Jessie Taubert competes at the USA Climbing Championship
Jessie Taubert, a Mass Academy senior, recently competed in the USA Climbing 2023 Youth Boulder Divisional Championship. Taubert’s specialty, bouldering, is a subset of rock climbing that consists of 10 to 15 foot walls with numerous features to climb and traverse. A seasoned climber, Taubert has been climbing for nine years and competing since 2016. She trains at Central Rock Gym in Worcester and has worked there for the past four years.
Prior to the championship, Taubert placed well at numerous competitions. Upon qualifying at the Region 92 Competition, Taubert moved on to Regionals. At the regional competition she dominated, placing 6th.
During competitions, competitors are placed in isolation for four minutes before climbing for four minutes. Isolation is when a climber sits facing away from the wall while another competitor competes. During the four minutes of climbing, they are also only seeing the bouldering wall for the first time.
“Climbs were really hard in the sense that the first climb was this really weird feature on a flat wall,” said Taubert, referring to her climb during the championship competition. However, she pushed through, scoring in the low zone, a section of the wall worth points. Upon reflection, she mentioned that “it was harder for [her] because [she] could barely get [her] hands on top of it.”
This was Taubert’s first time competing at the Divisional Championship. A huge part of her success was her mental fortitude and willingness to focus the mental game.
“Mental game is a huge part of climbing that a lot of people overlook because you have to stay in the right mindset and believe in yourself… you have to be in the right headspace to get a good climb,” said Taubert.
As this senior finishes her last youth competition, she mentioned how thankful she was to everyone who gave her the opportunity to compete, “I have a lot of respect for the regional and divisional coordinators and volunteers and parents who spend so much time running the competitions as smoothly as they do,” she said.
In the future, Taubert plans to train for the Elite Series. The Elite Series are rock climbing competitions for adults. Given her success at the USA Climbing 2023 Youth Boulder Divisional Championship, one can expect Taubert to thrive in these new, even more challenging competitions.
Riley Harn
Junior Staff Writer
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