Everyone who climbs. We mean it. If you climb VB to V10, you can come and participate at Lincoln Rocks!

When we bring up climbing competitions, folks have often told us how they don't feel strong enough for a competition. We’re here to tell you YES YOU ARE.

• You do not need to know how to do a pull-up

• You do not need to put months into training

• And no you do not need to climb harder

That’s WHY we have a recreational category - it’s for recreational climbers. As a plus, beginner climbers often do well in the recreational category, especially given that it is typically the least filled category.

When you register early, you’ll get:

• A discounted ticket price

• A free Climbing-themed pin

• A prize raffle ticket

PLEASE fill out the emailed form that will be sent to you after you purchase a ticket. This will ask you to select your difficulty category.

On the day of the event, you’ll get 3 hours to climb all the climbs in your category. Every category will have 8 total climbs that will count towards your final score. The climbs will often vary in style and test different skills so it helps to be well-rounded.

Our setters aim for a normal distribution spread in scores for every category. All this means is that setters will aim to have most of the climbers reach the TOP of around 3-5 climbs out of 8 total climbs. If you are able to flash all 8 climbs or are getting 0% of climbs, you should adjust your difficulty category.

On the day of the competition, please arrive 15 minute early to get your scorecard and be present for the rules meeting. We will go over how the competition is scored and any other regulations.

This is a modified redpoint competition.

Tip #1-3: Do not overthink training. Slowly increase training sessions or load, otherwise an injury is waiting to happen. This happens with any sport that you go too much too soon. Climbing Coach Siawn Ou once said that the best way to get better at climbing is to not get injured. Injuries make it much harder to progress not only physically but mentally. We cannot emphasize this point enough that it is literally in our top 3 tips.

Tip #4: Climbing is the best way to get better at climbing. For the vast majority of climbers, working on your least favorite style or moves, re-climbing routes using different beta, and challenging yourself on the wall is the best way to get better at climbing. Sure, short-term cross training might help a little, but doesn’t always translate to climbing movement.

Tip #5: WARM UP. Do not hop on any climbs in your category until your body AND fingers are warmed up. No matter your warm-up strategy, it should take at least 15 minutes. Do not be the first person to hop on a climb at the top end of your difficulty category. Watch other people warm up on it to take note of any tricky beta the setters might have hidden. Brushing every single hand and foot hold is also a good way to force yourself to take note of every hold available to you on the route AND forces you to pause and rest. Set your mental game up for success by making sure you start the comp with a good mindset - nothing gets us more bummed by starting out the comp with fall after fall.

Tip #6: On comp day, take breaks. After each attempt, take an assessment of your energy. Dynos may not drain your energy like a cave climb would after one attempt, so multiple attempts might not be that detrimental. However, think of your energy on comp day as a large battery. You only have so much battery for 3 hours of climbing and the best strategy is to spread your attempts across ALL 3 HOURS. Use every attempt wisely and intentionally. Many climbers will start in a full sprint only to realize they have no battery left to top the rest of the climbs. But you won’t, now that you know.

Tip #7: Remember that falling is OKAY. That was the goal of the setters (those goobers). The real test is whether you can get up, re-assess well, and give it another try. Using data from our previous competitions, the average person takes between 4-10 tries to TOP a climb at their upper limit.

Tip #8: You don't need to do something new for the comp. Keep as many things the same in your routine as possible. The more new things on your mind on comp day, the more stimulated and NOT CHILL you are.

• Do not get new shoes right before a comp. Brand new shoes need time to break in before you start to trust your footwork. The break-in time varies between shoes and people, but if we had to give a number, maybe no less than 8 climbing sessions are required.

• Don't make dramatic changes in diet on the week leading up to the event. An upset stomach does not climb well.

• Rest at least 2-3 days before the comp: training is DONE. The best thing to do now is to rest and relax or do low-impact activities (walking).

Humbly, we host some of the best climbing events you’ll go to anywhere and it’s because of our team, who works hard to make this event electric. Everything is planned meticulously months ahead and the routes are tested again and again so that only the best stuff stays up - no boring climbs here.

From custom medals for all podium finishers to the high quality t-shirts that you’ll ACTUALLY WEAR to the insane action photography of the event - we do like to make you sparkle. PLUS - we have amazing local and international sponsors that generously donate prize raffle items for our climbers.

And for those who love the numbers: we’re data nerds. We build our own code to analyze scores and boulder quality, which means every comp only gets better. In evaluating each boulder’s data, we’re able to improve our routesetting, score efficiently and accurately, and create beautiful score separation.

General

• ONLY boulders in a competitor’s Difficulty Category will count towards their final score.

• Climbers have A MAX OF 20 attempts per boulder.

• Climbers must start from the beginning at each attempt. Touching other holds or projecting the route will result in a score of 0 for that route.

  • Climbers may not climb up adjacent holds to "test out the holds" or add a chalk tick mark on a boulder.

  • Please request a staff member to assist with adding chalk marks to climbs.

• Climbers will write their scores down using the honor system. Any climber fabricating scores will be disqualified.

• Illegible scorecards will not be accepted. Please make it easy for scorekeepers to quickly discern your score.

• While cheering on fellow climbers is encouraged, spraying beta to a climber on the wall is prohibited.

• All volumes in the gym are “ON” (can be used) for any boulder.

• Aretes marked with black tape are “OFF” (cannot be used) for all boulders. Black tape is used to signal off-limits sections of the wall.

• Use of plastic Start, Zone, or Top tags to assist in climbing a boulder is prohibited.

• Send it. Sick sends must be high fived, fist bumped, and/or cheered.

Scoring

• To score on a route, climbers must demonstrate CONTROL on the tagged Start hold(s), Zone hold, and Top hold of a boulder.

  • At the start, your hands and feet (AKA "four points of contact") must be established on the wall BEFORE the climber makes the first move. Once all of points of contact leave the mat, your attempt begins - this includes dyno starts.

  • To achieve a zone, climbers must control AND make forward progress from the Zone on a boulder (e.g., moving off of the zone hold with a hand or moving a foot forward).

  • To achieve a TOP, you must control the top hold with both hands. All Tops require another climber to initial your scoresheet by the route to confirm they saw you finish the climb. Otherwise, the Top will not count.

• Scoring is based on the following (in order of importance):

  1. Total Number of Tops

  2. Total Number of Zones

  3. Total Number of Attempts to Top

  4. Total Number of Attempts to Zone

Technicals and Falls

• Technicals can be called for a variety of reasons and will result in no fall penalty for that attempt, including:

  1. A loose or spinning hold

  2. Interference from another climber

  3. Any other external event NOT in the climber's control

• The following situations will count as a Fall

  • The climber falls off of the route without controlling the Zone or Top hold

  • The climber touches other holds to "test them out" before starting the climb.

• The climber "dabs" or uses:

  1. A hold not part of the route

  2. The boulder mat after all points of contact leave the mat

More questions? Please remember them and ask them at the RULES MEETING 15 minutes before the start of your climbing session