Climbing her way to the top

But it was love at first climb for the now 10-year-old who recently became the Australian Youth Under 11 Female Bouldering Champion at the National Australian Bouldering Titles held in Ballarat.

It is the first time the year five student has competed at a national level with competitors required to attempt seven set climbs in two hours.

Points are allocated for the number of climbs completed, number of attempts made and extra points given for reaching a bonus hold (located halfway up the climb) and the very top.

Elissa topped the first six climbs and was the only competitor in her age group to complete the final climb.

"It's not that hard when you work it out," she said.

"If you work it out properly first then you can make it easier. If you don't do that it makes it harder and you won't last as long on the wall."

The Jerrabomberra Public School student has tried her hand at horseriding and tennis but it's the physical and mental challenge of rock climbing that keeps her coming back to it.

"[When I first tried rock climbing] It was fun and I didn't seem to have anything to be scared of," she said.

"I like the puzzle of having to work out how to do the climb and having to work out the sequence and pattern. It really helps with my problem solving."

Elissa trains twice a week under the watchful eye of coach Matt Cools at the Canberra Indoor Rock Climbing in Hume. She joined when she was seven-years-old and started competing around the same time.

Cools said Elissa is an extremely driven and independent climber.

"She's easy to coach because she's quite motivated. She gets annoyed when I say it's time to do something else if she hasn't completed it yet," he said.

"When she found out she made nationals that's when she became really focused and trained really hard for it."

Cools said Elissa's age is an advantage when it comes to climbing but it's her attitude that is her biggest asset.

"It is easier to start climbing younger because you don't have the fear or preconceived ideas of what's possible. A lot of the time the younger guys climb better than older people who think they can't or their body won't do it," he said.

"You need to enjoy the challenge so if you don't get it the first time you need to want to go back and keep trying it otherwise there's no point.

"Physically you need to have strong fingers, be flexible and have good core strength but mentally you have to want to keep going back to solve the puzzle. You have to want to figure it out, be stubborn."

Rock climbing has become a family affair for the Andres family with Elissa's father Daniel also taking up the sport.

"I climb a little, not to the same level as her but I certainly enjoy it. I mostly started climbing so that we can climb together," he said.

"We travel to Nowra - which is considered close to world class and the Blue Mountains. It makes it easier so when we go outdoors I can climb and belay as well."

Elissa said she's committed to her climbing and her goal is to continue winning national titles. As for mum and dad, they are extremely proud of their daughter.

"That first time Elissa climbed she certainly took to it straight away, a lot of her school friends were hanging back and not climbing as high," Daniel said.

"When you first go there the wall can be intimidating but she went straight to the top and she's never really looked back since then."