Age: 19
Evan Lau climbs for Team Canada, but competing at a national level is nothing new for him. He qualified for Canada’s Youth National Team for four consecutive years, earning seven youth national titles. Lau says it’s the community and collaboration that keep him in the sport.
“When we’re ‘competing against each other,’ we’re just competing against the route or the problem,” he says. “You can see everybody is mingling, and there’s a circulation of ideas.”
Lau mentors up-and-coming climbers and is an athlete representative for Climbing Escalade Canada, the governing national body for competitive climbing, and the Alberta Climbing Association, where he brings athlete feedback to the organizations.
He also balances athletic feats with academic excellence in nursing, making the Dean’s and President’s Honour Rolls at Mount Royal University.
