The British Lead, Speed and Paraclimbing Championships makes a welcome return to EICA Ratho in Scotland. The 2023 edition of the event takes place between 8 - 10 September 2023.

Hosted by the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) and GB Climbing, the championship marks a welcome return to Edinburgh, the city that previously hosted the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in September 2022. EICA: Ratho is the largest and only climbing centre in the UK with international standard competition walls for Lead and Speed.

For information about spectating and tickets click here. 

Each competing athlete, under the age of 18, is entitled to one complimentary spectator ticket. Please provide the name of the individual to whom you are assigning this ticket when submitting your competition entry. These tickets will be available for pickup at Ratho on the day of the competition. If you need to change the assigned name, kindly email GBCadmin@thebmc.co.uk by noon on September 8th. Names cannot be transferred after this deadline.

Location: EICA Ratho, Edinburgh

Categories: 

Lead- Senior (2006 or earlier)

Speed- Senior (2006 or earlier) and Junior (Youth C to Junior)

Para- AL1, AL2, AU2, AU3, RP1, RP2, RP3, B1, B2, B3, Open

Format: Athletes climb secured by a rope, one at a time, on a route with a 6-minute time limit. The athlete who reaches the highest point wins.

In Lead, the aim for the competitors is to go as high as possible in an individual attempt on a 15m wall.

The competitors have a limited amount of time (six (6) minutes) for their attempt.

The Lead ranking is set based on the height (hold number) achieved by the competitors. A competitor gets a “+” added to their score if moving in the direction of the next hold.

The routes are reset between the Qualification, Semifinals and the Final.

Competitors can preview the route during a collective observation time (six (6) minutes), but cannot attempt the route (no observation in the Qualification round).

Competitors are kept in an isolation room before they perform their “on sight” attempt (no isolation in the Qualification round).

There are different routes for men and women competitors and for each para category.

Paraclimbers will not participate in a semi-final round.

Speed:

Secured from above, climbers run up standardised parallel routes. The fastest climber wins.

The aim of Speed is to be the fastest to reach the top of a 15m wall.

Men and women compete on identical routes which are not modified between rounds.

The competitors compete (race) in pairs on identical routes.

The winner is the first to reach the top of the route.

Registration opens at 8am 14 August and closes at Midday on Monday 4 September

Schedule:

This schedule is provisional and may change based on registration numbers.

Start Lists- Senior Lead Male; Q1, Q2                          

                    Senior Lead Female; Q1, Q2

Start Lists- Paraclimbing: Q1, Q2

Start Lists- Veterans: Q1, Q2

Rules;

It is important to read the Rules for this event. The Rules can be found here

GB Paraclimbing:

For those entering the Paraclimbng event, you must submit evidence of your eligible medical condition prior to the competition taking place.

If you wish to be considered to join the GB Paraclimbing team, you must submit the relevant IFSC medical form which can be found via this link

Medical forms must be submitted to Zoe@thebmc.co.uk

Please note anyone joining the team will need to undergo International Classification at an International event.

Entry;

Fees:

Lead & Speed - £50

Para- £40

All competitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by one parent/guardian only, but loco parentis can be used where required. If a parent/guardian, spectator or coach volunteers to assist in the running of the competition on the day, this will be in addition to the accompanying adult.

Late entries will not be accepted.

To enter you must complete our online booking form, with successful payment, by the entry deadline. Forms without payment will NOT be accepted.

All competitors MUST be a current member of the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland or Mountaineering Ireland to enter.

JOIN: Become a member of the BMC from just £1.56/ month

If you haven’t used the online booking system before, then you will need to create an account to log in. 

Volunteers:

If you are interested in volunteering for this event please email zoe@thebmc.co.uk or apply through the following link Volunteer

Cancellation policy

• If you cancel less than five business days before the competition - you will not be entitled to a refund.
• If you cancel more than five business days before the competition - you will receive a 50% refund.
• If the competition is cancelled due to an unforeseen circumstance - you will be entitled to a full refund.

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👀 VISIT: GB Climbing website and see who's on the team

GB Climbing is supported by the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland and Secur-it. Many UK walls also support the GB Climbing team through free or subsidised entry.

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