BBC sports personality of the year contender almost included a climber?!


The final World Cup Bouldering event of the year highlights - all can be found here






You know your sport is becoming more mainstream when you find out that a young GB athlete made the top-20 and almost the final top-10 of the BBC Young Sports Personality of The Year Award 2011. See the article here about it here.


What's interesting however, is if you got to the finalist page on the BBC and look at the list. All of the sports that made it (and usually make it) are traditional, well developed sport: athletics, boxing, rugby, etc. Times, they are a' changing.


If you want more info on how climbing is progressing in perception and visibility in the UK, Natalie Berry wrote up a great post recently about a trip to Westminister to promote for possible Olympic candidacy - I didn't know that Dame Kelly Holmes was a rock climber:
"She is a keen climber herself, and told of her trips to Fontainebleau, Stanage and of her fascination with the sport."

It's interesting, my climbing background (i.e. it being a non-mainstream sport, under the radar for most people, etc.) means that I see some of this in surprise/bemusement to see it getting publicity. How long before it's being discussed at Olympics....................

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