Singapore Bouldering League 2010

[afrodizziact]

Dear fellow CSers,

Many of you probably at this point will wonder, what is Bouldering ? Well, if you have heard of Rockclimbing/Sportclimbing, Bouldering is just another form of it. The difference is that it is usually at a lower height, and not involving ropes and harnesses. The only equipments that you will usually need are chalk (and chalk bags), a pair of climbing shoes, crash pad(s) and a spotter (buddy).

Quoted from Wikipedia: "Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas. However, it may also be practiced at the base of larger rock faces, or even on buildings or public architecture (see buildering)."

Quoted from SCA (Singapore Climbers Association) website: "The SBL (formerly National Bouldering League) is a consolidated ranking league of Gravical, Boulderactive, Pumpfest, and is organised by the Singapore Climbers Association and endorsed by Singapore Sports Council (SSC). The aim of the league is to provide a platform from which climbers can continuously monitor their personal progress in the sport and in turn, motivate themselves to improve.The SBL will also nominate the top female and male boulderers to compete in the Asian Continental Championships 2010.

However, competition is not the only reason for having the league. The success of SBL will be measured by how it is able to rally the local climbing community into supporting the league through participation and volunteering."

The aim of this thread is to give the sport some publicity and in turn answer questions (if any) in hope of educating the public. The sport itself is not new, but as it is not a mainstream sport, getting funding is usually a problem.

Being directly involved in the league also gives me a chance to capture the moments of the competition whenever I can. Through the photos, I hope to give a glimpse of how the sport is like, how the competitions are run, and how passionate these Climbers are. I also hope to raise awareness of the sport to the general public

The league currently consists of competitions organised by three institutions:

1. Gravical organised by SMU (Singapore Management University) @ SMU Campus Green happened from 4th to 7th March
2. Boulderactive organised by NUS (National University of Singapore) @ Orchard Central happened from 12th to 14th of March
3. Pumpfest organised by NTU (Nanyang Technological University) @ City Square happening from 28th to 30th May

You might have came across the first and second competitions of the league but if you missed them, there is still Pumpfest happening on the 28th to 30th May !

This is just a brief introduction of the league. I shall let my photos illustrate the competitions

 

[afrodizziact]

The first competition is organised by SMU @ SMU Campus Green.

Artifical climbing surfaces are erected for the purpose of the competition.

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You can see a guy holding a black thing at the side of the climber. That is an example of a crash pad and he is holding it up to prevent the climber from fallout outwards (out of the crash pads already below him).

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Dynamic movements (Dyno) often sends a climber into leg flying positions as seen above.

 

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Check out this guys forearm :bigeyes:

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Routes are set to difficulty of the category, in this case, the Intermediate category. There are three, namely: Novice, Intermediate and Open in levels of difficulty respectively. Difficulty of the routes are determined by factors such as wall height, wall angle, handholds(tiles), the moves/movements, sequence and many others. In this route, this climber holds onto a tile (a crimper in this example) which is shallower than a digit of his finger !

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[afrodizziact]

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Brawns is not all it takes in this sport. Sometimes, sequences can be confusing. In this shot, the climber is frustrated at falling off and is probably scrutinizing the handholds and thinking of another way out.

To complete the route, the climber has to start on the designated handhold and use the available handholds on the route to climb up the wall and finally finish on the designated handholds within the specified time (in this case 3.5 minutes).

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It is common to experience frustration after the competition as most climbers would feel that the routes are finish-able. However, performance usually drops as you will have to factor in conditions such as competition stress. In this shot, the climber's friend seems to be discussing the routes with the climber, probably telling him what he did wrongly.

 

[afrodizziact]

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Here, the climber demonstrates a technique known as the "heel-hook". This allows the climber to stabilise himself, gain height and to take weight off his arms.

 

[afrodizziact]

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Another heel hook in action.

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Climbers are not allowed to watch each other climb during the competition. They are to face away from the wall once they complete their climb. Here you can see the climber waiting to go on his next route and in the background the climber after him is attempting the route. They each have the same amount of rest time as the attempt time, i.e. 3.5 minutes to attempt the route followed by 3.5 minutes of rest time before going on the next route. For the preliminary round, they have 6 routes to attempt, in which the number of finishes or "tops" will count towards their ranking (and ticket to the finals) in the competition.

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This climber peers over the edge of the wall to look for his next hold before launching for it. Blind throws are often frowned upon so its always good to know where the next hold is.

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Chalk powder (Magnesium Carbonate) is usually used by climbers to keep their palms dry so that their perspiration will not cause them to slip off the holds. The chalk powder (not your regular drawing chalk) is contained in a small bag behind the climber (known as a chalk bag). Here you can see the climber blowing off the excess chalk off his hands. Excess chalk can clog up the pores on the holds which can cause the climber to slip off the holds as well. :bsmilie:

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If you happen to be around during the competition, you might hear the spectators shouting "Allez !", "Venga !" or "Gambatte !" which and cheers (or 'Go !") in French, Spanish and Japanese language respectively. This is just a random shot of the supporters from NUS present to cheer their friends on !

 

[Netbaby]

I like the perspective view from number 5, hm.... spider-man view? lol

 

[afrodizziact]

I like the perspective view from number 5, hm.... spider-man view? lol

Hahahah, just waiting for someone to do the "inverted kiss" position ! That would be a classic spiderman view !

 

[afrodizziact]

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Loads of concentration portrayed by this climber.

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He takes a shot at going for the last hold (marked with two yellow tapes) ...

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.. and fails :cry:

 

[luntut]

i miss bouldering.

great stuff!!!

 

[afrodizziact]

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This guy looks at his fingers in agony. He might have hurt his fingers during the climb or on previous routes.

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Don't be mistaken that this is a male dominated sport :sweat:! It just so happen that I am only free during certain times of the event to capture shots. Here you can see a female climber in action !

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[afrodizziact]

i miss bouldering.

great stuff!!!

Thanks ! You climb too ?

 

[afrodizziact]

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Here, you can see the climber getting ready to 'lift off'. His attempt starts when both feet lifts off the ground, and both hands must start on the starting hold (marked by two yellow tapes here) and end with two hands on the ending hold (similarly marked with two yellow tapes)

 

[afrodizziact]

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The routes can sometimes force you to go into awkward hand positions as seen here. This particular move can be damaging to both the fingers and the shoulders if there were no prior proper training.

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Competitions often run from early morning till the sun sets mostly due to the sheer number of participants involved.

 

[afrodizziact]

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Breathing is important in any sports, as it helps to send the much needed oxygen to your system.

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Our local competitions attracts many friends from our neighbouring countries to come and participate. Here, an Indonesian climber demonstrates his strength and capabilities.

The Winners of this leg of the league:

Novice Women

1. Lynette Koh from SJI International
2. Jacinda Siew from Temasek Junior College
3. Gwendolyn Lee from Temasek Junior College
4. Kristal Cheong from Temasek Junior College
5. Marissa Low from National University of Singapore

Novice Men

1. Amirruddin Bin Ibrahim from Republic Polytechnic
2. Muhammad Syafiq Bin Hassan from Republic Polytechnic
3. Muhammad Sallehan from ITE College West
4. Muhammad Hafiz Bin Mohamed Zain from Tampines Junior College
5. Sean Chua from Tampines Junior College

Intermediate Women

1. Sim Puay Hoon from Singapore Polytechnic
2. Audrey Lim from Singapore Management University
3. Ou Shaoting from National University of Singapore
4. Larissa Ho from National University of Singapore
5. Yee Siying from National University of Singapore

Intermediate Men

1. Jonathan Hwa from Singapore Management University
2. Dennis Chua from Temasek Polytechnic
3. Gary Pek from Nanyang Technological University
4. Marcus Yeo from Meridian Junior College
5. Randy Yeo from Singapore Polytechnic

Open Women

1. Beatrix Chong from Climb Asia
2. Uyanga from Nanyang Technological University
3. Suzanna Tan from Climb Asia
4. Sue Ann
5. Doris Lin from National University of Singapore

Open Men

1. Ponti Hardiyanto from Bali, Indonesia
2. Haroz Foo from Temasek Polytechnic
3. Hazlee from Climb Asia
4. Irwan from Climb Asia
5. Jansen Ko from National University of Singapore

This pretty much sums up my coverage for SBL - Gravical 2010. Next, I will be posting shots from SBL - Boulderactive 2010. Hope everyone has enjoyed the coverage thus far

 

[afrodizziact]

Boulderactive organised by NUS (National University of Singapore) was held @ Orchard Central from 12th to 14th of March.

Lets kick off this event by posting of a hair-raising shot :bsmilie: !!!

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Some act of balance can be seen here ...

 

[afrodizziact]

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They engaged some graffiti artists to help paint the wall. It looks pretty impressive yea ?

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[horizon_grazer]

Great coverage !

 

[afrodizziact]

Great coverage !

Thanks man !