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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI think Ashley and other climbers like her are the future of competitive collegiate climbing,\u201d said Michael Roller, the UCF Climbing Club coach until June when he left to take a job in Chicago. \u201cWhen the collegiate climbing series began four years ago, most of the climbers were relatively new to the sport, having only climbed for a few years. \u00a0But in the past couple years we have seen an influx of young climbers who have been climbing for a good portion of their lives, and Ashley falls into this new category.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norton, 19, can tell you precisely when she fell in love with climbing. She was at a friend\u2019s house in Westland, Mich., when she decided to climb a tree. When her father came out to look for the 4-year-old, the other kids pointed up \u2013 some 50 feet. She had scrambled up a pine tree and she didn\u2019t need any rescuing. She came down by herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I gave my dad a mini-heart attack that day,\u201d Norton said laughing. \u201cBut that was the start. Ever since I can remember, I just love to climb.\u201d<\/p>\n
That passion has led her to train and practice for years. She\u2019s has competed at a local, regional and national level for the past 10 years. This year, Norton placed third nationally in speed climbing and 11th in overall sport. She\u2019ll be competing in Singapore in speed climbing. The contest there is considered the top level of competition for young people up to age 19, so it\u2019s also her last shot at this level.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a little nervous, she admits, but said her team and her family are behind her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy team, they are great group of people,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are so supportive and our coach was great. And my entire family . . . my dad, I just can\u2019t say enough about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norton has been busy since she found out she qualified in late July for the competition, and has been using social media to raise money to pay for airfare and expenses. She spent two weeks training with fellow members of the U.S. Team in Atlanta and returned to Orlando just in time for the start of the semester at UCF.\u00a0 She plans to speak to her professors before she leaves for Singapore to explain her absence just a little more than a week after classes begin.<\/p>\n
The time to train is short, but she\u2019s determined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of Ashley\u2019s greatest strengths going into the speed-climbing competition is her ability to train,\u201d Roller said. \u201cAshley is very self-motivated. When she has a goal, I don\u2019t think anyone pushes her harder than she pushes herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norton, who plans on becoming a pharmacist, says she still hasn\u2019t quite wrapped her mind around the idea of representing her country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the top. This is what everyone strives for. I can\u2019t wait. It\u2019s such a thrill to be able to go and represent the United States. I\u2019m so honored.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
University of Central Florida chemistry student Ashley Norton will represent the United States later this month at the International Federation of Sport Climbing\u2019s World Youth Championships in Singapore. This is the first time a UCF student has represented the nation at the competition being held in Singapore this year from Aug. 29-Sept. 1. She\u2019ll be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":4369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chemistry-departments","category-breaking-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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