Gripped Magazine
Canada’s Lead Climbing National Champions Crowned in Calgary
Cedar Pidgeon and Kindar McNamee earned gold at yesterday’s Canadian Lead Climbing National Championships. The finals were held at the Calgary Climbing Centre in Alberta. Caiya Taylor Ainslie placed second in the women’s category, and Elnzas Rekabi third. In the men’s category, it was an all-British Columbia podium. Sean McColl came in second, and Guy McNamee, Kindar’s brother, stood atop the podium in third place.
The Canadian National Championships are run by Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC), the national governing body for competition climbing in Canada, as recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee and International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The results of the lead event contribute to national athlete rankings, which ultimately determine who will be invited to the national team and represent Canada in World Climbing and Olympic competition.
The women’s route featured a pumpy roof with little reprieve on the compression moves and slimpers that followed on the headwall. It was a close competition – 2026 Boulder Champion Evangelina Briggs and Rekabi both finished with 28+ (meaning they completed 28 moves and were making progress to move to the 29th). Rekabi earned more points than Briggs in the semi-finals, which was enough for her to make podium. Between 3rd and first place, there was only a difference of 2+ moves. No one managed a top of the climb this time, though Pidgeon did reach the chains in the semi-finals.
The men’s route featured a running start and a jump to the first holds – a risky move, but all of the competitors were able to stick it. Climbers were met with a horizontal roof, followed by a technical crux on the vert headwall – it was here that a few climbers lost their footing. McColl looked strong and nearly topped the route, but ultimately fell just before the finish. Kindar maintained control on one additional move over McColl, but was unable to clutch the final hold of the route.
“Well, I just won lead nationals,” said Kindar McNamee on Instagram. “This marks my sixth national win (including youth). Coming into this competition, it was difficult to stay confident. In the past, I have never really liked climbing on walls this slabby, and I never did well. In 2022, I messed up and came 10th. In 2024, I came 9th. It felt like I just couldn’t perform well on walls like this. It was scary trying to make a big goal for this comp. I wasn’t even sure if I would make finals, let alone podium. I decided to head into this competition with no expectations.
“This competition showed me that I can still perform well on these types of walls. It also showed me that I still love competing on these walls. Throughout the whole comp, I felt really comfortable on the wall, and I had lots of fun. This win is really cool because it was so unexpected for me. And to make it even more special, [Guy McNamee] podiumed too. I loved the final’s route. It was so much fun. The route suited me well, and I felt like I entered flow state. It wasn’t too complicated, just long and pumpy.”
Women’s Results
- Cedar Pidgeon – 31
- Caiya Taylor Ainslie – 29
- Elnaz Rekabi – 28+
- Evangelina Briggs – 28+
- Riley Doherty – 26
- Indiana Chapman – 25+
- Sasha Duchene – 22
- Grace Kam – 22
- Adriana Yockelson – 19
Men’s Results
- Kindar McNamee – 43+
- Sean McColl – 42+
- Guy McNamee – 36
- Matthew Rodriguez – 36
- Maxime Thérien – 35+
- TJ Foley – 33+
- Carter Colleaux – 33+
- Victor Baudrand – 15
2025-2026 Lead National Championship Finals
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