The BMC Leading Ladder is an excellent way to improve your climbing and a great way to get fit, and stay fit, during the winter - see below for information on National Final venue.
The BMC Leading Ladder is a fun lead climbing competition that starts in October and runs at 30 UK walls, with 12 rounds right through until the end of March.
Each round runs for a 16-day period - that's two weeks including three weekends - so you can travel around the country and take part at your own pace.
Three Leading Ladder rounds will be running at any one time giving plenty of opportunities to compete at different venues all winter.
Dates and Venues
The
2011/12 season has now started.
Categories
Each round will have 10 routes ranging from F5+ to F8a, with three ability categories to choose from: A, B or C.
• A is for climbers who lead indoor routes in the grade range F5+ to 6b.
• B is for climbers who lead indoor routes in the grade range F6b+ to 7a.
• C is for climbers who lead indoor routes in the grade range F7b to 8a.
Points will be entered into the scoring system for your chosen category.
Each category will also be split into male and female, and under-16s or 16+. Climbers must be at least 11 years old and ages will be your age on December 31 2011. Remember, the BMC also runs climbing competitions specialy for
young people.
NB. British Climbing Team members must enter Category C.
Grades
Each competition shall consist of 10 routes graded F5+, F6A, F6A+, F6b, F6b+, F6c, F7a, F7b, F7c and F8a.
How will it work?
The BMC Leading Ladder competition routes are clearly marked and anyone using the wall may climb them. But if you want to take part and have your score recorded, then you need to buy a scorecard for £1 from the host venue. Do not try routes before buying a scorecard - that is cheating!
Scoring will rely on the honesty and integrity of those taking part and those belaying. Climbers start at the bottom of a route and see if they can climb to the top. Clipping the lower-off from a hold on the route signifies a successful ascent. If a climber is successful, their belayer marks their score their card. If not, an X is marked on the card. Higher scores are awarded for fewer goes and, of course, a flash ascent receives the highest score.
Succeeding on a route on the first attempt (a flashed ascent, or flash for short) gains 20 points. Getting it second go gains 15 points, third go 11 points, fourth go eight points, fifth go six points, and sixth go five points. Subsequent attempts, however many, gain one point. Competitors may attempt the routes as often as they like during the period when the competition is running at a particular venue. The maximum possible score at any one venue will be 200 points - that's 10 climbs multiplied by 20 points.
Can I practise the moves before trying the routes?
Nope. With the maximum score for the on-sight, climbers can't practise or inspect the routes first. Nor are they allowed to weight the rope, use out-of-bounds holds or features, use the top edge or side edges of the wall, or grab the lower-off. All quick-draws are to be clipped while climbing - the first one may be pre-clipped for safety.
Belayers
Competitors choose their own belayer(s) as usual at a climbing wall. Climbers and belayers will be required to meet a wall's usual entry conditions. To find out what these are, especially if you are under 18, please contact the wall prior to your visit.
Results
At the end of each round, walls return the scorecards to the BMC for the overall tally.
See the latest resulsts for the 2011/2012 season. Results tables show the top 10 climbers in each category. These are broken down by age and gender, along with the number of rounds each climber has done. Where a climber has done more than three rounds, points shown are for their top three scoring rounds.
National Final
The National Final for the 2011/2012 season will be Saturday 14th April 2012, at Reading Climbing Centre.
Registration will open at 9am and close at 9.45am.
The top 10 from each category will be invited to the final and you must have competed in at least 2 rounds to qualify.
The final will be run like a normal leading ladder round with climbers having to attempt 5 routes in 6 hours. More information on the final will be posted in the near future.
Last year's National Final was on Saturday April 30 at
Boulders in Cardiff. You can read the
results or watch a video overview of the 2010 Leading Ladder Final below.
Tables from all rounds in
2010/11 are still available, as are the
2009/10 results.
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