A nineteen-year old rock climber from Kommetjie, Seth Donald, is looking forward to representing his country on foreign soil but needs help with his flight ticket.
Donald has been selected to represent SA at two European competitions in Italy and Switzerland between June and July this year.
He is set to compete in Campitello di Fassa, Italy, from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June, and in Switzerland, from Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 July. However, his family is busy raising money to fund the R100 000 needed for his trip.
Donald says his passion for climbing blossomed in his late teens and has become his obsession ever since.
“I didn’t really fit in mainstream sport at school. Then on my 16th birthday in 2021, my aunt got me a day pass for CityRock climbing gym. None of my family had ever climbed before but my mom and aunt loved hiking so they were just happy that I was doing something that meant we could all be outside together.
Then when we went on a family hiking trip in the Transkei, I realised I started to become obsessed with climbing. That was the start and I haven’t looked back,” he recalls.
In the next three years, Donald started homeschooling part-time for about an hour a day and spent the rest of his day climbing.
“After the first year I started climbing I was invited to join the Western Cape High Performance Team and did my first provincial competition and made the top five in Bouldering and Lead climbing. From there, I was selected to go to the Youth Worlds Selection Competition in Johanesburg. I made the top five again for Boulder and Lead climbing but the top three went to the Youth World Championships,” he said.
Donald also received a nineteen-year-old bronze medal at his second Nationals in KwaZulu-Natal for u-19 Bouldering.
“In 2024, I again qualified to attend Nationals with a Gold in Lead climbing u-20 and a silver in Bouldering u-20 at provincials and then at Nationals I managed to get 6th place in the Open category and have now qualified to represent South Africa at two European Cup competitions in June and July in Italy and Switzerland,” he said.
He stresses that he needs help with fundraising to cover the costs of the European trip.
“Unfortunately, the federations give you the opportunity but don’t offer any financial support. The whole trip will cost R150 000 including flights, SA kit, accommodation, food, competition entry fees and training before each competition at the local gyms. I’m hoping to gain a lot more experience in the European climbing environment so that I can come back and take my climbing to the next level.
“My mom will accompany me as my coach and a competition official to make sure that I have everything that I need to perform well at the European Cup competitions. The first one is in Campitello Di Fassa in Italy in June and the second is in Bern, Switzerland two weeks later.”
Despite his ardent love for rock climbing, he says it can be a gruelling and physically demanding sport.
“Rock climbing is a physical and mental sport. Sometime later, you’re strong enough to climb something but the fact that you may have failed in a previous attempt gets in your head and makes you doubt that you can actually do it. Other times you know that you can do it but your feeling weak or haven’t had enough rest so your body lets you down. It is constant fight to get strong, prepare, rest and then try to climb the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
“The rewards are those moments when it all comes together. Lately, those moments have been coming together more often and I’m seeing the fruit of the hard work and the last three years of training.”
Donald follows a strict training programme that takes place seven days a week which is put together by his High Performance coach, Chris Allan.
“The programme is completely tailored to me and my needs. I do strength and conditioning workouts four days a week with mobility and flexibility training on the other days together with climbing five days a week. Two days will focus on lead training at CityRock or outdoors and another two to three days a week bouldering indoors at Bloc11 or Krag Sentrale or outdoors in the mountains. I also still do High Performance sessions four times a month through Western Cape Climbing.”
• For information or to contribute: Zoe Donald at zoe.donald@me.com.
