Plainfield Twins Headed To National Bouldering Championships

PLAINFIELD, IL — Two brothers from Lincoln Elementary School in Plainfield area are headed to Redmond, Oregon this weekend to compete in the Bouldering Youth National Championships, one of the events organized by 501(c)3 non-profit sports group USA Climbing. It will be the second time at the championships for ten-year-old Logan Krajnik, and the first time for his twin brother Aiden. Both brothers said they did not expect to win the championships, but were excited to climb anyway.

"This is only my second time [at the championships] so I don't have as much experience as other people," Logan said. "I know I can get far in it; I just have a feeling I'm not going to win everything... but I just love climbing in general; It's not about getting first."

"I don't think I do [have a chance to win], but I'm just happy I went," Aiden added. "and I'm excited because there's new routes I get to climb."

Both brothers have been climbing since they were five years old, their mother Kelly Krajnik said. It started, of all things, with a family vacation.

"We were on a family vacation together at a Kalahari [resort] out in Ohio, and that particular one has an outdoor adventure rock climbing area," Kelly said. "and we spent more time out there than we did the water park... they were five [years old], so this would have been four-and-a-half, five years ago."

Since then, the brothers have both competed in a number of climbing forms. At the competition this weekend, they will be 'bouldering,' a type of climbing a rock wall that uses no harnesses or ropes. Kelly said that this type of climbing occasionally makes her nervous for her sons, but that ultimately she trusts their instincts on the rock wall and the safety precautions of the venue.

"Sometimes when I feel like the route's a little tall for even just bouldering, I get a little nervous," she said. "but usually... all the gyms do a pretty good job of setting routes that are relatively safe for the kids."

The boys compete as part of the 'Vertical Endeavors' advanced youth climbing team, named after the gym in Glendale Heights where the team practices. In order to advance to nationals, the brothers first had to qualify in regional and divisional competitions. The exact tournament bureaucracy is rather arcane, but that very fact makes it clear that the boys had to beat out a lot of competitors.

"The way it works, they don't even really have a state championship, they actually had a regional championship back in December," she said. "Our region is Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri. Any gyms from those four states send their best climbers and they compete for the regional championship. The top ten from our region then moved on to the next competition which is the divisional championship. There are sixteen regions in the U.S., and two of those regions make up a division... In order to make it to the national championships, you have to place in the top six [in the divisional championships]."

The championships in Oregon stretch out over three days. Both boys will climb in the evening on Friday, Feb. 7; the goal for all climbers is to scale their climbing routes in as short amount a time as possible with as few falls as possible. Logan will be wearing number 1136 and begin climbing at 6:54 p.m. central time, Aiden will be number 1141 and start his climb at about 7:14 p.m. Should they place among the top 20 competitors, they will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. The top ten climbers from the semifinals will move on to the finals on Sunday.

The boys said they hoped some of their friends and family would watch their climbs online. The competition will be broadcast live on USA Climbing's YouTube page. Coverage of the twins' age group will start around 4:30 p.m. central on Friday, Kelly said.

"Aiden and Logan are the youngest kids on the advanced team by about three years," Kelly said. "Their next-closest teammates are up there in middle school or high school."

Photo used with the express permission of Kelly Krajnik