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ACJ
Nov 26, 2008, 5:54 PM
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So I have been climbing for about 2.5 years and mostly rope up. I learned to climb outside and struggle with going to the gym. Last week though I competed in my first comp (bouldering at the gym) and surprisingly placed 3rd in the recreational climbers division.
The biggest surprise to me though was going back and trying the same problems after the comp. I'm not sure if I am just really beat from the event or if the excitement and atmosphere just boosted me up to climbing stronger but almost all of the problems I onsighted at the comp took multiple tries when I just showed up to climb.
Is that normal or has it been experienced by anyone else?
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glytch
Nov 26, 2008, 6:08 PM
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ACJ wrote: So I have been climbing for about 2.5 years and mostly rope up. I learned to climb outside and struggle with going to the gym. Last week though I competed in my first comp (bouldering at the gym) and surprisingly placed 3rd in the recreational climbers division. The biggest surprise to me though was going back and trying the same problems after the comp. I'm not sure if I am just really beat from the event or if the excitement and atmosphere just boosted me up to climbing stronger but almost all of the problems I onsighted at the comp took multiple tries when I just showed up to climb. Is that normal or has it been experienced by anyone else?
I've had similar experiences in the two comps I've entered... in the last one I was in a climbing slump, having been off of my game for the previous few weeks, climbing weaker than other folks at my gym that I usually climb similarly to. The [who knows what] of the comp, though, pulled me right out of my slump and up, *fingers crossed*, a V-grade.
The comps I've entered, though, are at my gym and are tailored to the kinds of climbers that show up: pretty much nobody climbs above V6. I imagine that a real comp with problems 3+ grades harder would have the potential to be a bit demoralizing as the good climbers warmed up on my target climbs for the day.
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clews
Nov 26, 2008, 6:32 PM
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Yea that's very normal. Lots of people tend to climb a lot harder during competitions than they do when they're just climbing for ful. Personally I find that I climb the same as I normally do when i'm in one of those *not pro* competitions because I don't look at them as competitions, more of just a fun climbing sesh with all new problems.
I'm planning on entering some more competitions this winter though and I expect that a more competative environment will make me climb much harder
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jakedatc
Nov 27, 2008, 6:29 AM
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Yep... adrenaline does amazing things.. plus you're trying harder since it means something.
also the holds are in about the best condition they will be in.. a bit chalked up but not caked and many times gyms use comps to show off new sets of holds so they are brand new.
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chossmonkey
Nov 27, 2008, 11:44 AM
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jakedatc wrote: also the holds are in about the best condition they will be in.. a bit chalked up but not caked and many times gyms use comps to show off new sets of holds so they are brand new.
Could just be tired too.
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shockabuku
Nov 27, 2008, 5:44 PM
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ACJ wrote: So I have been climbing for about 2.5 years and mostly rope up. I learned to climb outside and struggle with going to the gym. Last week though I competed in my first comp (bouldering at the gym) and surprisingly placed 3rd in the recreational climbers division. The biggest surprise to me though was going back and trying the same problems after the comp. I'm not sure if I am just really beat from the event or if the excitement and atmosphere just boosted me up to climbing stronger but almost all of the problems I onsighted at the comp took multiple tries when I just showed up to climb. Is that normal or has it been experienced by anyone else?
You climb harder when somebody's watching (going to see your results).
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PatMcGinn
Nov 27, 2008, 5:49 PM
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That might be true that you climb harder because of the adrenaline rush, but I've noticed that some comps, people do not climb the routes that they have set and they could be easier/harder than they really are.
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iamthewallress
Nov 27, 2008, 6:00 PM
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I had a similar experience recently. I competed for the first time a few weeks ago with some friends. I had a lot of fun, climbed pretty well (at the higher end of what I can normally do when new problems go up), but above all...worked on problems at my limit for 4 hours straight. I didn't feel like I got back to full strength for a week after that. By then, the problems were actually harder because they greased up. Also, I feel more motivated to give my all on an onsight attempt than I do when I know that I've done it before. In the latter case if it doesn't seem to be working out, I just come off and try again.
(This post was edited by iamthewallress on Nov 27, 2008, 6:00 PM)
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Razgriz
Mar 10, 2009, 9:44 PM
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Hnn, that's interesting. I find I climb the same or slightly worse at comps. I attended my first comp recently and found that I felt pressured to flash problems and such to get more points.
I know it's a bad thought trail, since you're supposed to be there to have fun and climb with other rockheads, but being placed on a list with your rank and score kept nagging at me to do better and made me nervous.
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dluk1601
Mar 11, 2009, 4:00 AM
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I notice that if I try to compete against someone else then I tend to climb porely. But if I show up at a comp. and I just push myself and climb for myself then I climb much harder than I normaly would. I guess I just feed of the good vibes. Climbing is awesome when you can truely do it for yourself.
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Parkerkat
Mar 26, 2009, 7:04 PM
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Thats oddd... you saying they put up a V-scale grade for comp climbs?
The Tour de Bloc in canada, just set somewhere between 30 and 40 problems and just gives em a number in order of difficulty in comparison to the rest... no V-scale grades at all since they don't really matters..sending onsite is what matter...
How do they do the comps where you're at? Did I interpret what you said correctly? I'd be curious if they use a V-scale, is a sloping V6 worth the same a sketchy V6 crimp climb?
Confused! HELP!
(This post was edited by Parkerkat on Mar 26, 2009, 7:07 PM)
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PatMcGinn
Jun 30, 2009, 3:01 AM
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Grades in competition are bogus. The people who put up the routes never climb them enough to really feel how hard the route is so they slap an estimate on it. It's usually soft. In Regional Divisional and national competitions the grades are perfect. As far as climbing harder, I'm not sure, I've often gone back and did the same ones the same way and thought they felt easier, but I'm not sure.
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