Ilke Pepler
DANIE DU TOIT/SUREFOOTED PHOTOGRAPHY
- Cara and Ilke Pepler, sisters from Durbanville, will compete in the IFSC Youth World Climbing Championships in China this August.
- They are part of a national squad of 18 climbers and will compete in lead climbing and bouldering.
- The sisters have trained rigorously and look forward to representing South Africa on the global stage.
From their favourite pastime to climb rocks in nature, two sisters from Durbanville will be descending on Guiyang in China to take on the world’s best youth climbers at the IFSC Youth World Climbing Championships this August.
The talented sisters, Cara (18) and Ilke Pepler (16) – both members of Western Cape Climbing, will join a national squad of 18 climbers who qualified in March this year to take part in the toughest Youth Sport Climbing event on the international calendar.
Sport climbing is a modern discipline which originated from traditional rock climbing. There are three different disciplines: boulder, lead and speed.
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The South African team includes climbers who have excelled in various disciplines. Both Ilke and Cara will be taking part in lead climbing and bouldering.
In bouldering, athletes climb 4,5 m high walls without ropes, in a limited period of time and in the fewest attempts possible. In the lead event, athletes climbwith a rope as high as they can on a wall over 15 m high in six minutes. Speed is a spectacular race against the clock in one-on-one elimination rounds that combine precision and explosivity.
The annual event attracts the most promising young climbers from around the globe, giving them an incomparable opportunity to gain international experience.
“I’m grateful to be competing at the Youth World Championships in China this year,” says Cara.
“Representing my country on the global stage is a true privilege. I’m eager to give my best and learn from the talented athletes around me,” she says.
Most excited
Both girls have competed internationally and do not take this opportunity for granted.
“I’m probably the most excited to focus all my energy on climbing for the time I’ll be in China,” says Ilke. “Furthermore, I’ll concentrate on figuring out the mental and physical puzzle of competing in order to obtain the best results I possibly can.”
According to their proud mom, Carike Pepler, the two sisters have to train three to five hours per day. They started with rock climbing as a sport in 2018 after they had been taking part in artistic gymnastics for four to five years.
They took part in their first competition in 2019 and qualified to take part in the IFSC Youth World Championships as members of the SA Protea team in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
“Ilke prefers the boulder category, while Cara prefers the lead category, but they will take part in both categories at the world championships,” she says.
Outdoors
They both love rock climbing outdoors in nature – at the world-renowed Rocklands outside Clanwilliam, or at their favourite, Truitjieskraal in die Cederberg.
Each athlete bears the financial responsibility of funding their travel and competitions. Carmen Bouwer, team manager, says their management team is dedicated to ensuring that no athlete misses out due to lack of funds.
She encourages sponsors from all sectors to step up and help turn these talented athletes’ dreams into reality.