Two zones needed at least for the youth

During the Swedish Female Youth A Bouldering Championship, nine out of the 15 competitors did score zero zones in the qualification. Some of the girls that did not score any zones had travelled 760 km. Imagine how much more fun it would have been for most of the young girls competing, as well as reporting their results to their parents, relatives and friends, if the boulders had included two zones.

It is almost an impossible task for the route setters to challenge the very best as well as the not so strong with just one top and one zone. We did see this problem during the Olympics and it happens often in the WCs as well as in the WCHs. Sure this is a hard fact for the not so strong but it can also be a big negative for the spectators.

However, the biggest problem with having only one zone is the youth competitions. The experience of understanding that the zone is out of reach and then having to explain the zero zones in the result list must create anxiety for the kids. This goes against everything when it comes to kids competitions which should be about being challenged and having fun with friends instead of facing zero zones.

It should be mentioned that when it comes to the finals during the Swedish Championships, none of the six girls did top any boulders! Two zones will obviously not solve the dilemma that it is very common that the route setters make the boulders too hard, no matter if it is the Olympics, the World Cups, the National championships or a local comp in the gym.