Sam’s Season

Ever wanted to know the behind-the-scenes of a Team GB athlete’s life? Well, now you can! In this exclusive interview with Team GB and GEKCO athlete Sam Butterworth, you’ll hear all about what competing at a top level is actually like, the challenges that athletes face, and Sam’s top recs for countries and climbing walls outside the UK. Without further ado, let’s dive in…

Tell us about the run up to this season and why it’s such a landmark achievement for you? 

This season I had the main focus of getting onto the lead team. I was still doing bouldering but lead was the focus. I was in the really fortunate position where boulder selection went quite well for me and that meant it took a little bit of pressure off lead, and then I managed to pull it out of the bag in finals which was quite nice! So then I was in this situation that I’ve never been in before, where I had a choice of any and all of the World Cups which was really quite amazing! I guess the biggest difference between this and other seasons is that I was able to plan the whole thing in advance, and that made really quite a big difference for me. I was also doing it alongside uni, and that was really quite tricky. I think balancing all of that was really quite tricky, some people are just amazing and somehow manage it, but for me I wasn’t able to quite do as much training or as much uni work as I’d like, and balancing that with friendships and relationships as well - it’s a lot! I felt quite stretched in a lot of different directions, which meant that getting onto both teams was a big thing for me!

What was your highlight of the season so far?

I think one of the biggest for me was in lead, in Wujiang, right near the start of the season on one of the qualifier routes I just managed to have a great fight! It was kind of the perfect scenario for lead climbing - you just want to be able to get to a decent point and then fight as hard as you can for as long as you can. It ticked off straight away one of my main goals which was to get up to the head wall. I did maybe 4 moves that I just didn’t really think I had in me but somehow just kept going! That was pretty good for me!

What was your biggest challenge of the season?

I think definitely getting into the right mental state for me was really tricky this season. Previously, you know, I’ve been a bit too excited and hyped up and I needed to bring that down a bit, and use meditation or whatever for that. This season more than others, I think I sort of put myself in a bit of a protective state. It’s taken a long while to figure this out. I kind of got to the comps and on comp day would be in a sort of middle-state, where I wasn’t super psyched but not sad or anything either. It was almost as though I put myself in a place where I didn’t care too much and it would, I think, mean that if I didn’t care too much then I wouldn’t have fully ‘failed’ if I did fail. Especially towards the end of the season when I started figuring this out, that was a big thing for me to try and get to a point where I sort of let myself care as much as I really do, and dealing with whatever anxieties that brings and just trying to work with that rather than kind of closing off and not reaching the state I’d like to be in for competing.

What has your training schedule looked like between comps?

Mixed. When they’re back to back, it mostly depends on how fatigued I am from the comp, but often quite a lot of rest especially when they’re one weekend to the next. The main thing is just getting activated for the next one. One of the major things for me, because I was doing so many comps this year, I needed to try and keep the fitness up - during the boulder comps I needed to try and keep fit for the lead comps because there’s literally no transfer period. You get to Innsbruck and there’s boulder straight into lead, and I decided to drop out of the boulder for that exact reason, just to have a little bit of a transition because back-to-back is a lot. I can’t quite do it yet, maybe one day!

What was your hardest comp?

I think mentally Prague and Bern together were quite challenging because that’s when I sort of started to see a pattern that my level just wasn’t quite up there with a lot of the field where I wanted to be. That was quite mentally tough, and then trying to re-evaluate where I’m at and then, you know, try my best and push as hard as I can. Logistically, Madrid was one of the hardest. It was boiling! I was just trying to keep on top of ice packs and fans and liquid chalk - all sorts just to try and keep things cool. There were loads of things going in and out of the freezers, the same ones that people keep their water bottles in so things just get lost! That was tricky..!

Best country you’ve visited and why?

I really loved Bern. As a place it’s pretty amazing. I just loved how much outdoor activities there were. One of the main things was that there was a huge river running through the town, which was really quite fast-flowing! Loads of people just hang out at the footbridge that goes over it and everyone just kind of jumps in and it was just a really nice vibe. We were told that people even jump in the river at one end and commute to work at the other end, which just sounds great! I can just see myself living there I think!

Best wall outside the UK you’ve visited and why?

Probably in Paris, but it depends if it’s for boulder or lead. I think for me Arkose Pantin which is one of the lead walls was just a great, great place to go. It’s kind of old school in terms of the angles and it’s quite long, but in terms of the setting they’ve just got a great hold set. Great holds, great setting, loads of hard stuff - you just don’t quite get the same intensity and concentration of routes in the UK.

Arkose Pantin in Paris

What’s your biggest take-away from this season so far?

Probably just that I can’t do it all! It’s a tricky one to kind of accept. I do my best, but between loads of different things going on it’s hard. Especially since Madrid, I’ve then had a period of training just for lead, and in that time I’ve realised the ‘all-in’ mindset isn’t quite there when I’m doing as many different things as I have been. A lot of people are sort of getting pushed into lead or boulder split now because they’re splitting the Olympics, which just means the field’s getting stronger and stronger. It’s pretty amazing to see, people doing more of what they love rather than being forced into doing a bit of everything. It’s tricky because I love both, but I’m starting to realise that I need to pick a side! I think you can get a long, long way doing both as they supplement each other really well, and for me I love the training of being a combined athlete - that is the ideal for me. So you can get a long way especially nationally doing both, just when you’re against literally the best in the world it’s better if you’re all in on one I think. 

The season is not quite over, what's coming up?

In about a week I have the Koper World Cup in Slovenia, which is the final lead World Cup of the year. I went once a couple of years ago and just loved it so that was a definite for me on the calendar. I’m really looking forward to it! I’ve been much more all-in on lead lately so feeling in much better shape mentally and much more focused for it. I’m really quite excited!!

What are your plans after the comp season ends, any big winter projects?

Definitely some rock, for sure. Whether that’s potentially going back to Margalef, there’s a project I was on last year called Wild West which I didn’t quite get finished off so potentially go back for that. I’d love to do some British bouldering, because I say it every year and never do!! Potentially Isles of Wonder, or High Fidelity at Caley. There’s also what I believe is a project just to the left of High Fidelity, which me and a friend looked at a couple of years ago, which just looks insane - no idea if it could be possible but it’s exciting and looks considerably harder than High Fidelity and is on the same boulder. If that went I think it would be a great step for grit bouldering.

What advice would you give yourself for next season?

This year I was doing a lot of comps and that was a great experience in itself and I don’t regret doing that. I think for next season I would like to pick and choose more selectively which comps I do, and I’d like to do more training blocks building up to individual comps. I think for me mentally, having more of a build up to a certain comp and a certain goal is much more valuable for me. Also advice for next season to myself is to make sure I have a great time with my friends whilst I’m there, because it’s easy to get carried away in it being very serious. I think sometimes with just a little bit of extra effort you can find things to do that aren’t messing up your rest days - finding things to do with friends to experience the places a bit more.

I think it’s easy sometimes to get caught up in the highlights of an athlete’s life - the travel, the wins, the titles - but this interview with Sam is really enlightening, sharing the truth behind those trophy-wielding Instagram snaps. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, often it’s damned hard work, sacrifice, mental challenges, and disappointment. Sam really opens up about these challenges, and it’s refreshing to hear the truth about these topics, particularly the struggle of mental health which is all too often brushed under the carpet. Perhaps you’re a competitive climber reading this and relating to Sam’s challenges, or maybe you’re a casual climber who’s reading to gain an understanding of the comp scene - whoever you are, take Sam’s advice: fight for what you love, remember to rest, and get the balance right to make sure you’re doing things you love with people you love.