WHEN you set the bar as high as North Vancouver's James Elson does, sometimes you have to wait a while for others to catch up.
At the start of the senior boys' high jump event at the B.C. high school provincial track and field championships held May 31 at Langley's McLeod Athletic Park, Elson informed the marshals that he'd make his first jump when the bar reached 1.80 m.
He then waited. And waited and waited. Meanwhile the rest of the field, starting at 1.50 m, slowly whittled itself down.
"It was like an hour and a half before I actually started jumping," Elson told the North Shore News Monday as he rehashed the event, adding that sitting around is not as easy as it sounds. "It's tough because you have to keep yourself warm but not tire yourself out at the same time. It's hard to do actually."
The Argyle Grade 11 student wasn't being cocky or trying to psych out his opponents, he just knows what heights he can comfortably make. For instance, 1.80 was a comfortable make. So was 1.85 on his second jump. When he cleared that height, there was only one other jumper left in the competition.
His third jump at 1.90 went well too, and by that time he was the provincial high school champion without recording a single miss. Now it was just Elson eyeing the bar with all other eyes on him, a setup he's become used to in recent competitions.
"I don't really find it stressful. It's nice because I know when it's down to the last person, you get three minutes between each jump. It's nice to have that extra time. I just try to stay calm and focus on the jumping."
Elson then cleared 1.95 m on his first attempt and the bar went up to 2.00 m. That's as far as it would go, however, as three straight misses finally put an end to a long day.
"By then I was getting tired," he said. "I'd been warmed up since 4: 30 p.m. and it was like 7 at that time."
Such is life for the athlete currently ranked as the No. 1 youth (17 and under) high jumper in Canada. Two weeks before the high school provincials Elson set an even higher mark, clearing a personal best 2.03 m at the Kamloops Centennial meet. That was an important mark as it met the qualifying standard for the World Youth Championships in Athletics scheduled for July 10-14 in Donetsk, Ukraine. As long as Elson remains in the top two in Canada for the next week he'll earn a trip to the championships thanks to that jump in Kamloops.
"I got it on my third try," he said. "I jumped up, cleared over the bar and I already was like 'wooo' and clapping my hands together before I hit the mat. I was so excited."
Not just a jumper, Elson is also trying to make the qualification standard in the octathlon, a multi-event that combines races of 100 m, 400 m, and 1,000 m, long jump, high jump, shot put, javelin and the 110-m hurdles.
He's also a fan of the triple jump, having finished second in that event at the high school championships. Elson started competing in school meets as an elementary student but he pins his springiness on another sport.
"I did martial arts from when I was five up until Grade 7," he said. "When we do that there's a lot of jumping with the kicks and stuff. We used to do it on a hardwood floor so that really developed a lot of foot strength and calf strength."
Argyle teammate Morgan Haines, who was a senior when Elson was in Grade 8, saw that the young kid had talent and steered him into the NorWesters track club. Since then he's honed his technique with coach Elena Voloshin and he hopes to keep flying higher, potentially earning a university scholarship after his Grade 12 year. For now, though, he's hoping to get a chance to go to the World Championships where he would take on athletes who have set their bars just as high as his.
"That'd be incredible," he said. "Just a really great experience for me."
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There were other standout performances from North Shore athletes at the provincial championships, led by Seycove's Christopher More O'Ferrall who claimed double gold in the sprints, winning the senior boys 200 m and 400 m. More O'Ferrall clocked a time of 22.07 to win the 200 m and 49.09 in the 400 m.
The boys from Seycove had a strong competition all-around, finishing as the fourth-ranked senior boys team at the meet. Jack Beckett helped the cause, winning bronze in the decathlon. The Seyhawks also earned a medal in the senior boys 4x400-m relay, finishing second in a time of 3: 26.73. That team also set a record at the North Shore championships held in May, clocking a time of 3: 28.67 to beat the time set by a team from Carson Graham in 1981.
Sentinel's Kye Fedor was also a double medalist at the provincial championships, winning silver in senior girls triple jump with a leap of 11.06 and bronze in the 100-m hurdles in a time of 15.32.
West Vancouver's Youle Chen rounded out the North Shore medals in senior competition, winning bronze in boys high jump with a clearance of 1.80 m.
The Grade 8 and 9 provincial track and field championships were held at the same time as the senior event and a pair of Collingwood students took home the North Shore's only medals. Michael Knowles led the way with a silver in boys high jump with a clearance of 1.75 m while Emma Rostad scored bronze in girls long jump with a leap of 5.08 m.
