Last weekend we had the amazing experience of hosting the Nordic Championship in Junior Bouldering 2015 in the gym of Danhostel Ribe.
Most of the climbers were accommodated at the hostel .
Both the gym and the hostel were seething with excitement, concentration, fun, joy and annoyance while 80 of Scandinavia’s best junior climbers were competing to win the title of Nordic Champion in Junior Bouldering 2015.
Climbers from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark were competing in three different age categories: B: 14-15, A: 16-17 and Juniors: 18-19 years old.
Bouldering is rock climbing without ropes and harnesses, you get by with climbing shoes and a chalk bag. If/when you fall down you fall softly on safety mats. Your challenge in bouldering is what is called “to solve a problem”. In a contest you must be able to solve the different problems quickly. Furthermore the routes you climb on the walls are difficult and you must have a good balance, as well as a good physique, technique and strength.
Four minutes the competitors have to solve one problem and they have as many attempts as necessary within the 4 minutes.
Those who set the routes at the rock gym for a bouldering championship needs to understand how to do it. The routes must neither be too easy nor to difficult. In both these cases, it may be difficult to find a winner. During the championships the participants go from easier climbs, to harder climbs.
The skilled Joseph Wetzel and Robert Heinrich from Germany were chief route setter with help from 2 Danish assistants: Thomas Holm Blaabjerg and Thomas Acher Johansen .
The finalist climbers don’t have the opportunity to see the problems, before they are climbing. Before climbing they are isolated for 1 to 3 hours. That means that the last climbers are not given an advantage over the first climbers. All climbers get the same time to study the problem, work out how they will solve the problem and and prepare their climb.
Markus Beck Lyhne was the only climber from Ribe Klatreklub (Ribe Climbing Club). He made it to the finals and ended as number 6 in the junior group.
As you can see, the audience is almost as concentrated as the participants in the competition
Ribehallen – the hostel’s gym – has some of Denmark’s best climbing and bouldering walls. We have previously hosted the Danish Championship in indoor rock climbing for men and women in 2010 and 2013.
Thilo Jeldrik Schröter from Norway solving the last problem. Thilo was the best junior climber and he can now call himself Nordic junior champion in bouldering 2015.
Congratulations to all the other winners:
Nordic Bouldering Championships 2015. 14-15 years old. Winners Youth B. 14 – 15 years old
Girls 14 – 15 years old
1. Julia Nilsson, Sweden
2. Nea Herforth Bæhr, Denmark
3. Marie Aagaard, Denmark
Boys 14 – 15 years old
1. Noah Seir, Danmark
2. Ymer Alber, Sweden
3. Olov Morsing, Sweden
Nordic Bouldering Championships 2015. 16-17 years old
Winners Youth A:
Girls 16-17 years old
1. Silvia Barrett, Sweden
2. Annika Korsgaard, Denmark
3. Primula Aalund, Denmark
Boys 16-17 years old
1. Leo Ketil Bøe, Norway
2. Oliver Islin Sahl-Madsen, Denmark
3. Guðmundur Freyr Arnason, Iceland
Nordic Bouldering Championships 2015. 18-19 years old
Winners Juniors:
Girls 18 – 19 years old
1. Sunniva Eik Haave, Norway
2. Natacha Niviarsiaq, Denmark
3. Norea Marceau, Sweden
Boys 18 – 19 years old
1. Thilo Jeldrik Schröter, Norway
2. Hannes Puman, Sweden
3. Frederik Thulstrup, Denmark
Ribe climbing club did a great job – members as well as parents and friends from other climbing clubs.
About 40 volunteers made sure the championships ran smoothly and successfully. Volunteers carried out a range of essential tasks, from helping setting routes to creating the imaginative audience seating in the middle of the gym, to timekeeping, live streaming, food and drinking supplying, cleaning of wall holds, being judges, etc.
The Swedish national team doctor Björn Alber said about the championships: “Good accommodation with food just next to the climbing gym, boulder walls with World Cup potential, well-organized event organizers with an eye on the time schedule and results, skilled route setters – yes you have to say this was one of the most successful Nordic championships I have been to”
Some of the climbers relax in the hostel before they are leaving Ribe.
If you haven’t had enough bouldering by now you can see 6 hours 25 minutes and 43 seconds streamed live on Mar 15 from the finals in this video – from before it started in the morning till all the winners were known.
The video is streamed by Dansk Klatreforbund
Links:
- Ribe Klatreklub (Ribe Climbing Club)
- Dansk Klatreforbund – Flotte Danske resultater ved Junior Boulder NM
- Bergsport. Två guld till Sverige i nordiska juniormästerskapen i boulder
- Borebloggen – Thilo, Sunniva og Leo nordiske mestre i buldring for juniorer
- Klatring.no – 3 gull til Norge i junior nordisk buldring
- Danhostel Ribe and Ribehallen
- Results Youth B
- Results Youth A
- Results Juniors