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after school for the duration of the season. The younger team practice will be from 4:30pm-6:00pm and the older team will train from 6:00pm-8:00pm.

Training sessions will consist of a lot of climbing, some strength training and agility exercises, and also learning about competition formats and strategies for peak performance in competitions.

Competing

There are numerous Qualifying Events (USAC-sanctioned competitions) that occur within our region during the season. Last cycle, there were 5 bouldering events and 4 lead/TR events. These events are spread throughout the region. As a team, we will decide on 4 competitions (2 bouldering and 2 lead/TR) to attend. The costs for the coaches to travel to, and coach at, these tournaments is included in the team pricing. Athletes and their families will be responsible for competition entry fees as well as any personal travel expenses, this includes chaperoning their child at competition events. Athletes can attend competitions under the supervision of other parents/families given they have written consent from the athletes parent/legal guardian. 

If athletes wish to compete at other competitions, we will discuss logistics and additional pricing to be able to have coaches travel and attend.

Equipment

Athletes are encouraged to have their own climbing gear (shoes, harness, chalk bag, belay device/carabiner (older team) ). ELEV8 will supplement and provide any additional gear needed to train and compete.

Athletes will receive 25% discounts on gear purchased for themselves from the ELEV8 retail space.

Uniform

Athletes will be encouraged to wear a team shirt during practices, and required to wear them for competitions. A shirt is included in the team dues. Additional team gear can be purchased by each athlete at their own discretion.

Memberships

Athletes will be required to have active memberships for the duration of the team season. This will allow them to climb/etc before and after practices, and come in on off days. 

We played around with various models for pricing, some including memberships, some not, and this is what we decided to make the most sense. Given that we have so many different pricing options for youth memberships (single-month, EFT, family add-on, reduced-rate), there was no easy way to bake it into the price, so instead we ask that each athlete obtain a membership that best fits them.

Pricing

Dues will be paid as a monthly recurring amount and will be added to membership dues.

If price is an issue, reach out to us and we can work something out.

• Older Team: $205 monthly or $1,350 one-time payment

• Younger Team: $155 monthly or $975 one-time payment

Included:

• Twice weekly training sessions led by two ELEV8 coaches for the duration of the athlete’s season. Regular season runs about 8 months from September through April (~65 practice sessions in total). Athletes attending rope Regionals in the late Spring, rope Divisionals in early Summer, and Nationals in the Summer will continue paying dues (those who paid the one-time dues payment will then pay the monthly dues amount for those months).

• Coach expenses to attend four competitions, two boulder and two Lead/TR, and any regional or divisional competitions our athletes qualify for and attend.

• Team shirt

Additional expenses:

• USAC Membership

  • $105 for a 1-year Competitor Membership

• Competition entry fees

  • Usually ~$40-60 per competition for qualifying events, ~$110 for regionals, ~$125 for divisionals, ~$225 for nationals.

• Travel expenses to and from competitions

• Coach travel expenses to additional competitions beyond the 4 included in the season pricing

• Additional team apparel

Cancelation

We ask that athletes commit to the entire season when joining the team. If there is an event due to which an athlete needs to step away from the team, the athlete will be responsible for 50% of the remaining dues for the remainder of the season. Team dues that have been paid are non-refundable.

Future Years

Each year tryouts will determine who does and does not make the team. Knowledge of previous years’ performance and team dynamics will be taken into account.

Full Season Conflicts

If you are unable to commit to the entire season, let us know and we will do our best to work with you. We intend to prioritize athletes that are able to commit to the entire competitive season, but will try to accommodate athletes only able to participate in one portion of the season.

Resources To Learn More

Some websites to check out:

• Usaclimbing.org

• www.theshortbeta.com/home/our-purpose

• USA Climbing Youth Region 62 Facebook group