News
Lots of updates for Lead Provincials: Check the website
We’ve been furiously planning for the lead provincial competition at the UofA Wilson Climbing Centre this weekend. Check out the event page for up to date information. With reduced capacity restrictions in place, this event will be quite different for everyone involved.
We have posted the tentative schedule. There are quick turnaround times, so pay attention to your group. The B Female group qualifiers are on Sunday morning.
We have opened up volunteer registration. There are some positions on the field of play, and some that are helping within the Van Vliet Complex.
And finally, we have been working really hard to get a live streaming solution in place on short notice. We intend to stream the entire event, and will have every athlete featured. We will live stream to Youtube, and there will be a viewing area in the Van Vliet Complex as well.
C&D categories removed from 2024-MAY-04/05 Rope Provincials
Athletes, Parents, Coaches,
The ACA board has made the difficult decision to remove the C & D categories from the upcoming Provincial Lead competition in Edmonton on May 4th & 5th 2024. The competition will proceed at the UofA Wilson Climbing Centre as scheduled for the Jr, A, and B categories. We understand that this decision will cause significant disruption for several of our members. The decision was not made lightly. The board will be looking into planning a standalone provincial competition for the C & D categories sometime after nationals.
The challenge
The board was recently informed that the capacity limit for the Wilson Climbing Centre at the UofA would be reduced to a total of 70 people in the building at any given time. This is a 50% reduction from the 140 person limit that was in place last season. We had already been planning measures to accommodate for the restrictions, including: no spectators, remote viewing, and using athlete staging areas.
Our partners at the University of Alberta and the Wilson Climbing Centre have proposed the use of areas throughout the Van Vliet athletic complex to help offload capacity from the Wilson Climbing Centre. After careful review, the ACA board decided that this proposal would significantly impede and reduce athletes’ proper preparation (physically and mentally) for the qualifier round.
The solution
In order to accommodate the number of athletes, officials, judges, belayers, coaches, coordinators, scorekeepers, setters, and UofA staff, we can only have 2 qualifier routes running at a time. We're still finalizing the specific schedule, but we will run 1 category at a time (Jr Female, Junior Male, A Female, A Male, B Female, B Male).
There will be no semifinal round. The top 8 athletes from qualifiers will compete in a finals round (1 route, isolation).
Athletes will be able to warm up and prepare in the Wilson Climbing Centre before their start times. They will be asked to leave when their 2nd route is completed, in order to allow the next category to begin preparations.
There will be no spectators allowed in the Wilson Climbing Centre. We have a remote viewing solution in place; spectators can view our camera feeds from another room in the Van Vliet complex.
Decision considerations
The board considered moving the competition to another venue. The logistics for another gym to host on short notice were found to be untenable on such short notice. The board also considered travel commitments, setter travel plans, and sunk costs from the University of Alberta.
The board considered scenarios that would include C & D athletes. These scenarios would have compromised the competition format for all athletes. The board agreed to uphold the integrity of the competition format as a priority.
Jr, A, and B athletes have a chance to qualify for nationals through the provincial lead competition. The board agreed that preparing Jr, A and B athletes for nationals later in May was a priority.
The board will endeavour to schedule a provincial top-rope competition for the C & D athletes for the 2023/2024 season. The board acknowledges the importance for our C & D athletes to complete their season properly.
FAQs
What about the registrations for C & D athletes?
We plan to keep the registrations in place for the replacement provincial competition. The ACA incurs processing fees for both purchases and refunds; it is very expensive to refund all transactions and then process those same purchases later.
However, all requests for refund will be processed unconditionally. Contact jeremyfidelack@albertaclimbing.org
Where and when would the replacement provincial competition for C & D athletes occur?
There are no details for this. The competition would be sometime after nationals.
Where are the detailed schedule, volunteer sign-up, remote viewing details, etc for the May 4th & 5th competition?
We'll be spending a lot of time finalizing the details and sharing on our website this week.
What is the ACA doing to prevent this scenario from happening again?
The ACA board has a competition committee in place this year. There are a number of proposals for the 2024/2025 season that are being prepared to address this type of scenario.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. The ACA board is entirely volunteer run, and spends countless hours working to provide the best competition experience possible for our athletes. Feel free to reach out to us with questions or comments.
Regards,
Registration closing soon: ACA rope provincials
ACA rope Provincials are right around the corner, and that means the registration is closing on Saturday April 27th. Don’t miss out, register today.
Volunteers needed: ACA nationals training camp
The ACA is hosting a training camp for athletes that have been invited to nationals, and we’re looking for volunteers to help. Contact paigeboklaschuk@albertaclimbing.org if you’re interested in any of the following positions:
1 Jury President
1 Head Judge
2 Scorekeepers
12 Judges
Also, don’t forget to register if you haven’t already done that. Today is the last day!
Volunteers needed! CEC Youth Regionals
We’re excited to be hosting the CEC West Regionals in Alberta. We’re still short of volunteers, especially judges. Athletes from western Canada are travelling to Calgary to compete, and we're hoping to give them their best competition environment.
Whether you have volunteered at an ACA event or not, your help will be very much appreciated. Alberta is represented by the largest group of athletes in the country at regionals. Let’s show the country how strong our climbing community is! You can sign up here; be sure to sign up for the west regionals. Volunteers get free food during their shift, a T Shirt, and a free day pass for every shift they work!
We’re looking for belayers! Lead Provincials @ UofA
ACA lead provincials are right around the corner, and we’re looking for volunteers to help support our youth athletes. Reach out to climbing@ualberta.ca if you are interested.
Must have prior experience lead belaying in a sanctioned competition
Must pass a lead check at the Wilson Climbing Centre (before the competition starts)
We will waive the belay check fee - just email us with a time/date you expect to come in for a check
If you have been checked in the past 12 months at the Wilson Climbing Centre, this is not required
Volunteers needed: CEC West Regionals
Team Alberta, we need your help! CEC youth regionals are being hosted in Calgary at Bolder Elevated, and there are still a lot of volunteer slots that need to be filled. Whether you have volunteered at an ACA event or not, your help will be very much appreciated. Alberta is represented by the largest group of athletes in the country at regionals. Let’s show the country how strong our climbing community is! You can sign up here; be sure to sign up for the west regionals. Volunteers get free food during their shift, a T Shirt, and a free day pass for every shift they work!
Senior Athletes: apply for the youth nationals training camp
ACA athletes in our senior category are now able to apply for a spot at the youth nationals training camp, hosted at BLOCS on April 27th. Contact paigeboklaschuk@albertaclimbing.org to learn more.
Registration for Provincial Lead Championships
Don’t forget to register for the ACA provincial lead championships at UofA Wilson Centre on May 4th & 5th 2024. Register at the member portal. Details will be posted on the event page of our website. We’re excited to see all of our athletes compete in the championship!
2023/2024 Boulder Rankings are updated
With the provincial bouldering season now closed, we have updated the overall rankings. Check out the rankings pages on our site, or go directly to the Google drive. Thank you for your patience as we wrap up provincial bouldering, prepare for CEC regionals and nationals, and prepare for provincial lead competitions.
Volunteer for CEC Youth Regionals
CEC Youth Regionals West are being hosted in Alberta at Bolder Elevated in Calgary! Let’s show everyone how strong our climbing community is by filling up the volunteer slots here. Make sure to pick the spots labelled “WEST”. Thank you for helping our youth athletes experience their best competition possible.
Volunteers get free food during their shift, a T Shirt, and a free day pass for every shift they work!
For questions about the volunteering opportunities, contact sebastian@bolderclimbing.com
Thank you, and congratulations
The 2023/2024 ACA bouldering season wrapped up in spectacular fashion yesterday. Athletes from Saskatchewan, Southeastern BC, and Alberta showed us all what real talent, strength, and dedication look like at our 2 day championship event.
Thank you to Simon, Walson, and the staff at CCC Chinook for hosting. You spent a LOT of time before, during, and after the comp to keep things running smoothly, and we all appreciate it.
Thank you to Juan and his amazing crew of route setters. You worked tirelessly for days leading up to the competition, always focusing on how to give our youth the best on wall experience possible.
Thank you to ALL of the people who volunteered to help this weekend. We had over 140 volunteer slots, and it was truly amazing to work with you all. We can’t run these competitions without your help, so thank you.
Finally, thank you to the athletes and the coaches. You have worked so hard all season and that was on full display this weekend.
Isolation update for finals - provincial bouldering
Attention athletes and coaches: Due to the size and complexity of bouldering provincials, you may be in isolation for up to 5 hours. Please be prepared for an extended isolation if your category starts later.
Qualifier videos are up
You know the competition is close when the qualifier videos get posted! Check them out here, and head over to the event page to stay up to date with the competition details for provincial bouldering. Pay attention to the schedule and startlists.
Good luck to all our athletes. We’re all really proud of you and can’t wait to see your hard work on the walls tomorrow. Get out there and crush it.
Volunteers, Format, Schedule
Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer at bouldering provincials this weekend! We’ve filled over 60 slots, but have we still have over 70 slots available. With over 250 registered athletes, we need a small army of volunteers to give our athletes the best competition experience possible. We are especially in need of judges; there will be 15 athletes on the wall for most of Saturday. If you are new or inexperienced, please rest assured that you will be fully supported by the ACA officials. We’ll supply the food and snacks, and as my friend Sylvain Vanier says, “you get the best seats in the house”. Sign up here if you are able to help.
We have been diligently planning the competition, and have been keeping updates on the event page of our website. We have updated the format, schedule, and startlists this week. Review the running schedule and start lists for your category ahead of the competition.
Feel free to reach out to communications@albertaclimbing.org with questions.
Updates: provincial bouldering schedule
Due to the size and complexity of the provincial bouldering competition, we’ve had to make adjustments to the schedule. Please keep up to date by checking the event page for the latest information leading up to the comp. Major changes are highlighted at the top of the page.
We also need a LOT of volunteers to run this competition. Head over to the volunteer sign up to help our youth athletes get the best competition experience possible. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up. The schedule changes may have affected your volunteer slots, so take some time to review that.
Volunteer sign-up for provincial bouldering is posted
We’ve posted the sign-up link for the provincial bouldering championship at Calgary Climbing Centre Chinook. We’re excited that there are over 250 registered youth athletes for this competition. In order to give the athletes the best possible competition experience, we need a LOT of help. Please sign up to help if you are able to.
If you are new or inexperienced, rest assured that you will be fully supported by the ACA officials and other experienced volunteers. Feel free to reach out to communications@albertaclimbing.org
Reminder: registration for ACA boulder provincials closes March 30th
The provincial bouldering championship is being hosted at CCC Chinook next weekend, and registration closes on Saturday March 30th. There will be no late registrations accepted, and no exceptions will be made. Head over to the member portal to register. Keep an eye on the event page as we finalize the schedule, start lists, and volunteer sign up link.
No late registrations for Boulder Provincials
We wanted to update everyone regarding late registrations for Boulder Provincials on April 6-7. For this event we WILL NOT be accepting any late registrants! If you would like your athlete to compete it is imperative that you register by the deadline, March 30 at 11:59 pm MT. Once this deadline is over there will be no exceptions for late registration.
Please contact us communications@albertaclimbing.org with questions or concerns before the registration deadline.
