FOUR - BB's fourth anniversary comp

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

In March 2017, we will be FOUR 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 FOUR 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.

Click to see the event poster:

NEW £2000 CASH PRIZE POT!

New for 2017 we're adding big cash prizes for the event winners. There will be a £2000 cash prize pot , with £500 on offer for the winner of the Men's and Women's Open events, and cash prizes for the top three finishers in each event.

12 MONTHS FREE CLIMBING TO BE WON!

Every competitor will get a free t-shirt, and the chance to enter a random draw for one of FOUR quarterly unlimited climbing passes - meaning that even the lowest scoring climbers could go home big winners :)

There will also be prizes and freebies from our lovely sponsors to be won, check our social media for details nearer the day.

Book tickets

Earlybird ticket sales have now closed. On the day tickets are available though, so it's not too late to get involved - just turn up on the day (new visitors to the centre will need to register). Full details on the event are available below, just scroll down - if you're not sure of anything, just give us a call or an email.

Fun for everyone

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. There will also be our usual delicious wood-fired pizza to eat, or possibly even something more exotic.

Centre will be closed to general climbing

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. We will be open again as normal from Sunday morning.

Comp entry 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 - 25 problems 4A-7B

With setting from Yann Genoux (national route setter including the British Bouldering Championships), GB Team member Leah Crane , Liam Lonsdale 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. Following the initial round of climbing, there will be a Showcase Final round for the best performing climbers - using our 17 metre comp wall for what it was intended!

Fun Comp - 20 problems 3A-5C

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. There will be various prizes to be had (not necessarily going 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.

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 - 25 problems

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). There will be 25 problems set.

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.

Veterans category

We will be awarding separate prizes for the highest scoring Veteran competitors in the Open competition. Our Veterans category is applicable to anyone born in 1976 or earlier.

Finals

The top scoring competitors from the Male and Women's Open comps will battle it out to see who gets the top spot at the end of the night. Make sure you stick around to watch some of the strongest climbers around show the rest of us how it's done. We always get a big crowd and a great atmosphere - and this year we're looking forward to commentary from Liam Lonsdale, which should be entertaining - he's no stranger to comp commentary, with live coverage at the Addidas Rockstars and CWIF events last year.

Timetable:

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.