Comps for kids

[nik at work]

Calling on comp kid parents…
My youngest would like to give a few comps (boulder) a go. He’s just turned 12.
I’m based in Hathersage but he lives on the Isle of Man so there are logistics issues…
He’d likely struggle to make it regularly to boulder league type things with different rounds, more suited to stand-alone events.
Any recommendations for good events? My partners son did a comp at the Works last year which he enjoyed, so thinking of something similar to that maybe…

 

[SamT]

Yeah.. the cwif is a great weekend long comp. Saturday evening session is great fun. Lots of fancy dress but not essential to participate and super imaginative"off piste" problems for prizes (usually Rab beanies/brushes etc). Though you can't qualify for the semis in the evening session.. morning or afternoon session if you're serious. Gutted I can't make it this year as I'll be away. (snowboarding ;D )

 

[T_B]

The Works have a Young Climbers Festival competition normally in the summer or early September. Unlike the CWIF this is just for kids and a bit less serious/more accessible, depending on how good he is.

 

[nik at work]

I think the Young Climbers Festival was the thing that my partners son did last year, that’s definitely on the list for this year. Seemed like a fun comp (although several beast displays at all ages were in evidence…)
I think the CWIF is 14 plus?

No idea how good is good… it’s really hard to tell with kids, especially when he has no contemporaries to climb with on the IOM

 

[Scouse D]

My lad does a lot of comps. The best introduction is the midlands youth climbing series. Lots of food climbers go but it is aimed as being a nice intro to comp climbing. https://www.myclimbingseries.uk/mycs-2024-dates
They have both boulder and lead rounds and you can enter stand alone rounds. They have had English and Welsh boulder cups until this year (pulled by BMC lack of funding, a great shame). The works have two comps, the summer youth cup in june - the best in the country will go to that, and the young climbers festival in aug which is more of a fun comp but still very popular with comp kids. The BMC youth climbing series runs from sep time and is a regional comp with a grand final in Southampton. If he is 12 then he also has the Junior British Bouldering Champs which is the big target event this year for my lad- think it's in July.
There are lots of others throughout the year but the mycs is deffo a good place to start.

 

[Scouse D]

Depot youth cup also very good. Held in Sheffield at the end of summer.
Rockover in Swindon have the Southern Youth Bouldering Championships every December. Proper big comp with hard boulders.

 

[nik at work]

Brilliant info, thanks Scouse

 

[Bonjoy]

What Scouse said.

Rock City in Hull is a really fun wall for kids with loads of rooms and a huge diversity of holds (it's in the same building at a hold factory/warehouse). The comps there look really good fun.
For one off comps the ones at the Manchester and Sheffield Depots have been some of the best I've been to.
Although the English and Welsh bouldering cups are cancelled in 2024, the Scottish and Irish cups are still running.

 

[GraemeA]

I think the CWIF is 14 plus?

Yep, CWIF is 14+

 

[Scouse D]

Boulder UK has just announced the junior plywood masters on 13th/14th April which should be boss

 

[nik at work]

Thanks for the heads up :2thumbsup: