a day in the life of... Audrey Seguy (suh-GUEE).

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Audrey Seguy (suh-GUEE)

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Audrey Seguy (suh-GUEE) in a nutshell:

"I learned to climb indoors in northern Illinois where I grew up, but most of my climbing has been in the UK. I grew up in America but both my parents are French and most of my extended family is still in France. I guess that’s why I can feel at home in a lot of different places. At the moment home is London and I bought a flat there last year. It’s the longest I’ve stayed anywhere since I was growing up so I guess I’m fairly settled there. I love to climb- indoors, outdoors, wherever, whatever. Good climbing days out for me are mostly defined by the company I’m with and I’ll have as good a time bouldering on a bit of plastic or having a big day out in the mountains if I’m with the right people. At the moment I’m very focussed on competitions- this is my third year on the World Cup bouldering circuit. I competed for the USA my first two years, but last year I became a British citizen and I’m now on Team GB. I’ve been British Bouldering Champion (06/07) and I was ranked 13th internationally in 2006 but had a disappointing season in 2007. I’ve been more successful this year, finishing 13th place in the last round of the World Cup and good results in some of the national competitions (Plywood Masters, CWIF and Skymasters). I could probably be a better competition climber if I quit my job and spent more time training but I think that I’ve got the best job in the world- running The Castle in London. Some people think I’m mad to live in a city without open space and crags to climb at, but I think I’m lucky to spend most of my time in the mini-universe that is The Castle but still have all the excitement of one of the greatest metropolises in the world around me. When I do go outside I really appreciate every moment. London climbers are great because they’re psyched to go anywhere and we’ll drive several hours just to go climbing outside for the day. My job has a lot of variety. One day I’ll be staring at spreadsheets all day and the next day I’ll be setting boulder problems or instructing. As a manager I never ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. It helps me keep in touch with the difficulties of each job at the centre and keeps me in touch with the customers. Typically I’ll spend 9 or 10 hours working and then I’ll climb for a few hours in the evening. "

Likes/Dislikes:

"I hate getting bored. I seem to spend most of my time trying to stave off boredom which is probably why I work so much. Even just 5 minutes of doing nothing is difficult for me so I usually carry a puzzle book around with me.

I’m very impatient with people who are lazy and try to get other people to do everything for them.I cherish my independence. To me this means not being reliant on other people so I try to learn how to do things myself as much as possible. Getting my car serviced is always mildly traumatic because I don’t know what the hell is going on.
I don’t like how most people negotiate. In my opinion, you should say what you think is right and fair and the other person should do the same. Then the negotiating can start. Unfortunately, most people say something else because they expect to be bargained down.
I also have a real issue with Times New Roman font. I think it’s because when I was in school we were forced to write in 12pt Times New Roman font so that we couldn’t cheat and write the required number of pages using funky font. My favourite fonts are simple and clean like Arial, Tahoma and Calibri."

Climbing Preferences:

"When I’m climbing indoors, I like to boulder because it’s a safe environment in which to really push myself physically. I can get a good session in a few hours and I’m not dependent on other people. That said, it’s not just about pulling down all the time- I love the banter and camaraderie that you get in a good bouldering session.

Outdoors I like to climb routes as well as boulder. I’ve done a big wall and hope to do more when I’ve got the time for a big trip again. I also like sport, trad and ice climbing. The great thing about climbing is that if you want to focus on a discipline you can but when you’re ready you can shift your focus on other aspects too. Ice and trad climbing also have the best kit. I like the relationship you develop with the gear that you rely on. Most climbers have a lucky quickdraw, a favourite nut or specially modified equipment. It’s all part of the game. "

Questions:

You began climbing in America where you grew up. What are the noticeable differences in attitude to climbing in the States and the UK?

"Although I began climbing in America I didn’t do very much of it there so I think that my attitude towards climbing is essentially British. I always cringe when I see stereotypical Americans at a crag together with their power screams and over exuberance. I much prefer the British way of just quietly getting on with it without a fuss."

What first attracted you to bouldering and why?

"I started bouldering because I had taken a job as a Reception at The Castle 7 years ago and I wanted to climb every second I could. Because there was often no one else to climb with during my breaks I would boulder around. I didn’t really understand it or appreciate it at first- I thought that it was just something that people did because they didn’t have any friends. Little did I know...

Now I like bouldering because of the friends I can boulder with. I like the creativity of making up problems. Because problems are shorter, I can focus on every single movement and analyse every detail from foot placement to body position. I know that you need to do that on routes as well but I’m out of practice of remembering every single move on a route. I’m much better at visualising and remembering boulder problems. Most nights to help me get to sleep I pick an area of The Castle or a recent bouldering comp and I run through, in order, every single problem."

There is a certain elitism in climbing and bouldering circles that considers indoor climbing and bouldering a lesser pursuit than the outdoor experience. What are your thoughts on this?

I love to climb indoors and I refuse to apologise for it or qualify it by saying ‘...but I really love climbing outdoors.’ I love the physical movement of climbing so why should I get less satisfaction indoors than out? I guess that the reason climbing indoors is considered a lesser pursuit is because the problems are ephemeral so the rest of the climbing world can’t measure you on that basis whereas rock climbs are documented, repeated and your worth as a climber can be judged based on the style of ascent, the grade, etc...

I know many people who love climbing indoors and aren’t interested in climbing outdoors. Why should they be excited about spending hours in a car to spend a day sitting in a cafe watching the rain or putting life and limb at stake because some guidebook has given a route three stars?"

Bouldering seems to be considered a male dominated sport, with few elite female boulderers in the UK Does this cause you any motivational problems? Has it hampered your progression in any way?

"Bouldering, like the rest of the climbing world, is a male dominated sport, but this has never bothered me in any way. If anything I think it helps me see the better side of the sport because instead of testosterone fuelled competition I just tend to get a lot of support from the lads. I like the fact that I’ve been able to develop very close relationships with guys who just see me as one of their climbing mates without it ever getting ‘complicated’. I think that most normal (ie non-climbing) girls would be extraordinarily jealous if they realised that I spend so much time hanging out with fit blokes! Seriously, I would like to climb with more women because when I see another woman do something I know that I should be able to do it as well and I’m more psyched for the next go."

Indoor vs. outdoor and bouldering vs. climbing is a long running debate amongst the climbing community. Does your interest cross over into all areas? If so what are your favourite routes/problems and how do you balance your time between them?

"I haven’t focussed on outdoor climbing very much. On most of my trips I’ll go somewhere for a few days and just start to get a taste for what the climbing is like before I have to leave again. Just as well that my favourite style of climbing is on-sight because I don’t have the luxury of sticking around to redpoint anything. I honestly don’t have any favourite routes or boulder problems (and it’s not just a cop-out)."

Being the Managing Director of The Castle and a prominent member of the British Bouldering Team must keep you busy. What do you do to relax away from climbing?

"When I’m not working or ‘training’ (which is how I phrase my climbing sessions when I want to be taken seriously) I relax by climbing outside. In other words, I don’t do much aside from climbing. When I started climbing and working at The Castle I thought that I would get bored with it so I did a law degree part-time. I did finish the degree but I’m still not bored with climbing!"

You mentioned that competing at indoor events often finds you sat in your hotel room or the venue for long periods of time, waiting to compete. How do you break the monotony and remain focused to compete?

"Puzzles. Lots of puzzles. At the moment I’m into Cryptic Crosswords at the moment. I’ve also always got one or two books on the go. At the last competition we had a self-catering apartment to stay in and I spent a lot of time cooking, which is something else that I love to do. Competition days can be very long days, but now they also go by quickly because once you’ve climbed you spend the rest of the time watching your teammates and friends climb. Between taking photos, keeping track of who’s winning and trying to learn from other competitors, there’s not much time to get bored!"

Do you train any harder coming up to competitions than you would normally? How do you prepare?

"I train much more than I would normally in the pre-season and I aim to maintain that level and stay injury free during the main competition season which runs from April to July. This year I incorporated some circuit training sessions with some of my colleagues once a week before work. Closer to the start of the season I also begin to do some interval training on boulder problems to increase my power endurance and comp fitness."

Do you have any particular pre-competition routines?

"I don’t have any particular pre-comp routines. I’m not superstitious and I believe that my performance in a competition is mostly down to me and not anything else. I focus on warming up properly and often listen to music that gets me in the right frame of mind. Just before I climb I visualise myself climbing something that I felt really strong on to get a positive feeling before I step out onto the mat."

How is the camaraderie in the British Bouldering Team?

"When I was climbing for Team USA I didn’t have any support- financial or moral. The main reason I applied for British citizenship was to be part of a team. There is real support both during and outside the comps. There are so few climbers in Britain interested in doing competitions that we do stick together. Obviously we’re all competitive people, but I think that we use this to our advantage during training sessions to push each other harder."

Does being the Managing Director of an indoor wall have any drawbacks as well as the obvious bonuses of someone competing to your level?

"Having any full-time job means that you aren’t able to train as much as you would like. In order to train hard and stay injury free it’s essential to have proper recovery and spending a day at work is not the best recovery you can have. As any other climbing wall manager can tell you, it’s difficult to have a good session at your own wall because you’re never really ‘off-duty’. I constantly get interrupted by customers or need to fix something or think of how a set can be improved on instead of focussing on the session. The staff at The Castle are very supportive of my training and when I take a couple of hours off work to train before we open they respect that I’m off-duty and don’t interrupt me."

The Castle Climbing Centre has a terrific outlook on offering free services to get climbers gelling together, in particular the ‘Women with Altitude’ sessions. Can you elaborate on what this session does?

"Novice climbers walking into a climbing centre for the first time usually find the whole experience intimidating. Unless you have someone showing you the ropes, as it were, it’s difficult to get started. To encourage novice climbers to continue climbing once they learned the basic safety skills we have ‘The Session’ which is run three times a week in the evening and hosted by experienced climbers. It’s a free service that can be used on informally by anyone in the centre. Some people might just have a question about a particular route or boulder problem, others might want to climb but don’t have anyone to climb with and still others might have just completed a course and want someone to check that they’re doing everything right. Monday nights we run a women-only session called ‘Women With Altitude’ (WWA). The women who run this session are chosen for their charisma and their positive attitude. It gives women a chance to meet other women climbers and to enjoy their climbing in a less testosterone-fuelled environment. Of course, WWA nights have also proved very popular with the men as well! Both The Session and WWA are so popular that we’re considering expanding the programme to more nights of the week. On Wednesday nights we’ve already got two facilitators running The Session- one taking people bouldering and the other running a roped climbing session."

Are they proving popular?

"Yes! see above!"

If this session was a mixed session, do you think some female climbers would be put off?

"Female climbers aren’t necessarily put off by a mixed climbing session because we get women doing The Session too, but I think that WWA makes it easier for them to get into climbing. For other women it’s more useful to watch women than men work a crux sequence."

The last few years has seen more female talent come to prominence than ever before such as yourself, Leah Crane, Lucy Creamer, Beth Monks and internationally Josune Bereziartu and Lisa Rands to name but a few. The attitude is that it is still a male dominated sport. Do you think enough is done to promote the sport to women in this country?

"Most sports are male-dominated. If most women prefer to go to the gym because it won’t ruin their nails there’s not much we can do about that. The under-participation of women in sport owes more to general attitudes towards gender roles than industry-specific promotion.

On the other hand, I think that more can be done to increase diversity within the sport. At the moment it’s still very much a white person’s sport and I find this hard to understand, especially someplace like London where we have such a diversity of cultures. I am starting to see this change slowly and I hope that in a few years the cross-section of climbers will more closely reflect the population at large."

The Castle is by far one of the busiest indoor walls in the UK. Was it an immediate hit when it opened its doors back in the mid-nineties?

"When The Castle started there were far fewer walls than there are today and far fewer customers as well, but the plan was always to keep growing and the owner, Steve Taylor, has been very committed to putting the profits back into the business to keep improving. We run a lot of introductory courses and because of the friendly atmosphere of the centre all those climbers come back for more. As we’ve grown we’ve put in new walls to be able to manage the increase in demand. Some people think that we may have run out of space by now, but we’ve still got a few tricks up our sleeve..."

Who do you regard as a rising star in the competition circuit at the moment?

"In Britain there are a few young girls that are looking very strong- Shauna Coxsey and Natalie Berry in particular. Michaela Tracy has been off to a good start this year with some good finishes in the recent competitions. In the men, the Bouldering Team is led by Gaz Parry who is still strong as ever and Dave Barrans who is getting better and better with each comp."

Do you see climbing as your sport for life or will you call it a day at some point?

"Climbing will undoubtedly be my sport for life but not always in the same way. I can see so many other aspects of the sport that I’ll want to focus on when I’m through with competitions such as more big wall climbing, going to climb new routes, hard sport climbing and route setting."

Do you think indoor climbing is becoming more popular as a sport in the UK?

"Without a doubt indoor climbing is increasing in popularity everywhere. In a place like London, for example, it offers young professionals a way to keep fit, get involved in a social activity and do something ‘extreme’ without the hassle of travel or the risk of bad weather. I also think that many people become addicted to the state of mind you get in when you climb. It’s just not possible to think about the stresses of the day when you’re trying to climb something and many people need that escape on a regular basis. The alternative would be to go to the pub to get drunk, so climbing seems like a pretty good alternative."

If it all went very wrong and you were stuck on a crag, who would be your chosen companion and why?

"Essential qualities in a good climbing partner are a sense of humour and the right level of confidence. The things that irritate the most in a climbing partner, aside from being unsafe (obviously), are people who are over-confident and put themselves in dangerous situations and people who pfaff and take ages to get going."

With your competition experience and insight into climbing through your work, what one piece of advice would you give to a budding female climber?

"The most common obstacle for women who try to improve their confidence seems to be lack of confidence and a fear of falling. If I’m coaching women one of my ‘tricks’ is to try to get them to embrace dynos. Once they start having fun they realise that they don’t have to try to reach for holds anymore- they can just jump for them. I also think that many women just don’t try hard enough and need to be encouraged a bit. When I come back from the crag it’s like I’ve been doing battle- my knees are permanently scratched up, my hands and face always have chalk all over and I usually have a few good scrapes and bruises for good measure. At the wall I sweat, grunt, grimace and do whatever it takes to get to the next hold. I don’t see many other women try like that and if they just tried a bit harder they’d be surprised how quickly they would improve."

I know many people who love climbing indoors and aren’t interested in climbing outdoors. Why should they be excited about spending hours in a car to spend a day sitting in a cafe watching the rain or putting life and limb at stake because some guidebook has given a route three stars? Now I like bouldering because of the friends I can boulder with. I like the creativity of making up problems. Because problems are shorter, I can focus on every single movement and analyse every detail from foot placement to body position. I know that you need to do that on routes as well but I’m out of practice of remembering every single move on a route. I’m much better at visualising and remembering boulder problems. Most nights to help me get to sleep I pick an area of The Castle or a recent bouldering comp and I run through, in order, every single problem." I love to climb indoors and I refuse to apologise for it or qualify it by saying ‘...but I really love climbing outdoors.’ I love the physical movement of climbing so why should I get less satisfaction indoors than out? I guess that the reason climbing indoors is considered a lesser pursuit is because the problems are ephemeral so the rest of the climbing world can’t measure you on that basis whereas rock climbs are documented, repeated and your worth as a climber can be judged based on the style of ascent, the grade, etc... I know many people who love climbing indoors and aren’t interested in climbing outdoors. Why should they be excited about spending hours in a car to spend a day sitting in a cafe watching the rain or putting life and limb at stake because some guidebook has given a route three stars?

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