THREE - BB's third anniversary comp

Join us for a day of competition, prizes, challenges and FUN

In March 2016, we will be THREE years old! We'll be continuing our tradition of celebrating this fact with a big day of fun which we'd love you to get involved in.

The THREE event will be a celebration of everything we love about climbing. It's about friendly competition, pushing yourself to climb at your best, sharing it all with friends, and most of all having fun. The day is based around three parallel climbing competitions - the Open Comp, the Fun Comp and the U16 Comp. Whether you're a seasoned competitor, or just enjoy your climbing and want to make a day of it, there's something here for you.

We think competitions should be great fun for everyone, not just those with a shot of winning (which, let's face it, most of us don't!). It's a good way to test your route-reading skills, as well as your general climbing ability. Come with a friend and see who comes out on top, or just come by yourself to see what you can do. If you're not sure if competitions are for you, read about the Fun Comp below and hopefully change your mind.

As well as the competitions, there will be various fun challenges going on, live DJs to keep everyone in the zone, delicious coffee from Small Batch - as well as our usual cakes and snacks at the cafe. A veritable festival of bouldering in fact. PLUS back by popular demand we'll have fresh wood-fired pizza available to order!

Prices for competition entry are shown below, and include a FREE competition t-shirt (while stocks last, first come first served). Book your comp entry online using the links provided to get a nice discount on entry, and help us get an idea of who's coming.

Prizes, including bouldering kit, funky climbing clothing, memberships and CAKE will be given out on the day with support from our lovely and generous sponsors.

The centre will be open to competitors and spectators all day (subject to special spectator guidelines), but **closed to general climbing **as we plan to use all the walls for the comp routes.

Comp entry prices

Book your entries now to take advantage of the early bird ticket prices. Please note that BB Unlimited climbing members are eligible for discounted entry fees.

Any entrants who have not been to Boulder Brighton before will also need to register, which you can do in advance by following this link.

The Open Comp

With setting from Yann Genoux (national route setter including the British Bouldering Championships), Evie Cotrulia and the BB in-house setting team, there will be plenty of exciting and challenging problems to be had in the Open Comp. We expect to set 25 climbs, graded from Font 4A up to about 7B, to give even the strongest climbers something tricky to get their teeth into. Some problems will be set specifically for female competitors, and some will be shared with the men. Prizes will be awarded for the best performing male and female climber in the Open comp. Following the initial round of climbing, there will be a Showcase Final round for the best performing climbers - using our comp wall for what it was intended!

Fun Comp

Not everyone can climb 7B, but that's no reason not to be able to share in the fun of the comp. Our Fun Comp will be set at roughly grades 3A to 5C, so anyone who's happy climbing some grade 4s and maybe the odd grade 5 should have a great time. We'll be awarding prizes across several categories (not necessarily to the winners!) to make things interesting, but the main thing is to have fun trying.

The format is very low pressure: there will be 20 problems around the centre, and all entrants will get a tick sheet when they register covering these climbs. You then go around the problems like any of our other circuits, having a go at them in whatever order you fancy.

There's no spotlight or pressure, it's just like coming for a normal climb on a circuit, except that you want to try and climb each problem in as few attempts as possible. You get 10 points if you get the climb first go, 7 points for a second attempt, 3 points for a third attempt, and 1 point if you get it at all.

The scoring will be based on an honesty system, just like our monthly BB fun comps if you've ever tried one of those. You can watch people to get tips before trying the climb yourself, or just take the plunge. We'll have roughly 2 climbs at each grade from 3A up to 5C in the Fun Comp, so if you can climb grade 4s at the moment, you should be able to do about half of the problems. There will be prizes given out to the winners and some random prizes handed out just for fun.

At the end of the day there will be a showcase final for the Open Comp, where we can all gather round and watch the really good climbers battle for the main prize. This doesn't affect the Fun Comp but we'd love everyone to stay and cheer the finalists on.

As well as the climbing, there will be other stuff going on - climbing challenges, music DJs, slacklining - all very laid back.

If you've never climbed in a climbing competition before, this is your chance! We aim to make the Fun Comp the friendliest comp around, so bring some friends and enjoy yourselves.

Under 16 comp

There will be an Under 16 comp running before the scheduled start of the Open Comp, and we encourage any aspiring young climbers to come and give the comp a go. Under 16s will have their own marked problems, though many problems will be shared with the rest of the competition - please note that most routes will be set for adults primarily, with routes not set specifically for juniors. To get the most out of the competition, youth climbers should already be comfortable climbing some of the Font 4s in the centre (mint and grey circuits or thereabouts). We expect

We plan to set 25 problems, graded roughly Font 3A-6C+.

As with our regular centre rules, any Under 16 competitors must be actively supervised by a registered adult boulderer, unless they have completed our Youth Boulderers' Award and been signed off as able to use the centre unsupervised.

Timetable: 12th Mar 2016

Expected timings for the day are set out in the table. These may change a bit but start times should stay the same! We'll have some fun stuff going on all day, particularly between the end of the competitions and the start of the Finals, including some exciting special challenges, - so feel free to hang out all day.

Spectators are very welcome for the Showcase Finals - we'd love to get a big crowd together.

NB - this is the same weekend as CWIF in Sheffield, so perfect for anyone not already heading up north.

// Related News //