Mum Ginette finished second in the state in the lead climbing discipline, while son's Tim (third in youth A), Sam (third in youth B) and Josh (fourth in youth C) also progressed to a higher level.

Fellow local climber Tamika Cordell also registered a top two finish in her division at the titles.

"In lead climbing, you've got the rope at your feet attached to you and as you climb up the wall you clip your rope into the clips on the wall," Kobelke said.

"That's what stops you from hitting the ground if you come off."

Lead climbing is the more difficult discipline of rock climbing alongside bouldering and speed climbing.

"It's a little more intense because if you don't get your clips right you could fall a long way," she said.

"I first got into it because we were bringing the children down for an after-school activity when we moved to Port Macquarie about four years ago.

"It looked like fun and I wasn't very good at standing around watching the children have all the fun so it wasn't long before I joined in."

Despite her second-place finish and best result out of the family, Kobelke didn't want to steal all the limelight.

"I don't know I'm all that fantastic," she said.

"The children are better climbers than I am and that was the reason why we were down in Sydney competing.

"But we were there, the competition was on and there was a category I could go in so I thought I'd give it a shot and it went well."

They will now head to the national titles in May.

"It's a three-day tournament that covers all disciplines, so there is a bouldering division, a lead division and a speed division which are the three divisions that will be at the Olympic Games at Tokyo," she said.

"It's pretty exciting to have climbing as a sport at the Olympics."

Kobelke said rock climbing - and in particular lead climbing - were more difficult than it looked from the ground.

"There's quite a lot involved in it - probably more than you'd appreciate," she said.

"It looks like climbing up a ladder, but there is a lot of strength involved, a lot of technique and a lot of balance."

It also required climbers to be problem solvers while suspended above the ground.

"You have to make little subtle changes in your position so your weight is over the right point to reach for the next point when you're on the wall," Kobelke said.

"Particularly when you're on an incline and gravity is trying to get you back to the ground.

"You've got tiny little crimps that you can only fit your fingertips on and it can be quite difficult so what looks like a good hole when you get your fingers on it, it's not angled the right way."

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