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About Me

My name is Jo Neame, I am 21 years old and a member of the GB Climbing Team. I've been climbing since I was 9, but competing since I was 12 and I aspire to continue competing around the world for many years to come.
I’m from Hackney, London and study at University in Leeds where I train, but I like to get outdoors when I can. At the moment my main focus is on the World Cup Circuit.
Photo credits to Lisa Bennett

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Lessons from the Lock-Down

So as you all may have noticed, I haven’t written on this blog for a long time, mainly due to the fact that I’ve been focusing on my studies at uni. With the very weird situation going on, I’ve decided, as I’m sure many others have, to rekindle an old hobby-blog writing! As someone who is used to and enjoys a very regimented, busy training schedule (and life in general), I have struggled to adapt my lifestyle but I feel that in the days that have already passed I have learnt some lessons about myself and the way I live. My family home is in London, but I decided to stay in student halls in Leeds during this period as my family and I felt that travelling to the hub of the virus didn’t seem to make sense at this time and, being the outdoorsy person that I am, I felt it would be better for me psychologically and physically to be near larger green spaces for my single daily exercise. I miss my parents and sister, but I also appreciate the time I have spent getting to know myself! Below

GB Team Training in Arco

As I sit here on my laptop, staring out of my window onto a grey, raining gloom-August in England-I can't help but think of the sunny skies of Arco, Italy, where I spent my last week on a GB Team training trip. The trip was a perfect combination of activities in a perfect location-we spent our time eating ice cream. swimming in Lake Garda, playing 'Manhunt' in the warm evenings and of course climbing, both at the incredible Rock Master Wall and outdoors at a variety of crags. Having not done much outdoor sport climbing before, I was quite nervous at the start of the trip, expecting to be completely out-climbed and terrified of the whole experience. To my surprise, my fears soon subsided and as we visited more crags, my confidence grew and by the end of the trip I had flashed 7b and redpointed my first 8a outdoors. Topping out on 'La Cucina dell'Inferno' (8a) was definitely the highlight of my trip but I also really enjoyed trying the competition style routes se

Finding the Balance: Life outside the gym

Up until now my blog has served to guide people through my climbing experiences; people know me as an athlete and that is all. However, for this post I want to write more about myself and how I strive to find balance in my life. For me, climbing is the most important aspect of my existence, but equally, it is for this reason that there have been times when I have felt on the verge of break down because all my self-value relied on climbing and my performance in the sport. I cared little about anything else-my social life, my studies, my other hobbies, even my family. In saying this I may sound like some cold-hearted climbing machine and in many ways that’s how I saw myself, but it is my belief that this mind-set is not uncommon among individuals who dedicate the majority of their life to achieving and mastering a single activity. I am by no means a changed person from the Jo who isolated herself from the rest of her life in the pursuit of being the best. I still struggle to find a bal