Monday, April 18, 2011

Meet... Becky Kiley


Becky "The BK" Kiley, was first introduced to rock climbing when she visited Aiguille as a physical education alternative for her home school group. After her first visit she began climbing every Wednesday, which eventually progressed to two nights a week. And over the course of seven hard working years, she is now climbing 6-7 days out of the week.

Three of those days are dedicated to Team Aiguille, the gym's official youth team. A part of the family since 2005 Becky, now 17, has had the opportunity to travel all over the nation competing in ABS & SCS. Her training regimen has earned her a spot in numerous regional and divisional competitions as well as two nationals. During Team Aiguille's practice she directs warm-ups which include a complete stretching routine, jumping jacks and a briefing from the coaches. This is followed by two hours of intense practice in which she, and her roughly 37 other teammates, complete drills such as laps (each Aiguille Lizard climbs around 400-600 moves per practice), system walls repetitions and numerous other training techniques. "Our training sessions are only 2 to 2 1/2 hours long, so we have to milk them for all we can get."


Becky just recently ventured to HP40 for her first outdoor climbing trip. Though she had an amazing experience, this self proclaimed "gym rat" prefers indoor to real rock. "Home is where the plastic is." One indoor climbing moment she would like to forget took place during last years SCS Divisionals. Around the 3rd clip on her finals route Becky fell and swung between two ropes that ricocheted her head-first into an anchor in the wall. Missing her temple by only 2 inches, she went to bed that night not knowing if she would awake the following day. "(After the accident) I became super close with my Aiguille family. I always wear my helmet now. For me and my team."

When Becky isn't working on school assignments or climbing like a beast, you can find her participating in her churches youth group or feeding her passion for all things guitar.

"Training sucks. Winning doesn't." - Becky
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