As we say goodbye to winter we also say goodbye to the Winter Boulder League for another year. But have no fear – the league goes out in style this weekend with the annual Winter League FLASH COMP which takes place tomorrow (Saturday 28th) at the centre. The finalists of the winter boulder league will be joined by the qualifiers from the comp for a stunning 4 bloc final which will be held on the Prow. For one weekend only we take down the lead ropes and turn the prow into a boulder wall. Mikey, Tom and Gav are busy setting with our secret collection of volumes including some rather nice newcomers from none other than local legend, Chris Cubitts. The comp begins at 10am tomorrow. Entry is £2 plus usual boulder admission. As per the boulder league there will be 3 categories of entry on the day: Under 16s, Over 30’s and Open. In each there will be prizes for male and female winners – all prizes are kindly donated by our league sponsors Taunton Leisure.
Qualifying rounds consist of 30 problems. The under 16’s kick off first with registration at 10am and qualifying from 10am – 1pm. The finals for the Under 16’s will start around 1.30pm. Next up are the Over 30’s who begin their qualifiers at 12 noon, then the Open competitors who begin qualifiers at 1pm. We’re planning to hold the Over 30’s final at 3.30pm with the Open final closing the day from 4.30pm to 7pm. Grand prize giving around 7.30pm. The qualifiers from each round will be joined by the top 3 finishers in the boulder league. We’ve calculated the top three by taking the top three scores for each climber across the 4 rounds and summing them. Individual round scores have been awarded from 100 points for 1st place, 99 for 2nd, 98 for 3rd and so on. The full finalist list is published here so you know if you’ve got an automatic by into the grand final. If you didn’t make the final don’t worry – you’ve got a fair chance of qualifying tomorrow!
Chef Paul will be cooking up a competition day feast, which is rumoured to include his famous Guinness Chocolate Cake for refuelling after you’ve competed. Plus the bar will be open from early evening. See you all tomorrow!
Thanks to everyone who has supported the league, from our sponsors Taunton Leisure, to the route setters, hold/volume providers and finally the participants. See you next Winter (well hopefully before!)…