While the annual ABS Nationals bouldering competition seems to generate a lot of buzz among competitors and spectators alike, the yearly SCS Nationals sport climbing competition always seems to be a bit more under the radar. Normally the event is scheduled to coincide with the annual winter Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City which tends to give it some boost both in profile and in the caliber of climbers who compete, however things are a bit different this year. The event has been moved to Boulder, CO’s Movement Climbing & Fitness and it takes place this weekend.
The Women’s field is relatively small but quite stacked with 2010 winner Sasha DigGiulian (who is in pretty good shape right now), multi-time winner Emily Harrington who is getting back into shape and Paige Claassen all scheduled to compete.
The Men’s side is a bit more difficult to judge with most of the well-known American male sport climbers not competing (Sharma, Graham, Kinder, Siegrist, etc.). Past winners Magnus Midtbø and Carlo Traversi are likely to compete however and there are loads of other strong guys registered so it will be interesting to see how things shake out.
Unfortunately the event is not being streamed live online anywhere that I am aware of, so unless you’re in Boulder you’ll just have to wait for the highlight video. If you are in Boulder, tickets for finals are $10 and more details can be found here.
Anyone planning on attending the event?? Anyone have a prediction for who will win?? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Here are the highlight videos from last year:
The impression I am getting in Boulder is that “under the radar” is an understatement.
loading...
The fact that the top names in American sport climbing have better things to do is telling about the future of this.
loading...
The fact that the top names in American sport climbing have better things to do is telling about the future of this.
loading...
Sascha might just win womens AND mens.
loading...
No kidding, right??
loading...
The idea that this comp won’t be as good as it could be without the “big” names is a joke! Indoor sport climbing competitions are an entirely different animal. The guys registered for this event who compete regularly indoors would absolutely CRUSH your big name climbers and thats why they dont show up. Don’t give me any excuses like it’s “not worth it to them” when most are local and or their sponsors would pay for it. Magnus or Cardwell for the win!
loading...
Indoor climbing is an entirely different type of climbing. There are people who call themselves “climbers” and have never actually touched real rock – they only climb indoors. There have been quite a few times when people have been so stoked to have climbed a 5.12 route in the climbing gym – they come in and “project” it, climb it over and over, and get upset when the route is taken down. Could they climb a 5.12 outdoors or climb outdoors in general? It’s not about taking that excitement away from them, but indoor and outdoor rock climbing, bouldering, lead/sport, top rope, what have you, is all about perspective. The big name climbers who climb real rock are doing their thing, whether they have sponsors or not, and maybe they don’t need this competition to validate who they are as a climber or how they rank within those selected climbers.
loading...
Magnum Meatball for the men.
Sushi Digoogly eyes for the women.
TEAM BLONDE FTW
loading...