Warren Youth Climbing League climber Evan Wellner reaches for the next hold at Goat Fort Climbing Gym. Photo submitted to Times Observer

Elementary school kids are climbing the walls at Goat Fort.

The Goat Fort climbing gym has hosted a travel team that has competed in the USA Climbing circuit for the past two years.

This year, there is a local league and the first two weeks are in the books.

“The sport of climbing has been around for decades,” Goat Fort’s Dana Harrington said. “With its debut in the 2020 Olympic Games, climbing has seen significant growth and is becoming increasingly popular with young athletes.”

“By no means mainstream, competition climbing has found its way to Warren County,” Harrington said. “Still, most people don’t know much about it.”

The travel team “afforded a small group of talented young climbers the opportunity to engage in this unique sport,” he said.

“Recently, we launched a new program in an effort to make climbing, as a sport, available to more young athletes,” Harrington said. “The Warren Youth Climbing League (WYCL) is now underway, and many new kids and their families are getting a taste of climbing as a sport.”

“This program is entirely local,” he said. “All practices and meets are right here in Warren at The Goat Fort.”

There are five teams in the elementary league. They are sponsored by local businesses – Allegheny Outfitters, Whirley Drinkworks, Kinzua Veterinary Clinic, Bent Run Brewing, and Slick Text. “The role of league sponsors and volunteers cannot be overstated,” Harrington said.

The teams compete on Mondays.

“Unlike other climbing competitions which focus on individuals, the WYCL is a team sport,” he said. During the first competitions of the year, Bent Run outscored Allegheny Outfitters 2,601 to 2,124 and Whirley Drinkworks edged Kinzua Vet Clinic 2,408 to 2,332. Climbers attempted to earn points for their team by climbing increasingly difficult routes, and each of the nearly 30 climbers were able to contribute to their team score.

This week, Allegheny Outfitters and Kinzua Vet had a back-and-forth matchup, with Kinzua eventually eking out a win by 0.18 percent – 3,343 to 3,337.

Late in the match, “Lily White topped the most difficult boulder, earning 528 points and sending the Kinzua Vet Clinic decisively into the lead,” Harrington said. “However, Allegheny Outfitters fought back. Isabella Smith and Scarlett Wymer found new high-points–chiseling away at KVC’s lead. With only five minutes to go Neola Harrington topped a hard boulder putting Allegheny Outfitters ahead. The last climber of the day, Gabriella Bango, secured a top to elevate the Kinzua Vet Clinic to a narrow six-point victory.”

Slick Text faced an uphill climb – down two climbers against Bent Run, the top-rated team in the league. Four Slick Text climbers – Lane Morrison, Alivia Glotz, Kinsley Dean and Vaida Humphrey – achieved personal bests, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the absence of two climbers, with Bent Run winning 3,672 to 2,004.

Chase Long and Elodie Criswell each scored over 1,000 points in the win for Bent Run.