Boulder events replace Lead comps - New Lead format suggested

Almost all gyms around the globe run Boulder comps at least every other month but very few run the Lead ones and it is the same trend for the national federations. Another example is that the IFSC plans to have four Euro Youth Boulder Cups but just one Lead Competition. The dilemma is that youngsters should not focus on Bouldering due to much greater risk of injuries, including also stress fractures in the growth plates. The main reason why both gyms and climbers prefer Boulder comps is the new format (60+ boulders in 2+ hours), which has nothing in common with the IFSC onsight Boulder rules on 4 - 6 boulders. In Sweden, more or less only the nationals (with some 20 participants) were organized last year in Lead, not counting two national Challenges with a totally new concept. The basic idea is to run the qualifications like a normal day at a crag, with no referees or belayers. You just open the gym up in the morning and invite the climbers to try any route. The point system is based on the 8a scorecard. The biggest invention, however, is that you get points also by the number of clips you do instead of scoring holds. In practice you get as many points for topping out a route as for coming to the eighth clip on a two grades harder route. If you want a full scorecard point table in order to try out, please contact [email protected]. All national lead comps in Sweden will be organized in this way in the future.