WBS 2013 Overall Male Winner Sam Brannigan, Under 16 Winner Jack Graham, Vets Male Winner James Hunter, Senior Female & Overall Female Winner Alison Monks, Under 16 Female Winner Mairi Teasdale

As a change to the usual way comps are run at DCC, we chose to finish Winter Boulder Series 2013 with a world cup style final.  What a final it was thanks to the spectacular crowd pleasing problems from Gaz Parry who brought along an array of yellow and black volumes fresh from Blocfest last month.

The Final marks the end of this years series, which runs every year from November to March at DCC.  Each of the previous four rounds since November saw route setters Paul Carruthers, Mickey Stainthorpe, Dave Yarwood and Gaz Parry supply exciting problem after problem for eager competitors to test out.  This year we've gone all out adding new holds from Core and Holdz, new volumes from Wager Holds, a FREE Supper every round and some very quirky custom made Volx Trophies.  Luke Stoker has photographed every round capturing the essence of the series along the way.

Overall Male & Female Prize Pot

1st Place: Volx Trophy, 10 Session Pass & T Shirt
2nd: Beta Goody Bag & T Shirt
3rd: T Shirt & Chalk

The scene was set, finalists were briefed on entry and allowed to warm up beforehand.  Excitement and nerves took hold as everyone prepared themselves for job ahead. All Male finalists were present and correct except for Matthew Gibbings who unfortunatley could not compete on the night. In the ladies, Alison, Anna and Mairi came along however Durham students on Easter Break Rebecca and Bria couldn’t make it on the night.

After a full day of setting by Gaz, excitement built up among DCC staff as the final problems made up of Blocfest volumes and yellows holds took shape in the main area. On the night, Finalists were not allowed to see the problems beforehand, and were brought out of isolation for a 2 minute per problem viewing time.  The crowd took their seats on the matting and prepared to cheer their finalists on! Finalists were called out in reverse order with male and females competing at the same time.

Order of Finalists

1st: Mairi Teasdale & Alfred Millett - Sikking
2nd: Anna Huber & Jack Graham
3rd: Alison Monks & Sam Brannigan
4th: Paul Ogden– Lone Ranger!

Male Problem #1 started on the DCC wall with a very powerful move over the extra large black Font style volume.  As finalists struggled to get a grip on the slippery beast which continued to spit everyone off without remorse!  After some good hard brushing from Pro Brusher James Hunter, both Sam and Jack got this on their 3rd & 5th attempts.

Female Problem #1, a female variant of the Male Problem #2, proved to be quite difficult with limited footholds. This stumped all of the girls except for Alison who got back on the problem with seconds to spare and stayed on past the 3 minute mark as the rules allowed! Persistence prevailed on her 2nd attempt using some major pinching power to be the only girl to top out! A super crowd pleasing moment!

Male Problem #2; a core demanding traverse with some upside down funky moves tested core stability with a series of above the head heel and toe hooks.  This problem was incredible to watch, however the fun soon disappeared as the top section spat everyone out! Most Finalists attempted to go right handed to the black triangle, however Paul Ogden attempted a crazy double handed dyno after he failed to see the finishing hold above! In the end, no one topped this problem though Sam Brannigan got extremely close to sticking the second last sloper.

Female Problem #2, a very balancy start across two volumes led to some tiny crimps and brutal footholds.  Anna made the crazy knee bar and all girls topped out on this one.

Male Problem #3 started with 2 hands 2 feet on the ball volume followed by a crazy and HUGE sideways dyno from the ball onto the face of the cave unnerving even the coolest of competition climbers Sam Brannigan! All climbers got the dyno on the first attempt, Alfred was up first and came off on the second last hold after an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd.  The others went on to push through the crimpy top section to flash it.

Female Problem #3 proved a confidence booster as all ladies flashed it with Alison walking away from the climb saying, ‘Bring on something harder let’s try the mens!’

Gaz’s problems split the mens with WBS Scoreboard leader Paul Ogden moving into 3rd position.  In the ladies, the final was tighter with the podium finish in line with the overall womens results.

POSITION                                   TOPS     |     BONUS

1st Sam Brannigan                      2/4         |      3/10

2nd Jack Graham                        2/6         |      3/8

3rd Paul Ogden                           1/1         |      2/2

4th Alfred Millett-Sikking              0/0         |      2/2

Megan Hunter, Alison Monks, Mairi Teasdale, Anna Huber

POSITION                                   TOPS     |     BONUS

1st Alison Monks                          3/4         |      3/4

2nd Anna Huber                           2/2         |      3/4

3rd Mairi Teasdale                        2/7         |      3/5

Scores show the number of tops or bonuses and the number of attempts.

On the night, additional challenges were set by Gaz for extra prize pots.  After the pressure from The Final in which Paul finished 3rd, he went on to be the only one to stick the two shifty looking slopers for the maximum 5 points in the Dyno challenge. 

Another popular fun challenge set up by Gaz, the Pinch challenge saw climbers hang on for as long as possible.  Dave Wilson took the prize for hanging the longest at 1.18 mins.

Paul and Dave picked up Beta Goody bags for their efforts!

Thanks to our sponsors, there were plenty of goodies to be had in the raffle with many picking up prizes including Five Ten Climbing Shoes, Clothing, DVDs, and Beta Climbing Kits.  Climbing didn’t stop afterwards with unfinished business and problems for most!

Category winners came along to collect their winner and runner up prizes, as well as to have their photographs taken with individual Volx trophies and clutching the coveted WBS Shields! Congratulations to all winners and everyone who took part.

Special thanks to Gaz Parry for the problems, James Hunter for his world class brushing skills, Jens and Dan showing the finalists to their problems and judging the routes. The crowd were pretty cheery too!

Gaz Parry’s spectacular problems will remain up for a limited time only so come and check them out!

A One Day Event + 26 Problems from British Champ Gaz Parry!

Following on from the success of DCC Winter Boulder Series, Durham Climbing Centre are happy to announce the Spring Bouldering Competition will be held on:

20 Qualifying Problems
+ 6 Final Problems

A total of 20 new problems of varied difficulty from super easy to super tricky can be tackled between 1pm and 5pm, and if you start getting a bit weary you can take advantage of some additional activities to refresh yourself!

• Fun Climbing Challenges
• Cinema Room & Popcorn
• Table Tennis Tournament
• BBQ
• Live DJ
• Raffle

As with all of our events and competitions, this one is no exception and is entirely suitable for beginner and experienced climbers alike!  Competition fee: entry + £1 | Free entry for spectators.

Categories -
Open Male
Open Female

Top 6 Male & Female go Through to Final!

Our Winter Series Sponsors enured a goodie packed raffle at the end of the evening with climbers taking home climbing shoes, accessories and clothing for turning up to individual rounds! Thanks sponsors!