What's happening

We have been working together with the BMC and Mountaineering Ireland and reviewing how and when competitions across the country are ran by the home nations. From these discussions and further consultation with key stakeholders, the following proposed changes have been recommended. As part of this, we are keen to have the input from Scottish competitors and parents on what the future of competitions looks like across country.

What about the format of the YCS in Scotland?

The ClimbScotland team are currently reviewing the future YCS format for Scotland and will be looking to update competitors and parents in due course.

Here's our proposal to reschedule the competition climbing calendar from 2021 onwards.

The ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of innumerable sporting events across the globe and competition climbing is no different. This ongoing disruption to sport has come with one silver-lining; the opportunity to make far reaching changes to competition calendars. Worldwide, national, and international sports bodies are taking the opportunity to realign competition calendars.

Together with staff members of Mountaineering Scotland and Mountaineering Ireland, we have developed a proposal to reshape the competition climbing calendar for national championships and the Youth Climbing Series.

The reasoning behind these proposals are as follows:

1. To create a more athlete centred approach for the national events

2. To schedule national competitions to align with international competitions to allow for better athlete preparation and selection.

3. To reduce the number of national and international clashes.

4. To co-ordinate the schedule of national championships to create a ‘Four Nations’ type series of competitions. Thus:

Increasing the number of national competitions for athletes to compete in.
Increasing the profile (and commercial sponsorship attractiveness) of national competitions.
Increasing participation levels at national competitions.

5. To provide for scheduled periods of ‘down time’ for athletes.

6. To schedule the Youth Climbing Series competitions to better align with national talent development pathways.

Although exact details are yet to be worked out, we would like to present additional detail to give a fuller picture of what the competition climbing calendar could look like for national championships and the Youth Climbing Series.

National competitions – Boulder

National boulder competitions would be scheduled to take place in February, March and April – essentially before Easter. These competitions would be complete before the commencement of the IFSC international competitions. A series of four national competitions – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – would be run. An overall ranking for competitors would be calculated.

Sample dates for 2021:

Welsh Bouldering Championship 13th February
Junior Irish Bouldering Championship 27th February
Senior Irish Bouldering Championship 28th February
Scottish Youth Bouldering Championship 20th March
Junior English Bouldering Championship 17th April
Senior English Bouldering Championships date TBC
The 2021 British Bouldering Championship will take place on 10&11 July (TBC) as part of the Sheffield Cliffhanger Festival.

With increased participation in these competitions, we would also aim to hold a full series of stand-alone Senior and Junior competitions.

National competitions – Lead

National lead competitions would be scheduled to take place in May and June, before the international lead season begins.

Scottish Lead Climbing Championship 8th and 9th May
Irish Lead Climbing Championship 22nd and 23rd May
British Lead Climbing Championship 5th and 6th June
Welsh Climbing Championship 19th June

Youth Climbing Series

As part of the overall rescheduling of the competition calendar the Youth Climbing Series would move from January, February, March, April to September, October, November. The series would generally follow the current format. That is two one day regional boulder rounds, two one day regional lead rounds and a two-day combined bouldering and lead Grand-Final.

Suggested dates are as follows:

Round 1: 18th September
Round 2: 2nd October
Round 3: 23rd October
Round 4: 6th November
Grand-Final: 27th & 28th November

Please note: Scotland will be reviewing its YCS format separately and will be in touch with competitors and parents in due course.

In addition, it is proposed to remove the Youth E category from the Grand Final. Quite simply the competitive environment and format of the Grand Final is not appropriate for climbers in Youth E category. There is plenty of research (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3) which states children of this age should not be exposed to overly formal competition too early on in their sporting life.

Take our survey!

The BMC, Mountaineering Ireland and Mountaineering Scotland would welcome feedback on the proposals presented, please take our short survey.

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