Registration open: 2024-MAR-02 C&D Bouldering @ Trailhead in Red Deer

Attention C&D Athletes and parents! We’ve got another bouldering local at Trailhead Climbing in Red Deer upcoming. Register on our member portal, and check for event details at our event page.

We also have 3 other competitions with open registrations on our member portal. The CCC Hanger youth local is closing on Saturday, the Provincial Speed Championships are closing on Sunday.

Blocs Community Crush

The ACA is hosting a Community Crush on Sunday, February 25th 2024 at Blocs, from 8am-11am.  Check out the registration form here.  This is a separate, free, event that is open to athletes who attend the Blocs competition.

• You'll have an opportunity to work on all the finals boulders with support from coaches Kye Wotton and Paige Boklaschuk. 

• There will also be a setter there to add extra holds and working jugs so that EVERYONE can learn on the boulders. 

• Additionally, the ACA will be covering day passes for the first 50 people who register and attend this session, and there will be a $50 gas gift card draw prize for everyone who attends!

Attention Athletes: competition committee applications close Jan 26

We are still accepting applications for spots on our competition committee for athletes. If you are interested in helping us shape future competition seasons please let us know! The athlete perspective is incredibly important so having that input will help this committee be as successful as possible. 

We are accepting applications until January 26. Email your application to Sebastian Powell at sebastian@bolderclimbing.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Senior Athletes: ACA pilot program

The ACA is launching a pilot program to provide additional competition experience for senior competitors intending to attend the CEC HP competition and/or NACS. We will open 3 senior male, and 3 senior female spots at the Hangar competition with no senior points awarded to those competitors. If you're interested in competing, please send an email to paigeboklaschuk@albertaclimbing.org outlining your intentions to compete at the HP competition, NACS competitions, and your current commitment to training and competing by Friday, January 26th. Paige will inform you whether you've been selected on Saturday, January 27th. 

Several registrations close this week

We’ve got several competitions coming up, and the registration for the 2024-FEB-03 Youth Rope Local at CCC Hangar closes on January 27th 2024. Also on the same weekend, the Alberta Speed Provincials are being held at CCC Rocky, and the registration closes on January 28th. Don’t miss your chance, register today! The ACA has implemented a new late registration policy as of January 1st 2024.

Volunteers needed: CEC Speed Nationals @ CCC Rocky - 2024-FEB-17&18

The CEC speed nationals are being held in Alberta this year, and we’re hoping our climbing community steps up to volunteer at this event. Check out the event page for information, and sign up for a shift if you’re interested in helping. CEC events are the premier showcase of the nation’s best climbers, and you can’t get a better view than a volunteer on the floor!

Keep an eye out for information about the ACA provincial speed championships on that event page as well! We’ll share details as the planning shapes up. Registration is still open, so head over to secure your spot.

Thank you for a great comp in Lethbridge!

Another comp in the books! Thanks to Randy, Alana and everyone at Coulee Climbing for hosting this weekend! Thanks to Trent and the rest of his route setting crew! Thank you to all of the volunteer judges, isolation coordinators, and everyone who helped and offered to help us; we really can’t do this without you! We saw a lot of new faces helping out this weekend. Thank you to the coaches for working with us and advocating for your athletes!

Last but not least, thank you and congratulations to all of our athletes! For many of our athletes, this was either the first competition or the first finals, and for some their first podium! We saw incredible effort all day, and we couldn’t be more proud of EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. You’re developing your skills and your hard work is paying off in different ways. Keep up the good work.

We’ll get the podium pictures posted on our social media channels soon, just catching up.

2024-FEB-24: Registration Open

With a few competitions in the books and a few more on the way, get ready to sign up for the Jr,A,B bouldering competition at Blocs in Edmonton on February 24, 2024. You can register on our member portal, and check out the event page for updates as we finalize the details.

While you’re over there, don’t forget to register for the Jr,A,B,C,D ropes competition at CCC Hangar on February 3rd and the Provincial Speed championship at CCC Rocky on February 4th.

Feel free to reach out with questions or comments, communications@albertaclimbing.org

Volunteers needed: Lethbridge 2024-JAN-20

Attention all volunteers - we needed some extra time to determine the format and schedule based on registration counts for this competition. Now that the tentative schedule is posted on the event page, we’re looking for help from you to ensure our athletes get the best possible competition experience. Sign up to volunteer here. If you’re new or have questions about volunteering, trust that you’ll be fully supported!

If you haven’t registered yet - don’t wait till the last minute! Registration is open to all C & D athletes, as well as specifically indicated A & B athletes. Registration closes on Wednesday January 17th at 12pm noon.

Reach out to communications@albertaclimbing.org with questions.

Reminder: Coulee comp is open to identified B & A athletes, along with all C & D

With the 2024-JAN-20 bouldering comp at Coulee Climbing in Lethbridge approaching, we wanted to remind some of our B & A athletes that competed at CCC Chinook in December: you may be qualified to register! Check out the event page to see if you qualify, and head to the member portal to register before the deadline at 12pm noon on Wednesday January 17th. Since the registration for this event is restricted, B & A athletes have an even greater chance to compete for the podium. Top 6 in each category go to a finals round, and our B & A categories currently have between 4 and 10 registrants.

Extended Registration: Lethbridge 2024-JAN-20

We’ve extended the registration deadline for the 2024-JAN-20 bouldering competition at Coulee Climbing in Lethbridge till Wednesday January 17th at 12pm Noon Mountain Time. Check out our member portal to register. All youth D & C athletes can register, along with those specifically indicated from B & A categories. Check out the event page for more details as we finalize the plans. We’ll be posting volunteer sign ups, schedule, and more this week.

If you have questions, email us communications@albertaclimbing.org

Thanks to everyone for a great comp in Canmore

Thank you to Elevation Place staff for hosting an amazing competition for our athletes! We also want to thank our route setting team, who made some really great problems in qualifiers and finals. We couldn’t pull this off without an army of volunteers - almost 80 volunteer slots were filled! And finally, we want to thank the coaches and congratulate ALL of the athletes for putting on an amazing performance this weekend. No matter the outcome, we keep seeing amazing camaraderie and sportsmanship that is unrivalled in the sporting world. You’re all working really hard towards your personal and team goals, and should be incredibly proud of your work so far this season.

Qualifier videos are up: 2024-JAN-13 Canmore EP

We know you’re eager to review the qualifier videos for the 2024-JAN-13 EP Canmore rope competition, so go check them out here. We’re excited to see you tomorrow. Check out the event page for updates.

Reminder: Registration closes soon - 2024-JAN-20 Bouldering

The youth local bouldering competition at Coulee Climbing in Lethbridge is coming up, and the registration closes on Saturday January 13th 2024. This event is open to C & D athletes, as well as those specifically indicated from A & B. Check out the event page for updates, and don’t miss out on registration if you plan to attend.

Reach out to communications@albertaclimbing.org with any questions.

Important Update: 2024-JAN-13 EP Canmore

With the cold snap and snowfall in Alberta taking hold, the ACA has received several inquiries about the status of the 2024-JAN-13 Rope Local at Elevation Place in Canmore.

The competition will not be cancelled. The ACA can’t control the weather, and expenses for the competition have already been committed. However we appreciate that some people may not want to travel in these conditions.

The ACA will refund registrants, who wish to withdraw due to the extreme weather, 50% of the registration fee ($42.00). Registrants that wish to withdraw need to email communications@albertaclimbing.org by 5:00pm Mountain Standard Time on Friday January 12th with the athlete’s name and clear direction to withdraw.

The process for refunding partial transaction amounts is a bit more complex; please be patient as we work with everyone to fulfill the partial refunds that are requested.

Competition Committee applications open

The ACA is putting together a Competition committee to help organize competitions. This committee will help develop the Competition schedule, formats and rules for the ACA that can best support our athletes and their growth. It will also help develop resources for host gyms to better support them when organizing events. We are looking for the following positions on the committee:

• Gym owners or Managers – looking for up to 2

• Athlete reps, one male and one female.

• Technical rep – This can be a current official or a coach.

• Member at large – This is someone in the community such as parent, coach or competition organizer.

This committee will be chaired by Sebastian Powell – IFSC Event delegate and joined by Paige Boklaschuk – Performance Chair on the ACA board. If you are interested, please email your application to Sebastian Powell at sebastian@bolderclimbing.com by January 26, 2024. Please include a cover letter outlining your experience in competitions and how you can contribute to the committee.

Volunteers needed: 2024-JAN-13 EP Canmore

We’ve opened up more judging spots for the youth local competition in Canmore. There are almost 200 athletes registered across 5 youth categories, and Elevation Place has very limited viewing space. Only registered athletes, coaches, volunteers, and officials will be allowed on the climbing floor. Sign up to help judge and experience what my friend Sylvain Vanier calls “the best seats in the house”!

Reach out to communications@albertaclimbing.org with questions or comments.

2024-JAN-13 EP Canmore - last day to register

It’s the last day to register for the Youth Rope Local competition at Elevation Place in Canmore on January 20th 2024. The ACA has a new late registration policy in place, so don’t be late if you plan to register. Head over to our member portal to secure your spot. The event page on our website has been updated with more scheduling details. We also opened up the volunteer sign up, and need your help to have a successful competition for our athletes.

Volunteer sign-up: 2024-JAN-13 EP Canmore

Volunteers, we need your help! Sign up for the best seats in the house, and help our athletes experience the best competition possible. We have an amazing group that will help newcomers and seasoned vets.

New: Specific A&B athletes eligible for 2024-JAN-20 Comp

This post contains important information for Youth B & A athletes. Please read the entire post.

The ACA is constantly evaluating its competition circuit and reviewing feedback received from athletes, parents and coaches. Because of this we are excited to offer a pilot program into the January 20 Lethbridge Youth C and D competition to introduce a second tier for Youth A and B athletes. Our membership continues to grow year over year, and we are looking for ways to manage our numbers and the diverse cross section of athletes that comprise our membership.

This pilot is meant to gauge interest in a second competition tier that allows athletes to gain experience in ACA sanctioned competitions as well as the opportunity to perform well amongst their peers. It is the first step the ACA is taking towards a multi-tiered system which is currently a reality with some of our partner Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs). The success and feedback received from the participants and their parents in this pilot will be used to evolve this program in future years.

The competition will be a full scramble qualifier (30 to 45 problems athletes can try over the course of 2 ½ to 3 hour) and the top 6 in each category will move on to a 5 on 5 off final. The scramble format will offer a diverse range of problems to challenge all of our athletes.

We would like to invite the following Youth A and B athletes to register for the January 20th Lethbridge Bouldering Local:

- Youth A Females who placed 23 or below at the December 9th Boulder Local at CCC Chinook

- Youth A Males who placed 20 or below at the December 9th Boulder Local at CCC Chinook

- Youth B Females who placed 18 or below at the December 9th Boulder Local at CCC Chinook

- Youth B Males who placed 13 or below at the December 9th Boulder Local at CCC Chinook

The 2023-DEC-09 results are found here.

Registration closes January 13th at 11:59 PM, and the new ACA late registration policy will be in effect for all athlete classes.

INELIGIBLE ATHLETES WILL BE DEREGISTERED WITHOUT WARNING

Reach out to us communications@albertaclimbing.org with questions or comments.