Bouldering shall take place on short climbing routes, called boulders, climbed without ropes, constructed on purpose-designed, artificial climbing walls. Blokfest shall normally consist of:

1. An open event with a course of 25 boulders for each Starting Group and Category;
2. A Final event with a course of 3 boulders for each Category.

Each boulder shall have a clearly marked start which shall consist of:

1. Marked handhold(s) for both hands; and
2. Optionally, marked footholds for one or both feet.

The use of taped out-of-bounds areas of the wall will be clearly marked Each boulder shall have a clearly marked finish which shall be either:

1. A designated finishing hold; or
2. A defined standing position on top of the boulder.

The number of attempts required by that participant to successfully complete the boulder for the purposes of scoring, an attempt will be counted each time a participant: Starts the boulder as with above. Participants shall normally start each boulder:

1. With both hands on the marked hand-holds; and
2. Where the start includes marked footholds, with a foot on one of these footholds.

If the start for a boulder includes marked footholds for both feet, the participant must place their second foot on the second marked foothold before making any other climbing movement If a participant cannot reach the starting holds from the ground, they shall be permitted to start the boulder by jumping for the starting holds. An attempt shall be deemed to have started when

1. Every part of the participant’s body has left the ground.
2. Touches, with hands or feet, or chalks holds other than the starting holds;
3. Adds any “tick marks”.

A completed boulder will be awarded if the participant controls with both hands the marked finish hold.

Safety Checks

The host climbing centre in communication with the Chief Route-Setter shall inspect each boulder and the safety matting/ provisions for that boulder prior to the start of each event in order to ensure the maintenance of safety standards Each boulder shall be designed:

1. In such a way that the lowest part of the body of the competitor shall never be higher than three 3 metres above the landing mat;
2. So as to avoid the danger of a participant’s fall injuring the participant, or injuring or obstructing a third party;or competitor;
3. AWithout any downward jumps.

Completion of an attempt

An attempt on a boulder shall be considered successful when;

1. Controlled the marked finishing hold of the Boulder with both hands within any fixed time period defined for the climber’s attempts.

An attempt on a boulder shall be considered unsuccessful if the climber fails to control with both hands on the marked finishing hold or, if relevant, achieve a standing position on top of the boulder; or the climber:

1. Fails to start the boulder in accordance with the rules stated above
2. Uses any part of the wall, holds or features demarcated using continuous and clearly identifiable black tape (or if another colour is required to be used, as specified by the Chief route setter in a technical briefing to climbers);
3. Uses with their hands in any holes provided in the climbing wall for the placement of bolt-on holds;
4. Uses the side edges or the top edges of the wall for climbing;
5. Touches the ground with any part of the body; or
6. If a fixed climbing period has been defined, fails to complete their attempt before the end of that period;

Finals

Scoring

Participants may not make additional scoring attempts after the end of the round on their scorecard.

In the event that the final quota is exceeded because of tied competitors, the number of tops achieved by these tied participants will be used to break the tie. i.e. If 2 competitors are tied in 5th place on a score of 217 where one competitor has 24 tops and the other 22, the competitor with the greater number of tops will advance to the final. On each boulder, a zone point will be awarded if the competitor controls the zone Hold The zone point will be awarded also where a competitor successfully completes the boulder without having controlled the zone Hold.

For each competitor attempting a boulder, the Boulder Judge will record:

1. The number of attempts required by that competitor to gain a zone point
2. The number of attempts required by that competitor to successfully complete the boulder in

An electronic timing system shall be used in each round to display the climbing time remaining for each competitor’s attempts. The quota of competitors qualifying Male Senior and Female Senior for the Final round shall be 5 competitors. The starting order for the Final rounds shall be the reverse of the ranking order from the previous round, i.e. the highest ranked competitor shall start last. In the case of tied competitors from a previous round, the starting order between them shall be determined by;

1. The climbers current overall season ranking
2. Rock, paper and scissors if they are tied

Isolation

Once the closing time for the Isolation Zone has passed, Competitors must remain within the Isolation Zone unless otherwise instructed. The Isolation Zone closing time for any round of the competition shall not be earlier than one (1) hour before the competitor first on the starting list is scheduled to commence climbing or in the case of the final round, the time scheduled for the presentation of the finalists. Competitors shall have no knowledge of the boulders other than that obtained during the official observation period or that communicated to them by the Head route setter or the judges. It is the sole responsibility of each competitor to fully inform themselves with respect to all instructions regarding the boulders. For the avoidance of doubt whilst in the Competition Area, competitors are not permitted to seek any information from persons outside the Competition Area, unless specifically authorised to do so by the Blokfest team. Competitors who have completed their attempt(s) on a boulder and who for any reason remain in the Competition Area must not pass any information concerning that boulder to any competitor who has not yet attempted that route/boulder.

Observation Period

While in the observation area, all competitors remain under the Isolation Rules. Competitors shall remain within the designated observation zone during the observation. They are not permitted to climb on the climbing wall or stand on any equipment or furniture. They may seek clarification only from the Blokfest team, or the Boulder Judge assigned to the boulder. During the observation period, competitors are allowed to touch only the marked starting holds, without leaving the ground with both their feet. No recording equipment shall be permitted. Competitors will be allowed a 1 minute observation of each of the finals boulders in the order that they will be climbed.

Running order

The Boulder Judge or organising staff shall clean all holds on a boulder before each competitor begins their first attempt. A competitor may also request that holds be cleaned before any attempt on the boulder. Competitors may clean holds that they can reach from the ground. Only brushes or other materials that are provided by the organisation shall be used for this purpose. The Final round shall take place on one course of boulders for each Category. Both Categories shall normally compete simultaneously, with the first competitors from each Category starting their attempts on each boulder at the same time. The Final round shall be preceded by a presentation of the competitors eligible to participate in the round. Once a competitor has finished their attempts, they shall return to a separate isolation area and the next competitor shall start their climbing period immediately; Once all competitors have completed their attempts, the competitors shall move on to the next boulder as a group; The climbing period during the Final round shall be 3 minutes for each competitor. However, if a competitor begins an attempt prior to the end of the climbing period, they shall be allowed to finish that attempt. Both Categories shall commence each boulder at the same time, i.e. if all competitors in one Category have completed their attempts on a boulder, that Category shall wait for the other before starting the next boulder.

Tie-Break boulder

In the circumstances of tie competitors shall make one attempt on a “Tie-Break” boulder in the starting order of the Final round. If following these attempts two or more competitors remain tied, the relevant competitors shall make further attempts up to a maximum of six attempts following the same procedure until they are separated. If a tie still exists after six attempts, then the relevant competitors will be given an equal ranking.