Blokfest comes back to BB, 12th December 2015!

Blokfest is back! After a fantastic first visit to Boulder Brighton last year, the Blokfest tour is coming back to us again on the 12th of December. It is the South of England's premier bouldering competition, and a major feature in the UK climbing calendar. The Blokfest series comprises five events over the Autumn/Winter seasons, each held at a different centre. It's going to be a great day, with top route setting, big names from the climbing scene, cash prizes, freebies and more.

The event is organised by the Blokfest team, and hosted by Boulder Brighton. So the best place to find out full details about the day is the Blokfest website - below we've summarised some of the important bits to help you with our leg of the series, whether you're a newcomer to our centre or one of our regulars trying to work out if this event is for you.

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

If you're not sure what it's all about, here's a bit more about the Blokfest series direct from their website:

Blokfest is five giant bouldering festivals led by world-class boulder setting at the premier league climbing centres in the South of England. Blokfest is here to capture all that is exciting, social, fun and challenging about indoor bouldering. It is a festival that has something for everyone from beginner to junior to climbing hero. You can come to have some fun and then make sure you find a good spectator space for a grand final or crush all day and then be in the final – either way you’ll have a bouldering session of your life!

Here's a reminder of what happened at BB last year:

FAQs:

Who's it for?

The event is open to everyone - you don't have to be a pro climber to enter by any means! There will be 25 problems to climb in the Senior Competition, with roughly half the problems coming in at around grade Font 6A+ or easier, based on previous experience. If you're used to our grading system at Boulder Brighton and are currently climbing the Red Circuit or harder (grades Font 5 and up) you should have a great day.

Unlike other Boulder Brighton competitions, there is no "Fun Comp" category at Blokfest - however, this doesn't mean you shouldn't come and have fun(!) and don't be shy of signing up if you've never been in a climbing competition before. There's very little pressure on the day unless you're in with a chance of getting one of the top spots, but there will be an amazing atmosphere and lots of exciting stuff going on for everyone.

For the Juniors, there will be a wide spread of grades on offer, and should be good fun for any keen climbers aged 9 or over. Problems are set with 9-15 year olds in mind. Younger climbers who are interested in coming along should contact Blokfest directly or have a chat with us at Boulder Brighton and we should be able to advise on suitability.

You don't have to enter the whole series if you don't want to - just entering the Brighton round is fine. We'd love to get a big turnout of local climbers on the day.

How does it work?

There will be 25 problems to climb whether you enter the Senior or Junior competitions, which will be spread out around the centre and clearly marked. You will have 4 hours to climb as many of these problems as you can, in the fewest attempts possible (3.5 hours for the Juniors).

You can go around and attempt the problems in any order you like - on your own, or with a group of friends.

You will be given a scoresheet to record how you do. If you manage to climb a problem on the first attempt you will get 10 points, if you manage it on your second go you will get 7 points, and so on. Once you have done all the problems you think you can do (or you run out of time), you add up your scores and hand your card in. That's basically it!

At the end of the day, those people with the highest scores will go through to battle it out in the Showcase Finals. The rest of us get to stay and watch, and cheer them on.

Check the Blokfest website for full rules and details of other things going on during the day.

Prices and registration

See the Blokfest website for details on prices and how to register. An online registration form is available on their website, which will save you time when arriving on the day. Entry fees can be paid for each event individually, or a Season Ticket for all 5 events is available.

Boulder Brighton members will still need to complete a new registration form for the Blokfest event, we recommend using the Blokfest online registration as it's quick and will save everyone loads of time.

Entry fees will be payable to the Blokfest organisers on the day in CASH ONLY - so make sure you bring your wallet.

Facilities

The Boulder Brighton cafe will be open as usual for all your tea, coffee and cake needs. Light savoury snacks will also be available. There is also a small shop at the centre selling all bouldering essentials including chalk bags, chalk, brushes and shoes. Changing rooms and showers will be available as usual.

Sample timetable, 12th Dec 2015

Expected timings for the day are set out in the table - check the Blokfest website for up to date information. These may change a bit on the day but start times should stay the same! There will be fun challenges going on all day, and the Showcase Finals will be well worth sticking around for even if you don't make it into the final yourself. We would love to see a big crowd at the end of the day as we have seen for all our competitions so far.