Louise Tester climbs at the American Bouldering Series Youth National Championships this month in Alexandria, Va. Photos contributed by Rob Tester When 10–year–old Louise Tester stands in front of a wall, she sees both a problem and a solution.

Her ability to figure out a plan and execute it better and faster got her to the American Bouldering Series Youth National Championships this month in Alexandria, Va.

Although the Heathwood Hall fifth grader has only been climbing for two years, her trip to nationals was not a fluke. She said she loves the intrigue, the challenge, and even the failure.

“I like that if you don’t get it the first time, you can try to solve your problem again,” she said. “Once you get on the wall, you can also figure it out.”

One of her coaches, Eddy Martinez, said when he first saw Tester climbing a wall at Stronghold Athletic Club, he thought, “there’s a natural.”

Louise Tester “When you see a kid that is so fluid and so natural, you think ‘that’s how champions are born,’” Martinez said. “I saw that she had no fear and could move around easily on the wall. When we see kids like that, we want to encourage them to join our team.”

Martinez, who coaches the youth team along with Dan Fenner at the Huger street gym, said that Tester “climbs like a boy, which is a good thing.”

“She can just muscle her way up a wall, a lot like a boy,” he said. “She’s a natural.”

Tester, who said she enjoyed the challenge of the wall, started climbing in earnest in January 2009, and went to a regional competition in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she placed first. Then it was onto Alexandria, Va.

“Nationals were very intimidating,” she said. “They don’t let you look at the wall at all until you start climbing, and you only have four minutes to climb as high as you can.”

The first wall, Tester said, “was easy.”

“The second one and third one, I did pretty well and made it about three or four holes from the finish,” she said. “But the last one was just plain old hard. I didn’t do so well on that one,”

Her father, Rob, said she came in 23rd out of 32 in the nation, which is “not as well as she would have liked, but certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, given the level of competition and Louise’s relative newness to climbing.”

But Louise said she wants more.

“My goal is to be in the top 10 in the nation next year,” she said.

Martinez said Tester has already moved onto the next season of climbing, the sport climbing season that involves ropes climbing.

“She doesn’t love it as much as bouldering, but she is game for anything,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Another

Heathwood fifth grader,

Matthew Quan, placed

third in regionals in a very

competitive boys’ category.

The top two finishers go to

national competition.