BMC Youth Climbing Festival
New for 2025, the BMC Youth Climbing Festival is aimed at youth climbers and introduces a new format incorporating both bouldering and roped climbing. Taking place across the 12 and 13 July in Exeter.
The BMC Youth Climbing Festival will incorporate strategic route selection while ensuring fair and engaging scoring. It also features an individual ranking system and an optional team component to encourage wider participation. The BMC Youth Climbing Festival offers the opportunity to enter as either an individual or a team.
Where is it taking place?
Saturday 12 July: Boulder Exe
Sunday 13 July: The Quay - roped (option to Lead climb)
Who can compete?
U17 2009/2010
U15 2012/2011
U13 2014/2013
U11 2016/2015
Cost
Cost £50 for both days, £25 for one day.
Low income tickets are reserved for participants on a limited income who cannot otherwise afford to attend the BMC Youth Climbing Festival. Tickets cost £15 for one event or £30 for both.
About the BMC Youth Climbing Festival
Saturday Start: 10am
Sunday Start: 10am
A full timetable will be confirmed once we have an idea of competitor numbers.
Day 1: Bouldering
- 20 boulder problems available, categorised by difficulty
- Athletes select 8 problems to attempt
- Problems are assigned different point values based on difficulty
- Each attempt is still tracked (fewer attempts = better ranking)
Boulder point system:
Easy | Top points: 5 | Zone points: 2
Medium | Top points: 10 | Zone points: 5
Hard | Top points: 15 | Zone points: 8
- Athletes earn points based on successful tops & zones
- If two athletes have the same score, attempts count as tiebreakers
Day 2: Roped Climbing
- 6 routes available, categorised by difficulty (roped or option to Lead)
- Athletes select 4 routes to attempt
- Scoring is based on highest controlled hold, with harder routes rewarding more points
Roped Route Point System:
Easy | Difficulty Points for Top: 50
Medium | Difficulty Points for Top: 75
Hard | Difficulty Points for Top: 100
Athletes can strategically choose easier routes for consistency or harder routes for higher potential scores
Individual Scoring System - work in progress
Each discipline is scored separately, then normalised to create an overall score.
Bouldering Score Calculation
- Total points from selected 8 problems
- Higher difficulty = higher score potential
- Tiebreakers:
1. Fewer attempts to reach total score
2. Most tops
3. Most zones
Roped Climbing Score Calculation
- Sum of points from 4 selected routes
- Higher holds = higher score
Tiebreakers:
- Most tops across selected routes
- Highest scoring single route
- Overall Ranking Calculation
- Final Score = (Bouldering Score + Roped Score) / 2
- Both disciplines contribute equally
Team Format
- Teams consist of 3-6 athletes
- Minimum 3 team members must contribute scores
- If competing as a team, you will need to bring a belayer
Team Scoring
- Best 3 individual scores from each discipline contribute to the team total
- Encourages strategic route selection - athletes choose risk vs. reward
- Levels the playing field for boulderers vs. roped climbers
- Rewards versatility while keeping the format fair
BECOME A COMPETITION VOLUNTEER
There are a number of essential volunteer roles needed to help run this competition. Check out what each role is and find out more about how you can apply.