For the third time, the Western Cape is host to the biggest indoor bouldering competition in South Africa: the 2016 National Boulder Series Championships.
With the incredible buy-in and support of South Africa’s second largest Indoor Climbing Gym, namely CityROCK Indoor Climbing Gym in Observatory, Cape Town, the stage was set to witness 62 competitors from across the country take part in this year’s National Boulder Event.
Each province was allowed up to 5 competitors per each of the 12 categories. The format of the event included semi-final rounds on the Saturday 16th April 2016 and the final rounds on Sunday 17th April 2016.
While in isolation on the Saturday and Sunday, climbers could be found lounging around in the cool breeze coming in through the open door into the isolation area, fondly known as Area 51 by the local CityROCK clients.
Hats off to the great routesetting that occurred before and during the event. Chief Routesetter, Kent Jennings, and his team of routesetters spent the entire week leading up to the event setting routes and stripping the walls of the gym. It was incredible to see how much work, deliberation and basic hard labour goes into the setting and stripping of routes.
Each boulder problem that was climbed was allocated one Judge and one Scorer. These two persons were responsible for accurately capturing which climber got the most top and bonus holds in the 5 and 4 minutes for semi-final and final boulder problems respectively. The scoresheets were taken to the Scores Analyst and the Chief Scorer to be entered into a Scoring Spreadsheet which would calculate and ultimately rank the climbers after each climb. The Jury President had the final say before the results were published.
The competition ran very smoothly and efficiently and any queries or issues that arose throughout the event were dealt with timeously and fairly, ensuring a successful, streamlined and entertaining competition for all involved. The running of the event was largely and almost exclusively due to the officials, namely:
- Patrick Black (Jury President)
- Kent Jennings (Chief Routesetter)
- Chris Naudé (Chief Scorer)
- Delaney Carpenter (Organiser)
- CityROCK Staff (Venue Hosts)
- Tracy Bell (Scores Analyst)
- Colette Rodrigues (Judge)
- Linith von Ahlefeldt (Judge)
- Julian Lapin (Judge)
- Nigel Dorward (Judge)
- Karen Rosser (Judge)
- Clive Rosser (Judge)
- Pierce Joubert (Judge)
- Sandy Black (Judge)
- Matthew van der Westhuizen (Scorer)
- Dante Roumega (Scorer)
- Nicholas Penny (Scorer)
- Daniel Morison (Scorer)
- Kayleigh Hart (Scorer)
- Emily Wedepohl (Scorer)
- Darryn Ashley (Scorer)
- Sam Sserwanga (Scorer)
- Kent Jennings (Spotter)
- David Gerber (Spotter)
- Kent Jennings (Runner and Technician)
- David Gerber (Runner and Technician)
- Gabby Leigh (Time Keeper)
- Chai Brincat (Time Keeper)
- Brett Nicholson (Time Keeper)
- Delaney Carpenter (Isolation Steward)
- Natalie Dorward (Isolation Steward)
- Kent Jennings (Route Setter and Stripper)
- David Gerber (Route Setter and Stripper)
- Nick Telford (Route Setter)
- Geoff Meyer (Photographer)
- Jenny Adams (Physiotherapy Services)
- S Jacobs Paramedics (Medical Services)
- CityROCK Gear Shop for prizes to the value of R8,443.00
- Eiger Equipment for their R2,000.00 Cash Donation
- Red Bull for the energy drinks
- Red Earth for the Floating Trophy for the National Boulder Series Championships!
- And an enormous thanks to our Master of Ceremonies, Greg Borman!
- Special thanks to Tarryn, Illona, Dominic and Lee from CityROCK for everything they did to assist us – and they did a lot!
The winners of the competition are as follows:
Spot Prizes: (Sponsored by CityROCK Gear Shop at an overall value of R5,518.00)
- Best Double Handed Dyno: Oliver Marx (GC)
- Best Hair Flick: Damien Blokker (GC)
- Best Newcomers: Nicholas Cibulka (GC), Luca Mihal Bazzea (WCC) and Joseph Rosendorff (WC)
Raffle Prize: (Metolius Boulder Pad Sponsored by CityROCK Gear Shop at a value of R2,925.00)
- Damien Blokker (GC)
U13 Girls
Gold: Jacinth “Finchie” Lapin (WCC)
Silver: Sarah Adams (WCC)
Bronze: Amaya Lakmeeharan (GC)
U13 Boys
Gold: Nicholas Cibulka (GC)
Silver: Lucien “Nico” Setterberg (GC)
Bronze: Ethan Coleman (WCC)
U15 Girls
Gold: Camilla Cibulka (GC)
Silver: Alyssa Meyer (WCC)
Bronze: Abigail Strange (GC)
U15 Boys
Gold: David Naudé (WCC)
Silver: Alistair Stubbs (GC)
Bronze: Liam Foxcroft (WCC)
U17 Girls
Gold: Angela Eckhardt (GC)
Silver: Mikela Sinovich (WCC)
Bronze: Anneke Eberhard (WCC)
U17 Boys
Gold: Damien Blokker (GC)
Silver: Nicholas Meinel (GC)
Bronze: Jake Amaler (WCC)
U19 Boys
Gold: Oliver Marx (GC)
Silver: Joseph Rosendorff (WCC)
Bronze: Katleho Pobe (GC)
Ladies Open
Gold: Samantha Stainton (GC)
Silver: Naureen Bretherick (GC)
Bronze: Zoe Duby (WCC)
Mens Open
Gold: Adam Ludford (WCC)
Silver: Calrin Curtis (GC)
Bronze: James Barnes (GC)
Winning Province *** Gauteng Climbing
***The Winning Province was calculated this year by calculating the scores of the Top 5 competitors in each category as follows:
1st Place = 5 points
2nd Place = 4 points
3rd Place = 3 points
4th Place = 2 points
5th Place = 1 point
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Parents and Climbers
All the Officials of the Competition
South African National Climbing Federation
Provincial Bodies: KZN Climbing, Gauteng Climbing and Western Cape Climbing
CityROCK Indoor Climbing Gym
Red Earth
SPONSORS
CityROCK Gear Shop and associated brands Metolius, Mammut, Evolv and Five Ten
Eiger Equipment and associated brand Petzl
Red Bull
MEDIA SPONSORS
Climb ZA
SA Mountain Magazine
OTHER
Brandline Africa
Sporting Images
Golf Partners, Inc.
The Badgeman
A huge thank you must be given to all our sponsors, particularly those who contributed the most. These events are very expensive for all concerned and without the sponsors, the calibre of these National Competitions will be low. Western Cape Climbing has been very fortunate this year to have had such immeasurable support from our sponsors. Much appreciation is given and we cannot thank you all enough for your contributions.
Photos to follow soon.
