The seventh annual Boulderham climbing competition is returning to Vital Climbing Gym after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boulderham will take place this Saturday, Oct. 21, from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. The event welcomes competitors from a wide range of ages and skill levels. It’s also open to spectators.
“It’s a special thing that we are able to do this for the community. [We get to give] them this competition, a chance to cheer each other on, climb with each other and win some awesome prizes,” said Chris Charles, the general manager at Vital.
There are seven categories in the competition: Youth A (ages 5 to 8), Youth B (ages 9 to 12), Recreational (V0 to V3 Climbers), Intermediate (V4 to V5 Climbers), Advanced (V6 to V7 Climbers), Open (V8+ Climbers) and Masters (Ages 40+). Bouldering uses a grading system where routes are ranked easiest to hardest, which spans from V0 to V8+.
There is a cash prize of $2,000 for the open category and a variety of prizes for the others.
George Murphy, a first-time participant who will be competing in the advanced category, hopes to see some dynamic courses during the event.
“It seemed like a good opportunity to get out of my comfort zone,” Murphy said, with one year of climbing experience under his belt.
Youth A and Youth B combine all genders in the competition, whereas the other divisions offer male, female/nonbinary and nonbinary groups.
Pre-registration, which ended Friday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m., costs $50 for Vital members and $60 for non-members. Both members and non-members can also register the day of the event for a fee of $65.
Preparations for this event started on Tuesday, with the whole Vital Climbing Gym staff working hard to get ready for the competition this weekend.
“We’re excited to see everyone on Saturday and give everybody an awesome experience. We hope that everyone will join us,” said Charles.
Jaelin McQueen (he/him) is a city life reporter for The Front. He is a second-year student pre-majoring in public relations. He is a track athlete for the university and enjoys spending time with friends and exploring new things. You can reach him at jaelinmcqueen.thefront@gmail.com.
