BLCC & BBC: British Competitions
These are competitions open to any resident in the UK in the disciplines of bouldering and leading. They are operated by the BMC.
British Lead Climbing Championship (BLCC)
BLCC & BBC NEWS2010 BBC Report HERE 2008 BLCC Results HERE 2009 BLCC & BBC Results HERE |
First held in 1991, the BLCC was originally a multi-round series using a format essentially the same as that of international leading competitions: all rounds were on-sight with climbers kept in an isolation zone until their turn. However, in 2007 the BLCC became a single event competition using a format that is the same as the European Youth Series – 2 routes during the qualification round that are climbed ‘flash’ i.e. the routes are demonstrated and the climbers can watch followed by the finals which are ‘on-sight’. The 2007 event was held in front of a none-climbing audience at The Blackpool Towers.
Categories are: male & female, senior & junior.
Scoring in the BLCC (and other leading competitions) is simple. The higher up the route the more ‘points’ you gain. Each hold is assigned a score. To touch a hold gains that score as a ‘minus’ (e.g. hold 25 gets credited with 25-), to ‘hold’ the hold credits 25, and to make progress towards the next hold (but don’t touch it) credits 25+. The actual ranking for the qualification round is a bit more complicated though with square roots of the multiple of the ranking from each qualification coming into play.
For full details see the BMC site at: www.thebmc.co.uk
British Bouldering Championship (BBC)
Since it’s inception in 1998 the BBC has become a very popular event. Originally a single event, it changed to a series of events and finally for 2007 it has gone back to a one-off event as for the BLCC. Like the BLCC there are male & female, senior & junior categories.
The format and rules are as follows: the qualification round consists of 10 problems under ‘normal British rules’ i.e. no isolation, 3 attempts on a problem whenever the climber chooses and 10,7 or 4 points dependant upon whether the problem is completed on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd attempt. Bonus or tie break points are awarded for ‘holding’ a specified hold. The finals are operated on the same rules as World Cup events: a set number of problems (usually 5) and each climber is given a maximum of 6 minutes to attempt a problem and are allowed as many attempts as they require within that time. They then have 6 minutes rest before trying the next problem.
The scoring for the finals is significantly different there being no points but the winner is the one who does the most problems in the least number of attempts. If there is a tie then the number of bonus/tie break holds held and also number of attempts to get those bonus holds is used to separate the competitors.
For full details see the BMC site at: www.thebmc.co.uk