Schools Bouldering Championships 2019
16 Mar 2019
Schools Bouldering Championships 2019
Our 2019 Schools Bouldering Championships were our biggest yet, partly due to the introduction of our Greater Sheffield Competition, but also due to the growing level of enthusiasm from schools and climbers. The finals took place just a few days after the CWIF (Climbing Works International Festival) which led to a very busy few weeks at The Climbing Works!
This year we had 601 competitors across primary and secondary attend our qualification rounds, and 170 attend our finals. For Sheffield Schools, we invited 6 students from the top 10 scoring primary and secondary schools to our championships on the 8th March. As we were in the first year of Greater Sheffield competition, every school that attended a qualification round were invited to bring 6 students to their final on the 7th March.
The final
Each school had 2 hours to try 12 blocs ranging in difficulty, set specifically for the competition. Points were awarded for getting to the top in the fewest amounts of attempts. Bonus points were also awarded for those who didn’t make it to the top, but were able to reach the bonus hold. Every bloc was topped at least once, and we even saw a tie break between the top 5 Sheffield Primary females and top 4 males.
As with every year, some competitors are regulars at our kids clubs and it is amazing to see how psyched they are for the competition. What is even more rewarding to see, is the competitors that have never climbed before their qualification round and how hard they push themselves. Opening the competition up to Greater Sheffield this year was an extra challenge for us, but very worthwhile. We even saw one school show their commitment by travelling an hour either way on public transport from their school in Barnsley.
The results for each competition were as follows...
Greater Sheffield Primary team results
1st - Grindleford
2nd - Bamford
3rd - Fitzherbert C o E
4th - Longstone
5th - Birdwell
6th - Sitwell Junior
Greater Sheffield Secondary team results
1st - Lady Manners
2nd - Hope Valley College
3rd - Wickersley
4th - Eckington
Sheffield Primary team results
1st - Hunters Bar
2nd - Ecclesall
3rd - Westways (qualification round results taken into consideration)
4th - Dore (qualification round results taken into consideration)
5th - Carterknowle
6th - Dobcroft
7th - St Wilfrids
8th - Parson Cross
9th - Woodseats
10th - Heritage Park
Sheffield Secondary team results
1st - Tapton
2nd - Silverdale
3rd - Notre Dame
4th - Bradfield
5th - Mercia
6th - Forge Valley
7th - Firvale
8th - Bethany
9th - Westfield
10th - Hinde House
Schools were also sent individual Male/Female results.
For our 2020 competition (date still to be confirmed), due to the increased popularity we will be opening registration in September. We would strongly advise schools to book their qualification rounds early as we expect these to book up fast.
We would like to say a massive thank you to all the teachers, parents and pupils who make the event such a success. We would also like the thank this year’s sponsors (Core, Moon, Wild Country, Beta, The North Face, Five Ten, Decathlon) who provided us with some amazing prizes! And of course, a big thank you to all the coaches and staff for all their hard work over a very busy period!
Information and 2020 dates will be sent out to schools in September. Please contact Ruth@climbingworks.com if you did not attend this year but wish to be contacted with information about next years competition.
Written By Ruth Harrington