Rockover GROWL

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Today saw the first of the Rockover Climbing walls GROWL competitions. The sun was out as we went over there at about 11am as the first of the eager competitors were registering - though it was rapidly clouding over - perhaps a better day to be inside than out for a decent bit of climbing.

Tom and Simon had been busy setting up new problems for the competition, just over 40 of them ranging from V0 to about V7-8ish. Perfect for general competitions in the UK, but there were a couple of worried glances as Shauna Coxsey and Alex Puccio arrived at the door - concern that they would just flash all the problems and head out for a beer. However, it seemed that the vast majority of the climbers would be challenged by the routes.

The new walls and volumes provided an excellent challenge, and the training and circuit boards upstairs were being used to great effect.

Not only was there a general competition with a final climb off at the end, but there was a cash prize route - with anyone who climbed it getting a share of the cash. Obviously the more people that do the route, the lower the prize, so unsurprisingly, anyone who managed to get up it was being quite secretive about their beta.

We were there very much in a volunteer capacity, helping out with arm de-pumps and general advice about injury (generally referring back to the RICE protocol), though we were collecting donations for Mountain Rescue as well - which is a charity organisation close to our hearts as climbers and mountain goers.

We have already had some fantastic feedback from the guys at the wall- both the organisers and the competitors about our services, with several climbers mentioning that after a short treatment they felt like they hadn't even climbed yet. My response being - well get back on the wall then!

We were there until the end of the bouldering comp and saw a fair few people during that time, always good to make friends down at the wall - and I look forward to seeing them again, and climbing with them once my leg gets better (but that's another story for another post).

Unfortunately we were not able to stick around for the dry-tooling competition as we had a prior appointment elsewhere, but from the photos, it looked like a great time was had by all. Hopefully next time we should be able to have a go!

If you weren't there, get to the next one, good routes, good food, good company, and of course, good massage. The next one is on December 3rd. See you there!