![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I have been asked several times how a rock climbing competition works, so here is the way they generally work. They are held at a rock gym and at least in the youth comps they are divided up by age group and gender. Each group has climbing routes set for them to climb, often a top-roped route and a lead route (where they take the rope with hem and clip in as they go) for the next round. They competitors are kept in isolation until it is there turn to climb so they don't gain any benefit from watching others climb the route. Each judge has a picture of the route being climbed with points indicated for each hold. If the climber gets all the way to the top they get full points. If they fall they are awarded points for the highest hold reached, plus extra for controlling the hold (vs just slapping it in passing) and even more for moving up from it. If everyone gets to the top of a route, it was probably a bit too easy and the holds for the routes used in the finals may be tweaked to up the difficulty of the climb.
Why climbing competitions? Well, to promote another extra-curricular activity for young folk of course. Gyms form climbing teams and train and the level of climbing goes up and kids get some more team-work in as well as the partnerships that develope in climbing.
Of course like in any other child sport, over-zealous parents can ruin a good thing. One climbing magazine I read talked about the new and scary breed of parent feeding their child toast dusted with coffee grounds and pushing them past the limit. Like any other sport you also get the parents who think they get to be coach. One of the things that drove me most crazy about working at the rock gym were the few really crazed parents who would push their kids to crying or shaking and just keep pushing. Like the parents would get up there and try going 45' up a wall! Climbing can be really scary - I know since it still often freaks me out. Frikkn' stooooopid people who just want their kids to be uber and don't care about what they are feeling or fighting with. Anyway, I am glad that I don't have to deal with the annoying rich who just want their kids to be super-human any more on a daily basis. Now I can watch them have fun competing and try to make it a less stressful , and a more fun and inspiring experiance.
And since I mentioned the horrors of over-zealous parents, I should probably mention one of the most inspiring things I got to deal with. We had a monthly home school rock climbing class and one of the parents had four kids she would bring in. The youngest boy was a cancer survivor and had a traechiotomy and a stomach tube for feeding. He has that encredibly sweet and all too knowing nature that kids who have been through a lot get, and he must have been only four years old or so. His mom found a harness that would work for him at REI (one that wouldn't interfear with the feeding tube) and he turned out to be a natural climber. He couldn't swim, he couldn't run, but since he was on a tight belay on a rope he wouldn't be able to go very far and hurt himself, and he could climb. So cool, so made some of the crap worth while.
Why climbing competitions? Well, to promote another extra-curricular activity for young folk of course. Gyms form climbing teams and train and the level of climbing goes up and kids get some more team-work in as well as the partnerships that develope in climbing.
Of course like in any other child sport, over-zealous parents can ruin a good thing. One climbing magazine I read talked about the new and scary breed of parent feeding their child toast dusted with coffee grounds and pushing them past the limit. Like any other sport you also get the parents who think they get to be coach. One of the things that drove me most crazy about working at the rock gym were the few really crazed parents who would push their kids to crying or shaking and just keep pushing. Like the parents would get up there and try going 45' up a wall! Climbing can be really scary - I know since it still often freaks me out. Frikkn' stooooopid people who just want their kids to be uber and don't care about what they are feeling or fighting with. Anyway, I am glad that I don't have to deal with the annoying rich who just want their kids to be super-human any more on a daily basis. Now I can watch them have fun competing and try to make it a less stressful , and a more fun and inspiring experiance.
And since I mentioned the horrors of over-zealous parents, I should probably mention one of the most inspiring things I got to deal with. We had a monthly home school rock climbing class and one of the parents had four kids she would bring in. The youngest boy was a cancer survivor and had a traechiotomy and a stomach tube for feeding. He has that encredibly sweet and all too knowing nature that kids who have been through a lot get, and he must have been only four years old or so. His mom found a harness that would work for him at REI (one that wouldn't interfear with the feeding tube) and he turned out to be a natural climber. He couldn't swim, he couldn't run, but since he was on a tight belay on a rope he wouldn't be able to go very far and hurt himself, and he could climb. So cool, so made some of the crap worth while.
