Everyone who climbs. We mean it. If you climb VB to V10, you can come and participate at Lincoln Rocks!

When we bring up climbing competitions, folks have often told us how they don't feel strong enough for a competition. We’re here to tell you YES YOU ARE.

• You do not need to know how to do a pull-up

• You do not need to put months into training

• And no you do not need to climb harder

That’s WHY we have a recreational category - it’s for recreational climbers. As a plus, beginner climbers often do well in the recreational category, especially given that it is typically the least filled category.

When you register early, you’ll get:

• A discounted ticket price

• A free event t-shirt IF you register before the deadline AND submit your t-shirt form (emailed to you after registration)

• A prize raffle ticket

PLEASE fill out the emailed form that will be sent to you after you purchase a ticket. This will ask you to select your difficulty category AND T-shirt size if you sign up before the t-shirt deadline.

On the day of the event, you’ll get 3 hours to climb all the climbs in your category. Every category will have ~8 total climbs that will count towards your final score. The climbs will often vary in style and test different skills so it helps to be well-rounded.

Our setters aim for a normal distribution spread in scores for every category. All this means is that setters will aim to have most of the climbers reach the TOP of around 3-5 climbs out of 8 total climbs. If you are able to flash all 8 climbs or are getting 0% of climbs, you should adjust your difficulty category.

On the day of the competition, please arrive 15 minute early to get your scorecard and be present for the rules meeting. We will go over how the competition is scored and any other regulations.

This is a modified redpoint competition.

Tip #1: Do not overthink training. You do not need to train for this event in order to participate. Keep doing what you’re doing and if you really want to, slowly incorporate new things rather than going all-in too quickly. That’s a recipe for injury :(

Tip #2: Climbing is the best way to get better at climbing. For the vast majority of climbers, working on your least favorite style or moves, re-climbing routes using different beta, and challenging yourself on the wall is the best way to get better at climbing.

Tip #3: WARM UP. Do not hop on any climbs in your category until your body AND fingers are warmed up. No matter your warm-up strategy, it should take at least 15 minutes.

Tip #4: On comp day, take breaks. After each attempt, take an assessment of your energy. Dynos may not drain your energy like a cave climb would after one attempt, so multiple attempts might not be that detrimental. However, think of your energy on comp day as a large battery. You only have so much battery for 3 hours of climbing and the best strategy is to spread your attempts across ALL 3 HOURS. Use every attempt wisely and intentionally. Many climbers will start in a full sprint only to realize they have no battery left to top the rest of the climbs. But you won’t, now that you know.

Tip #5: Remember that falling is OKAY. That was the goal of the setters (those goobers). The real test is whether you can get up, re-assess well, and give it another try. Using data from our previous competitions, the average person takes between 4-10 tries to TOP a climb at their upper limit.

Tip #6: You don't need to do something new for the comp. Keep as many things the same in your routine as possible.

• Do not get new shoes right before a comp. Brand new shoes need time to break in before you start to trust your footwork.

• Don't make dramatic changes in diet on the week leading up to the event. An upset stomach does not climb well.

• Rest at least 2-3 days before the comp: training is DONE. The best thing to do now is to rest and relax or do low-impact activities (walking).

General

• ONLY boulders in a competitor’s Difficulty Category will count towards their final score.

• Climbers have A MAX OF 20 attempts per boulder.

• Climbers must start from the beginning at each attempt. Touching other holds or projecting the route will result in a score of 0 for that route.

  • Climbers may not climb up adjacent holds to "test out the holds" or add a chalk tick mark on a boulder.

  • Please request a staff member to assist with adding chalk marks to climbs.

• Climbers will write their scores down using the honor system. Any climber fabricating scores will be disqualified.

• Illegible scorecards will not be accepted. Please make it easy for scorekeepers to quickly discern your score.

• While cheering on fellow climbers is encouraged, spraying beta to a climber on the wall is prohibited.

• All volumes in the gym are “ON” (can be used) for any boulder.

• Aretes marked with black tape are “OFF” (cannot be used) for all boulders. Black tape is used to signal off-limits sections of the wall.

• Use of plastic Start, Zone, or Top tags to assist in climbing a boulder is prohibited.

• Send it. Sick sends must be high fived, fist bumped, and/or cheered.

Scoring

• To score on a route, climbers must demonstrate CONTROL on the tagged Start hold(s), Zone hold, and Top hold of a boulder.

  • At the start, your hands and feet (AKA "four points of contact") must be established on the wall BEFORE the climber makes the first move. Once all of points of contact leave the mat, your attempt begins - this includes dyno starts.

  • To achieve a zone, climbers must control AND make forward progress from the Zone on a boulder (e.g., moving off of the zone hold with a hand or moving a foot forward).

  • To achieve a TOP, you must control the top hold with both hands. All Tops require another climber to initial your scoresheet by the route to confirm they saw you finish the climb. Otherwise, the Top will not count.

• Scoring is based on the following (in order of importance):

  1. Total Number of Tops

  2. Total Number of Zones

  3. Total Number of Attempts to Top

  4. Total Number of Attempts to Zone

Technicals and Falls

• Technicals can be called for a variety of reasons and will result in no fall penalty for that attempt, including:

  1. A loose or spinning hold

  2. Interference from another climber

  3. Any other external event NOT in the climber's control

• The following situations will count as a Fall

  • The climber falls off of the route without controlling the Zone or Top hold

  • The climber touches other holds to "test them out" before starting the climb.

• The climber "dabs" or uses:

  1. A hold not part of the route

  2. The boulder mat after all points of contact leave the mat

More questions? Please remember them and ask them at the RULES MEETING 15 minutes before the start of your climbing session