This weekend is the first climbing event of many taking place at The Boulders Climbing Gym, located in Central Saanich, BC on Vancouver Island. For those of you who have never been to The Boulders (myself included), the facility touts over 13,000 square feet of space and 18 meter lead walls, making it a premier venue for training and competition climbing. With three more competitions this year, as well as playing host to an IFSC Training Camp led by Adam Ondra and Sean McColl in February, this will surely not be the last time we hear from them this year. After speaking to Paul Ledet, the Head Judge for the event this weekend, Squamish Climbing Magazine thought it would good to check in with Event Organizer Sebastian Powell to get the details for this weekend.
Hi Sebastian, thanks for answering some of our questions. So how did the idea of hosting a triple header come about?
The idea for the triple header started last year, when The Edge hosted a double-header that featured both bouldering and difficulty. We wanted to host a double-header ourselves but since we have the speed wall, we thought it would be great to try all three disciplines.
How many people are signed up for this weekends event?
There are 117 competitors signed up, and another 40 volunteers have signed up, to make it run. Without volunteers, these events simply would not happen
What is your title at The Boulders and how long have you been involved in indoor climbing?
I am the General Manager of the Boulders Climbing Gym, and have been involved in the indoor climbing industry for 15 years.
Often when gyms host a competition, it costs them more money to run a competition. Does The Boulders make money off an event like this?
The Boulders doesn’t make money off of this event, and – in fact – we are a not-for-profit society. This means that our return on investment can be measured in things like healthier communities and healthier kids, rather than measuring it on how much money we make. Any money we do make is re-invested in the facility and our programs. We host events and competitions to both advance the sport and climbers.
What does it mean to be a ‘Not-for-Profit Society’ and how does this work for you folks?
I think this questions is best answered by our volunteer Chair and one of the founders, Kimanda Jarzebiak. Here is what she had to say,
I don’t believe that we’re the only one in BC, as I think the new gym in Nelson, BC is using our model, and a facility in Duncan is considering it as well. There are also a number of climbing facilities – such as Dawson Creek, Richmond, and soon Fort Nelson – that are run and owned by local governments. We came up with this model because our mission is to make climbing accessible to everyone, regardless of ability and ability to pay. Because our employees, programs and facility are overseen by a volunteer board of directors, not an owner needing to make a living, we are able to allocate time and resources to a lot of activities that don’t make money, including adaptive recreation, school-based programs (we’re located in a public high school), and climbing therapy programs. We’ve also been able to invest heavily in development of a sport-for-life model to guide our climbing programs, outdoor education and transition programs, and in ways to ensure that cost isn’t a barrier for participation.
I heard through the grapevine that competitors had to compete in at least the bouldering and difficulty. Can you clarify this for our readers?
Competitors do not have to compete in all disciplines. They have the option to compete in one, two, or three. For the events that they do compete in, the points earned will go towards their national ranking in that specific discipline. For this year, there won’t be an “overall” or multi-discipline winner of the competition, but we might consider that if we host something similar next year.
This weekend, there is also a Tour De Bloc taking place in Alberta? Was this taken into consideration when planning the event?
The schedule for the Sport Climbing BC competition season was completed this summer and posted fairly early, prior to the Tour de Bloc schedule. Unfortunately, once we booked this weekend, we then built other facility commitments around it, and we couldn’t move it.
Finally, can you tell us what format the competition will be using for both Bouldering and Difficulty disciplines?
For all three disciplines, the results will be determined from qualifier rounds. There will be no semis or finals. For bouldering, we will use the IFSC World Cup qualifier format (isolation, 5 problems, with 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off). For lead, it will also be isolation format (on-sight), with two routes. Climbers will have 6 minutes per route. For speed, it will be the world-record format, but results will be determined from the best of the two qualifier runs.
Thanks Sebastian! For more information on this weekend, please see the most recent press release here. If you are interested in attending the IFSC Training Camp with Adam Ondra and Sean McColl taking place February 20-22, there are still a few spots available and information can be found here.
Sebastian Powell is the Manager of the Boulders Climbing Gym, sits on the Climbing Instructor Committee for the ACMG, and is Secretary-Treasurer of the SCBC
