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Wednesday, August 01, 2001Climbing to new record heightsWednesday, August 01, 2001 Issaquah youth earns fame in rock climbing Autumn KoeppSpecial To The Press Countless award ribbons and trophies are displayed throughout Kyle Rafa's living room. At the rate he is climbing, soon his parents will have to find another place to store them all. Rafa, 13, of Issaquah, recently returned from Austria where he competed in the Youth World Climbing Championship. Last January he earned a spot on the U.S. Junior Climbing Team, composed of four rock climbers from his age division, who all participated in the international event. The junior climber placed 31st out of the 56 male participants, which is quite remarkable considering he was competing with "the best of the best," said Rafa's mom, Trish Rafa. This week Rafa packed his bags again and traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., to participate in the Junior Competition Climbing Association (JCCA) national competition. The awards displayed in Rafa's home represent five years of his impressive rock climbing career with the JCCA, which is a nonprofit group that organizes the U.S. climbing competitions and sponsors the U.S. Team. Rafa has won every regional competition he has entered (which includes competitors from both Washington and Oregon), placed in the top four at nationals twice, and even won a national competition in 1998. Although all of the JCCA competitions are indoors, Rafa climbs at both indoor and outdoor sites. During the events, participants are scored by how many holds, or grips on the wall, they reach as they ascend. Rock climbing was introduced to Rafa through his other mom, Mary Rafa, who is Trish's partner. As a longtime participant, Mary took her son to indoor rock climbing gyms, where Rafa first developed his love for scaling walls. "I tried it and liked it so much that I stuck with it," Rafa said. Rafa started competing when he was 8 years old, but he was climbing years before that. As a toddler, Mary recalled, he could be found climbing anything. "He truly is a climber," she said. A typical schedule for Rafa includes practicing three to five times per week, each session lasting up to three hours. The rock climber picks his own times depending on how much practice he thinks is necessary. "He is very in tune with his body," Trish said, who is also the Northwest regional coordinator for the JCCA. The young rock climber also is a member of the Issaquah Swim Team, which keeps his schedule fairly busy. Since Rafa is home schooled, it gives him more time to participate in both climbing and swimming. Although coaches have helped Rafa learn the basics of climbing, he mostly taught himself through hours of practicing and building endurance. Since Rafa does not regularly work with a coach, he spends most of his time practicing with his friend Rudy Ruana, who shares his love for climbing. Rafa and Ruana met four years ago at an indoor climbing gym, and since then they have been climbing together about three times a week. Ruana said he is amazed at Rafa's climbing skills for his age. Many adult climbers do not have the determination and focus that Rafa does, he said. "He is really something else," Ruana said. "This kid is a total machine." Although Ruana, who is 32, as been climbing for 16 years, he believes the young climber is better at the sport than he is. "He's got wicked strong fingers," he said. "He can hold on to nothing." Trish said climbing is the perfect sport for her son since it requires a great deal of strategy and ability to perform during intense competitions. "He does very well under pressure," she said. "He can really focus when he needs to." Competitions are definitely tense situations since one mistake could cost a climber the national title. "You never know what could happen," Trish explained. Rafa said he likes to climb because it always introduces him to new challenges. Indoor courses can be altered to change the difficulty of the climb, and many times at competitions, Rafa only has one minute to look over a course before he begins his ascent. "I like the challenge of never running out of things to do," he said. "You are always trying something different." Mary said rock climbing has helped elevate Rafa's self esteem and allowed him to make a wide variety of friends from all age groups, including Ruana. Climbing is also a very supportive sport since competitors always seem to help each other, she added. "It's not a sport where you go for the kill," she explained. Due to Rafa's dedication and hard work, Ruana said he believes Rafa has a promising future lying ahead. "I wonder what the next 10 years will hold for him," Ruana said. "I wish I had crystal ball - I can't wait." Content © 2005 The Issaquah Press Software © 1998-2005 1up! Software, All Rights Reserved