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Basecomp

Friendly competition. Serious climbing.
SAVE THE 2025 DATE: FEB 22

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CATEGORIES AND PRIZES OVERVIEW

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We are pumped to host friendly competition and serious climbing at our 6th Annual BaseCOMP! Whether new or experienced, there's a place for you in this competition. Here's a quick look at what you can expect:

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MOST COMPETITORS:

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This year, athletes (ages 13 & up) will receive points for every route sent in their category, determining the winners for Recreational, Intermediate, and Advanced categories. For each send in your category, you'll also receive an entry to the raffle. More boulders sent = more raffle tickets! Thousands of dollars of prizes will be sponsored for this year's event!

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ELITE COMPETITORS:

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Our Elite Category (V5+) counts the top 5 routes sent by each athlete in the Elite qualifiers. The top 5 male and top 5 female competitors then continue to a spotlight finals (with a DJ and MC) at 6:15PM. A $2k cash purse will be distributed between this year's finalists.

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KID'S COMPETITORS:

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We are also hosting a kids category (for kids 12 & under) with their own finals round at 6:15PM!

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CATEGORY GRADE SUMMARY:

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Recreational = VB-V2

Intermediate = V2-V4

Advanced = V4-V6

Elite (w/ Finals) = V5+

Kids (w/ Finals) = VB-V6

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***Keep scrolling for a full timeline & overview of our format and rules.***

SAMPLE SCORECARD

This year's Granite Sponsors, giving high-value support to make this our best year yet:

COMPETITON TIMELINE

8:00-9:30 – Kids

10:00-12:00 – Elite Finalist Contenders

12:30-2:30 – Wave 1: Rec, Int, Adv

3:00-5:00 – Wave 2: Rec, Int, Adv

6:15 – Kids / Elite Finals

To help avoid over-crowding, we will host 4 timeslots throughout the day. Check-in begins 1 hour before each timeslot. 

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So if you're in the first timeslot and would like to warm up, we will open the fitness areas of our gym at 7:00 AM. If you don’t need the warm-up time, please arrive 30 minutes early to check in.

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We’ll run through the competition rules 15 minutes before each timeslot.

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FORMAT & RULES

This is a bouldering, red-point competition. 

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BOULDERING is a style of climbing low to the ground, that allows people to focus on the joy of climbing movement without tying in to any gear. Climbers land on thick foam padding when they fall—in our case, a professional landing system like you would see in a gymnastics space.

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RED-POINT refers to completing a route from the first hold(s) to the last without falling. In a red-point competition, there are many different climbing routes (also known as “problems”). Each problem has a unique point value commensurate to its difficulty. Those points are gained by climbers only when they complete problems from start to finish.

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COMPETITION RULES:

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1. SENDING: Climbers can try any problem in the competition as many times as they would like. To obtain points for a problem, a climber must climb from start to finish in one definitive go, and the boulder must be in the climber's bracket.

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  • WHEN STARTING: Begin on the designated start hold(s), marked with 4 pieces of tape. Climbers must connect all four limbs to the hold(s) which are taped before proceeding up the route (1 limb connected to each piece of tape). Climbers MUST start problems from the taped holds on every attempt (You can NOT start in the middle to sample higher moves.).

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  • WHEN CLIMBING AND FINISHING: The climber must then move through the entire problem, using only holds of the color of the start holds. The final hold will either be demarcated with a "Finish" tag -OR- be the "Lip" (aka. top) of the wall, if no finish hold is designated. You must show complete control of the finishing hold/lip by placing both hands on it in a stable body position. Holding that stable position for at least 2-3 seconds will ensure there is no debate of whether you “controlled” the finish.

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2. CHANGING CATEGORIES: Climbers can choose to change their registration to a category below/above where they registered. We do not bump competitors up or down.

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3. FEATURES: In a couple of spots in our gym, there are corners (aka. arêtes). Check to see if that feature has any tape marking its edge. If there is no tape, climbers can engage that feature. If there IS tape, your body may pass beyond a red tape line so long as it does not use the wall or features beyond the tape line.

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4. VOLUMES: We implement volumes (grey/black geometric shapes protruding from our walls) into our setting to change up the angle of our walls. All volumes are considered "on" and usable (for both hands and feet) to make your way through a route.

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5. TECHNICALS: 

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  • Occasionally, something happens that interferes with a climbers performance beyond their control. If a hold spins/breaks, if another climber makes contact with you on the wall due to their unawareness, or if anything happens that might give a climber an unfair advantage in their attempt, the climber is asked to return to the ground immediately. If this was the climber’s “flash” attempt, the climber may try again and still obtain flash bonus points if they do not fall on the subsequent attempt.

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  • If a climber is seen to be intentionally interfering with another climber’s performance, they will immediately be disqualified from the competition.

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6. SCORING:

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  • Each problem is ranked by difficulty and assigned a point value.

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  • For every problem a climber completes, there is a spot on the scorecard to have 2 witnesses initial that they saw the climber complete the route as described above. It is a good idea to glance around before beginning a problem, ensuring at least 2 people are watching to sign your card.

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  • Climbers may additionally check the “Flash Box” if they completed the route, from beginning to finish, on their first try. A 1 point bonus will then be given for that problem to help break ties in your category.

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  • For the recreational, intermediate, and advanced categories, point values for ALL ROUTES SENT will be added together–along with flash bonuses. The top 3 scorers in each of these categories will be awarded podium prizes later in the night.

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  • For the Elite category, a climber's top 5 climbs will be used to calculate scores in qualifiers. The top 5 male and top 5 female athletes will proceed to a finals round, consisting of 3 boulders (with low zones, high zones, and tops). Athletes will be given 4 minutes on each boulder with 4 minutes of rest in between. More rules will be given in the isolation area for finalists.​

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7. WINNING:

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  • Thousands of dollars of raffles prizes will be awarded just BEFORE finals! Everyone who enters has a great chance of going home with swag. The more routes you climb in your category, the more raffle tickets you receive!

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  • An award ceremony, with additional prizes for climbers who podium in their bracket, will also be held AFTER finals.​​​​

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  • AND we will host a university prize again this year! We will take the top 5 scorers from each university climbing club, add their points, and the top club takes home $100 worth of Ramen Noodles and our Traveling Trophy!

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Thank you to all past and present BaseCOMP sponsors!

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