The Rab Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) is back!

A weekend of climbing, food, big kit discounts, talks, workshops, adventure film screenings and more climbing! What's not to love?

Join us on Saturday 18th - Sunday 19th March, climb alongside some of the best climbers in the world on problems set by some of the world's best routesetters. Entry is just £15.

WHAT's ON

LIVE STREAM THE FINALS

How it works

Getting Here

Spectator Information

WHAT'S ON AT CWIF

RAB CWIF SPONSOR HUB

Located next door to the main Climbing Works, with many stands from the Rab CWIF 2023's sponsors.

Fantastic deals on new, clearance and ex-demo stock from Rab, Scarpa and Wild Country
Scarpa Pro Shop: 20% off RRP, expert shoe-fitting from Scarpa staff and designers, an expanded range of Scarpa climbing shoes and ex demo shoes
Talk from Sheffield Climbing Clinic physio, James Walker 'Common Climbing Injuries and how to Prevent them' Sunday 3:50pm-4:30pm
Workshops more info to follow
Adventure Film Screenings- Sunday 3:00-3:40pm
- Reel Rock: Cenote (12 mins)
- The Last Forgotten Art (18 mins)
- Rise (5 mins)
Porter Pizza will be on-site serving sourdough pizza to hungry climbers and spectators. Saturday 6pm - 8:30pm and Sunday 2:30pm - 7pm.

YOGA WITH JASMIN

£4 per person over 18s only
Times:

Saturday 3:45-4:30pm
Saturday 4:45-5:30pm

KIDS CWIF CLIMBING SESSION

This year we are offering subsidised climbing taster sessions to help inspire the future of climbing.
Our highly experience coaching team will provide an hour and a half of climbing challenges and fun for anyone 5 - 13 years. No previous experience necessary!

Bookings and more information below.

Price: £5 per person
Times:

Saturday 2:45-4:15pm
Sunday 2:45-4:15pm

REGISTER FOR CWIF

CWIF is popular, so you must register for entry below before you come down.

Qualification sessions:

Session 1: Morning 9am - 12pm

Session 2: Afternoon 1pm - 4pm

Session 3*: Party Session 5pm - 8pm

*Session 3 cannot qualify for the semi-finals

** Fancy dress encouraged

Before you register, please check the following:

You are sufficiently experienced to climb unsupervised in the Climbing Works. (Do I have enough experience?)
You are registered as an Unsupervised Adult Climber at the Climbing Works.
If you haven't been since May 2019, you have to reregister.

How does CWIF work?

Saturday 18th March: The Qualifiers

30 problems in The Climbing Works main walls, the comp wall and Unit E.
Grades from Font 5+/6a up to Font very hard.
Peer-marked scoring (no cheating!)
Single Entry or team competition (teams of 4, mixed gender, £1000 prize).
Highest individual score wins.
Top 20 male and female competitors qualify for the semi-finals.

This is the most informal part of the competition, fun is encouraged!

Qualifiers Schedule:

Registration 1: 08:15-09:00
Session 1: 09:00-12:00
Registration 2: 12:15-13:00
Session 2: 13:00-16:00
Registration 3: 16:15 - 17:00
Session 3: 17:00-20:00

Sunday 19th March: Semi-Finals

Top 20 male and female competitors qualify for the semi-finals.
IFSC senior bouldering Work Cup semi-final format.
4 set problems (4 for Men, 4 for Women).
Independently judged.
6 highest scores qualify for the final.

Watch the livestream at 11:55 GMT on 19 March 2022.

Sunday 19th March: Finals

6 highest male and female scores qualify for the final.
4 men's and 4 womens problems on the Rab Competition Wall to decide who the Rab CWIF 2022 champions.

Watch the livestream at 18:10 GMT on 19 March 2023.

International licenses are NOT required for CWIF.

CWIF Rules

Format:

Qualifiers: standard bouldering league format. 30 problems to be attempted in a set time perdiod with no isolation.

Semi-finals/finals: have isolation and problems will be attempted as on-sights, with set number, sequence, climbing period and rest period.

All-rounds:

Each problem has a designated starting position: two fixed positions for hands and optionally two fixed positions for both feet. Start holds will be clearly marked,
Finishing holds will be clearly marked.
Bonus point awarded for a specified hold, this will also be clearly marked.
Brushes may be used to clean holds that may be reached from the ground. Competitors may clean higher holds as long as ther is no tactile inspection (don't feel the holds!)
An attempt is successful when the finishing hold is held with both hands and the judge says OK.

Qualifying round

There is no isolation for this round. Competitors may watch and communicate with others.
Competitors mark their own score card. Any cheating will be dealt with in an incredibly embarrassing way for that person.
Competitors are allowed three attempts on each problem. A successful first attempt is worth 10 points, a successful second attempt is worth 7 points, a successful third attempt is worth 4 points. Holding the zone hold is worth 1 bonus point. This point does not get added to the score but is a tie break, ie your score might be shown as 110+12 indicating that you flashed 11 problems and got all 12 bonus holds.
A technical incident is defined as; a broken or loose hold, or any other occurrence that results in a disadvantage or unfair advantage to a competitor, which is not the result of an action on the part of the competitor. The problem must be repaired and the competitor is allowed another attempt on the problem.
After the qualifying round the competitors shall be ranked according to the total number of points scored and then the total number of bonus points scored.
The fixed quotas for the semi-final round shall be 20.

Semi-final and Final rounds

The semi-final and final rounds use a modified version of the IFSC Rules :

The semi-final round shall consist of 4 problems with 5 minutes climbing time per problem.
The final round shall consist of 4 problems with 2 minutes per problem observation time and 4 minutes climbing time per problem.
The fixed quota for the final round shall be 6.
The finals will be simultaneous.

The IFSC Rules for ranking athletes have changed. The new systems is:

Number of Tops,
Number of Bonuses (now called zones in the IFSC Rules),
Attempts to Top
Attempts to Bonus

Juniors

Under 18s, minimum age 14 years old on 18th March 2023.
Junior ranking is determined by Qualification result.
There is no Junior semi-final/final, but juniors can qualify for Female and Male open semi-finals if they score high enough.
Juniors need to signed off as independent climber before the event. If you are travelling far for the event please contact sarah@climbingworks.com so we organise parental consent.

Please note: there are no problem set specifically for children. Although this is a fun day, please be aware that circuits are set for adults.

Veterans

Those born in 1974 or before will be ranked within the Veterans category (there's no specific prize for this category, but you do get glory and bragging rights).
Veteran's can still qualify for the semi-finals and finals.

Teams

Teams consist of 4 climbers and must be mixed gender, the prize is based on scores for the qualification round.
Register your team on the day, compulsory minimum donation of £10 per team to our supported charities.
Prize for the 'best dressed' team, whether that be evening wear or an octopus costume.

PRIZE MONEY

Male and Female open:

1st place: £2000

2nd place: £1000

3rd place: £500

4th place: £300

5th place: £200

6th place: £100

Team category

Team prize: £1000

SPECTATOR INFORMATION

You don't have to compete to enjoy the CWIF!

Spectator Tickets are available to purchase for the final! (More info to follow soon)
If you miss out on tickets, you can join us in The Sponsor Hub to watch the livestream on the Big Screen for free! You can also watch the livestream from the comfort of your home.

Saturday 18th March: The Qualifiers

The main centre and Unit E are CLOSED all day to the public, these sessions are for competitors only.

Sunday 19th March: Semi-finals and Finals

Climbing Works open to public for climbing from 10:00 - 17:00 with partial wall closure.

Full schedule:

10:00 Climbing Works opens (reduced entry price of £7.00 due to partial wall closures)

11:00 Isolation closes in Unit E for Semi Finalists

12:00 to 14:30 Semi Finals

17:00 Climbing Works & Mini Works close to public early, so no more climbing!

17:30 Isolation closes in Climbing Works Unit E for Finalists. Spectators have to temporarily vacate Climbing Works before finals.

17:45 Finals spectator area opens.

18:30 to 20:30 Finals

GETTNG HERE

Airports

Sheffield does not have an international airport. The nearest airports are:

Manchester: Major international airport served by most airlines including some budget airlines. Approx 80km from Sheffield with a train line from the airport to Sheffield. For train details see www.nationalrail.co.uk
Nottingham East Midlands: Approx 50 km from Sheffield served by budget airlines. No direct trains to Sheffield - you would need to get a bus to Derby or Nottingham and then a train to Sheffield. There is a direct National Express Bus service between East Midlands airport and Sheffield, one hour journey. Check their website for times.
Leeds-Bradford: Approx 80km from Sheffield served by budget airlines. No direct trains to Sheffield - you would need to get a bus to Leeds and then a train to Sheffield.

Parking

We're going to be very busy over the CWIF weekend, so there will be limited parking available.
Some parking belongs to other businesses and residents, please respect the signage.
If possible please walk, cycle or get the bus down! Failing that, please try to lift share. This will earn you a tea or instant coffee for 50p!
There is abundant parking available at the Tescos overflow car park at S7 2QB about 10 mins walk away. If you really need to park closer than this then please be considerate to local residents!
Don't park on Athol Road, and if parking on Little London Road, then park carefully so you don't obstruct the flow of traffic especially by avoiding parking on the corners outside our car park.
Also note that we have arranged use of Sorby's Tools parking (facing the Mini Works, but not the triangle on the corner), as well as Yob Golf's & Sheffield Prestige garages' parking along Little London Road in evenings & at weekends to reduce the impact on local residents.
More details about parking can be found here.

SPONSORS