By Brian Jones
Two Comps in One Day
Two competitions in one day? That’s right. Stone Summit Climbing Gym will be hosting two different competitions on Saturday November 16th. The morning round will be for ABS Youth while the afternoon comp will be for anyone who fancies to test their bouldering skills. I competed last time they did this event and it was a heck of a lot of fun. No need to worry, there will be plenty of excellent climbing here. The entire boulder room and the base of the 60 foot wall will be host to the boulder problems. Be sure to sign up early to save 10 bucks. Online registration, here, only costs $35. Registration at the door is $45.
Onsight vs Redpoint Format
On-sight is much more structured compared to redpoint. The USA Climbing rule book sums it all up here: “In an on-sight competition, competitor will not see any other person climb the route prior to attempting it him/herself. To accomplish that goal, competitors enter an isolation area prior to the event and are brought out one at a time to climb. There may be an opportunity to preview the route prior to their attempt. Climbers are scored based on the highest hold reached.” This format aims to keep the climbs much more challenging for competitors.
Redpoint offers climbers much more flexibility when it comes to which climbs they would like to attempt. The USA Climbing rule book states that climbers should be allowed at least 3 hours to climb. It also states, “Competitors choose which routes to attempt and may attempt each route as many times as they wish. Competitors may try as many different routes as they wish, as time allows.” This leads to a relaxed environment where you and your friends can watch each other attempt some of the harder problems. Help with beta while someone is on the wall is against the rules. Each problem is worth a certain number of points that are awarded on completion. A certain amount of points are deducted from that total for each fall. Let’s say the climb is worth 500 points and a fall deducts 20. A completion with 3 falls is worth 440 points. Your best 5 climbs are totaled together for your final score.
Visit the Facebook Page for all the information as it becomes available. Here is the Online Registration link again. Use the opportunity to hone your bouldering skills and have some fun with the Atlanta Climbing Community!