The Scottish National Bouldering League (SNBL) is an accessible series of competitions for junior to super veteran climbers, which takes place at bouldering venues across Scotland each winter.

ClimbScotland organises and coordinates SNBL in partnership with member climbing walls of the Scottish Climbing Wall Network (SWCN). The league is all about seeing who is the best climber over a series of six rounds on different bouldering walls and different styles at the best walls across Scotland.

SNBL uses one of the rounds from each hosting walls’ scheduled winter bouldering events and combines them into a league. Scoring after each round will be ranked (explanation below). The best four scores by a competitor from a possible six will be used to decide the final placings and the ‘Scottish Bouldering Champions’. This gives competitors the chance to gain a better score if they have one poor competition.

Free entry to the league

Competitors pay their normal entry to the host walls listed below to take part in the competition. To enter the league simply indicate when you take part that you wish to be entered into the SNBL. There is no additional cost. The final scores and prizes will be given out at Round 6.

Dates and venues for SNBL 2024-25

  • Venues TBC

Check individual walls for their full list of competition dates.

Categories

This winter we are piloting a super vets category (or should we call them The Masters?) so the age categories will be:

  • Para Open (16 and older)
  • Junior (16-17 years)
  • Adult (18-44 years)
  • Vets (45-59)
  • Super Vets (60+)
  • Male and female in each category

Eligibility

  • NOTE CHANGE TO CATEGORY ELIGIBILITY: After further consultation we have altered the eligibility to allow competitors who have their birthdays during the 6 months of the league to compete in the category that offers them the majority of rounds relevant to their age – a minimum of 4 of the 6 rounds is required for ranking.
    – Competitors who have a birthday after R1 and before R3 should compete in all 6 rounds in the ‘older’ age category.
    – Competitors who have their birthday after R3 and before R6 should compete in all 6 rounds in the ‘younger’ age category.
  • It is up to competitors to choose the correct category
  • There is no ‘youth’ category (under 16)
  • GB Team members under 16 will not be enterd into the league, although they can of course compete in all the individual wall’s rounds

Scoring

Because each climbing wall offers a different kind of competition and uses a different scoring system, we rank the individual round winners in the different categories and the ranked scores are totalled to find the winner after all rounds have been completed. Ranked scores will be posted on the Mountaineering Scotland SNBL page and notified through the Climbscotland Facebook page after each round, so competitors can keep track of their potential placings.

Results

The results of each round will be available on the Mountaineering Scotland webpage.

Para Open

In keeping with the current competition format, Paraclimbers will climb the problems relevant to their age and gender at each of the rounds. The only difference is that their scores will be calculated in a single Para Open Category. Please note, there are no tailored problems or requirements for host walls to set tailored problems for this catergory. It is also at the climbers own judgement if the problem is suitable and safe for them to attempt.

Feedback

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