The Chalk-Covered hands of rock-climber Nick Choy reach for the next hand hold. Using every last ounce of strength to beat the wall, he swings his leg upward to the foot space. With one powerful movement, he grabs the last grip, completing the wall.
Freshman Nick Choy has been rock-climbing for about two years and isn’t stopping anytime soon. Around two years ago, he had a great experience rock-climbing at a camp and “just really loved it.” Jesuit currently has no rock-climbing program, so Nick has found a gym and team to compete with outside of school. Since then he has been working to keep improving.
After attending a camp at Greenhill School, rock-climbing became a passion of Nick’s. He loved rock-climbing so much he decided to join a recreational climbing team. After just one competition, Nick made a big move to help further his rock-climbing career; “[I] decided to try out for Team Texas and made it.” That moment so far is Nick’s biggest achievement in his rock-climbing career. Team Texas is a competitive rock-climbing team founded in 1996. Since then they have been one of the most competitive climbing teams in Texas.
The part of rock-climbing that keeps Nick so intrigued is the thrill and excitement. “I enjoy rock-climbing so much because I love the adrenaline when I’m high up on a wall, so close to the finish, but so tired at the same time.”
Although Nick has only been in the game for just a couple of years, the end is nowhere in sight. Nick has big plans for the future. This year Nick hopes to “go to nationals.” In terms of Nick’s big picture goals, he hopes to one day “maybe, just maybe compete in the Olympics.”
Competitive matches like the ones Nick competes in are scored very basically. The higher you move up the wall, the more points you can earn. They have only one attempt, so they have to make the most of it. It is also timed, so climbing faster will help your score
At the moment Jesuit does not offer an extracurricular for climbing, so all of Nick’s work has been done by himself. Hopefully one day, more students will show interest in rock-climbing like Nick so Jesuit could offer a program.
