Comp time brushing management

Having watched different bouldering stages in the Youth World Championships in Russia, it strikes me that several of the youngsters spend one-minute brushing before starting to climb. This actually is the normal procedure also for the very first athletes out there, when there should be almost nothing to brush away. This means that 20 % of the climbing time has gone by and that they have just four minutes left to complete the boulder.

Sure in some very rare cases, such an extensive brushing could possibly mean the difference sending it first go. However, I would anyhow suggest skipping at least that periscope brushing and just brush the starting holds and get going. Then if you spend a minute on the wall reaching the zone and beyond, you can rest a minute or so while brushing all reachable holds extensively. This means you will have more time climbing as well as more time resting increasing your chances for topping will increase.