Weekend Preview: Feb 21

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Sue Brumm

The past 2 weekends have been filled with nationals coverage from ABS Open, CEC Youth and ABS Youth. The northeast has kept busy with lots of local comps and we aren’t letting up this Saturday! Seven gyms are hosting comps covering three disciplines. Where will you be going?

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Crimpin’ Ain’t Easy – Grand River Rocks, Kitchener, ON
Cost: $45
Climbing: Rec, Exp, Youth: 10:00am – 1:00pm, Open: 1:00pm – 4:00pm, Finals: 6:00pm
Categories: Rec, Exp, Youth, Open

The next TdB is here! As the event poster says, “Do your part. Compete.” Bring your A game, because you might find yourself climbing next to a newly crowned CEC Youth National Champion!

Feats of Strength X – The Cliffs, Valhalla, NY
Cost: $35 pre-registered, $45 day of, $5 discount for Cliffs gym members
Climbing: 1:00pm – 5:00pm, Finals: 6:30pm
Categories: Nov, Int, Adv, Open, Masters (40+), Co-ed Youth (12 & U, 13 – 15)

Feats is back for the tenth time and it’s going to be huge! $2500 cash purse for Open. Tons of prizes for all other categories. First 100 registrants get a free event tank top. This comp is always a great time and the atmosphere during finals is electric, don’t miss out!

Quebec Cup Stop 1 Junior & Senior – Allez Up, Montreal, QC
Climbing: Youth C & D: 3:00pm – 5:00pm, Youth A, B, Junior, Open: 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Categories: Open, Junior, Youth A, B, C & D

This stop on the Quebec Cup tour is a speed climbing comp for all ages.

comp – Kent State University, Kent, OH
Cost: $30
Climbing: 10:30am – 4:30pm (split into 2 flights)

This comp is part of the University Climbing Series (formerly the University Bouldering Series). There will be a free pizza lunch for all competitors from 12:30pm – 2:00pm.

Heart Burn – Philadelphia Rock Gym, East Falls, PA
Cost: $44.50 pre-registered, $49.50 day of, $5 discount for PRG members
Climbing: Youth: 10:00am – 1:00pm, Citizens/Open: 4:00pm – 7:00pm, Finals: 8:30pm
Categories: Youth D, C, B, A & Jr, Beg, Int, Adv, Open

This bouldering comp is the 3rd event in the Burn Series and takes place at the newest PRG facility. The Burns are fun comps to climb in and the finals are always a good show featuring some of the best climbers in the country (as evidenced by their results at ABS Youth Nats this past weekend)!

The Crux – Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $10 Drexel students, $15 non-Drexel students
Climbing: 11:45pm – 10:00pm
Categories: Beg, Int, Adv

This bouldering comp is part of the Philadelphia Collegiate Climbing Series. Each category has a separate time to climb, so double check the schedule for what time you will be climbing. Entry fee has to paid in CASH at the door. There will be finals following the conclusion of the Adv category.

Allez – Crimper’s Climbing Gym, Christiansburg, VA
Cost: $30 pre0-registered, $35 day of
Climbing: 9:00am – 12:00pm, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Categories: CCS, co-ed youth, Beg, Int, Adv

This is a redpoint format top-rope/lead comp. The morning session is a USAC CCS santioned comp. The afternoon session is a citizens comp for adults & kids. You must be lead certified at Crimper’s to compete in lead. You may only enter one of the comps, you may not climb in both sessions. There will be trophies for the winner in each category and a raffle at the conclusion of the comp.

After much internal debate (the struggle is real:/) about where to go this weekend, I signed up for the TdB in Toronto. This will be my first trip to Grand River Rocks and I can’t wait! This decision go me thinking though…when I first started competing, only a few short years ago, I never had problems like this one. I usually had to wait weeks between comps, not agonize over which one I was going to attend, because there were so many on the same day. The sport is definitely growing! I love that so many more people have the opportunity to get involved, at every level, at every age.

Posted in Collegiate (former CCS), Comps, Coupe Quebec, PCCS, PRG Burns, Tour de Bloc, UCS (PA, WV, OH) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Weekend Review: Feb 14 – 16

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Sue Brumm

Hope you and your valentine had a chance to get chalky this weekend! Here’s the results from the comps, including the first ever Canadian Youth Nationals!!!! (If you would like full results from ABS Youth Nats, which were also this weekend, click here.)

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Comp – Youngstown State University – Youngtown, OH

Comp – West Virginia University – Morgantown, WV   Female Results   Male Results
Photos

Milton Meltdown – Milton Rock Gym, Milton, PA   Results

NE Local 2 – Prime Climb, Wallingford, CT   Results

Plywood Series Local Comp – Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center, Rutland, VT

Saturday – Monday, February 14 – 16, 2015

CEC Youth National Championships – Climber’s Rock, Burlington, ON   Results
Article from Gripped

Monday, February 16, 2015

Ground Fall #1 – Bloc Shop, Montreal, QC   Results
Photos
Video

This was a crazy weekend for me! Two comps in three days and 20+ hours on the road.

I went to the Milton Meltdown on Saturday. I am so glad I was finally able to make it to this comp. I had a wonderful time! During the redpoint round, the vibe was amazing! Everyone was working hard, pushing themselves and really going after it. It’s nice to see that from climbers in every category. There was a lot of support and cheering from both the other climbers and spectators. Despite the number of people there and the close quarters, I never had a problem getting on the wall. Everyone took turns and rotated through, which is something that has been lacking in a few comps I’ve been to this season. I was psyched to find out that my score put me in first place heading into finals. If I thought the crowd was supportive before, boy they really took it up a notch during finals! It was much appreciated by all the finalists, as the problems were tough and long! After a hard fight on 3 problems, I walked away with a win! I’m still pretty excited:) It was especially meaningful to me, because I have really struggled since I hurt my knee. It is still on the mend, but this made me feel like I might finally be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. A special shout-out to the climbers who qualified for their first ever finals at the Meltdown…you guys killed it, congratulations!

After an exceptionally awful drive back (thanks, caddy!!!), there was barely enough time to dry out my climbing shoes before we were back in the car to go to Montreal. Bloc Shop was hosting the first in a 3 part series called Ground Fall. Several intriguing clues on Facebook and I was hooked. I had to see exactly what this entailed. So I got there, strapped on a harness, tied in, and started bouldering. I clipped into draws along the way and when I fell, I landed on the mat. At this point, you are probably confused. Bouldering? Is that a typo? Why are there mats at a route comp or why are there draws in a bouldering  gym? Why was Sue climbing with a rope? Well, this crazy comp format was just what it sounds like…you climb routes with a harness, rope, draws, the works, but there’s no belayer. When you started climbing (or bouldering, really), the short rope followed you along the route like you were taking an imaginary pet for walk. Click on the photos link above to get a better idea of just how this looked. It ended up being a fun, chill session at the gym with a slightly ridiculous premise on some very well-set blocs. I suffered a wicked flapper on my palm on my first climb and it slowed me a down a bit, but let’s be real…I have the endurance of a veteran* boulderer:)

Now it’s time to rest a bit to get ready for TdB at Grand River Rocks Saturday.

*That’s industry-speak for “someone-who-is-too-old-for-youth-climbing” which really means “old” 😉

 

Posted in Bouldering (former ABS), Canadian Climbing, Comp Results, UCS (PA, WV, OH) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ABS 16 Nationals Wrapup

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Sue Brumm

Lots of amazing climbing and unexpected results over two weekends of nationals championships in Madison, WI.

Open:
Men’s:   Finals   Semi   Quals
Women’s: Finals   Semis   Quals
Photos

Citizens:

Para:
Photos

Youth:
Girls:
Junior:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth A:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth B:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth C: Qual  Semi  Final
Youth D:  Qual  Semi  Final
Boys:
Junior:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth A:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth B:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth C:  Qual  Semi  Final
Youth D:  Qual  Semi  Final
Photos by Just Fab Photography

For me personally, the comp went better than usual, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Motivation is high for the rest of bouldering comp season and to train hard in the off-season. I must emphasize that one of the best parts of this year’s nationals is that they were not in Colorado. I would like to USA Climbing continue to move this comp around the country and bring amazing climbing to as many people as possible.

I had a great time traveling out there, visiting friends and family, hanging out in Chicago (Art Institute) and checking out some new gyms (BKB Chicago, Vertical Endeavors – Glendale Heights, and Boulders [this one is only new to me!]). Of course any good climbing trip involves yummy food. We visited old favorites from when we used to live in Chicago, Giordano’s and Portillo’s, as well as discovering a new fave, Wildberry Cafe (You must try the Signature Berry Bliss on either pancakes, French toast or Belgian waffle. It is delicious!). We got to take a tour of the capitol in Madison. Very interesting with lots of badger trivia:)

This was my first time staying in the host hotel and it was a great experience. The hotel was beautiful and our room was very nice. It was great to be so close to the venue (we didn’t even have to walk outside!) and to get to see all the other climbers.

Of course, the comp was fun, too!  Everyone tried hard and put on a great show. A special shout-out to my fellow northeast climbers! You guys rocked it!

Posted in Bouldering (former ABS), Comp Results, Pro Climbing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment