Tournament Week 2025: Bouldering

The event attracted many of the country’s leading young climbers, creating an intense and exciting weekend of competition.

Six Macleans College athletes placed in the top 20 of their categories to reach the semi-finals. This was an excellent achievement for such a young squad, with several students competing in their first national tournament. Only the top six in each division advanced to the finals.

Among the standout performances was Zach Munro (Mansfield House), who qualified 11th and climbed strongly to finish eighth in Junior Boys. Klaas Kamp (Kupe) placed ninth in Senior Boys, the largest and most competitive category with 47 climbers. In the same division, Louis Li (Mansfield), who qualified in seventh, closed his campaign in 13th, tying with Ashton Phillips (Kupe), who rose from 17th in qualifiers to also secure 13th.

In the Senior Girls division, Jasmine Hu (Mansfield) placed eighth in qualifying before finishing 14th after a challenging semi-final. Doreen Li (Rutherford) came close to advancing, finishing 22nd - just two places short of the cut.

Macleans College ultimately placed seventh out of 19 schools in the Co-ed division, a commendable result against high-calibre competition.

Coach Mr Ko praised the effort and resilience of the team. ‘Bouldering can be quite cut-throat, with results often coming down to the number of attempts. It was rewarding to see our seniors use their grit and experience to secure successful zones and tops, while our juniors, Zach Munro, Gabi Fluks, Eric Shen, and Thomas McLaren, showed so much promise for the future. After seeing the best in the country compete, our juniors are even more motivated to train harder, which is very encouraging.’

Adding to the atmosphere, the senior rounds were broadcast live on the Māori+ channel, with expert commentary providing nationwide coverage of the event.