Event Format & Rules

National Indoor Bouldering Series 2023

2023 Rule Changes

  • New Under-10 category
  • Finals to run under IFSC Bouldering scoring system 

Start and Finish Times

    • Event 2 in Wellington will have a 2-day format different to that described below, with the U10, U12 & U14 categories held on the Sunday morning, more info on the event page.
    • For Events 1, 3, & 4, Competitors can choose from one of four main rounds:
    • 9:30am – 11:30am – registration opens 9:00am (Youth Round)
    • 12:00pm – 2:00pm – registration opens 11:30am, or
    • 2:30pm – 4:30pm – registration opens 2:00pm, or
    • 5:00pm – 7:00pm – registration opens 4:30pm
    • Finals will be at approximately 7:30pm for the top 5 female and top 5 male entrants after the main rounds.
    • The 9:30-11:30am round will be open only to competitors in the U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories and any parents/caregivers who prefer to climb in the same round as their kids
    • U16 & U18 competitors may choose to climb in the other rounds if they prefer
    • Adults who aren’t parents/caregivers can’t climb in the 9:30-11:30am round
    • U10, U12 & U14 can only climb in the 9:30-11:30 round
    • U10, U12 & U14 climbers will require an adult (can be climbing) to accompany them to help keep them safe and record their scores on their behalf
    • We will run prizegiving for these categories before the start of the 12:00-2:00pm round
  • You can turn up on the day, or pre-register for the event to reserve your spot at the time you want (and enter the bonus prize draw)

Registration Fees

    • $20 for NZAC members with ID
    • $30 for everyone else
    • The entry fee can be paid at the gym on the day or up to a month (unless the gym required pre-payment) before the event if you want to avoid the queues.

Categories

    • Anyone between the ages of 19 and 34 at 31 December of the current year will be in the Open categories
    • Those 16 or 17 at 31 December will count in the U18 and Open categories
    • Those 14 or 15 at 31 December will count in the U16 categories
    • Those 12 or 13 at 31 December will count in the U14 categories
    • Those 10 or 11 at 31 December will count in the U12 categories
    • Those under the age of 10 at 31 December will count in the U10 categories
    • Those between the ages of 35 and 44 at 31 December will count in the Masters and Open categories
    • Those 45 or older at 31 December will count in the Veterans and Open categories
    • Remember you can pre-register your details any time by selecting the event in the menu above.

Rules

NZAC NATIONAL INDOOR BOULDERING SERIES RULES 2023

The NiBS is a fun, all-abilities series. People keep their own score, so honesty is important in keeping the event fun. The following rules are made so everyone is playing the same game. If you are not sure about anything, ask the event co-ordinator!

FORMAT

Choose to start your main round at 9:30, 12:00pm, 2:30pm or 5:00pm

9:00am - Gym opens
9:30-11:30am - Main Round 1 - Youth & Parent/Caregivers
11:50am - U12 & U14 category prizegiving
12:00-2:00pm - Main Round 2 - U16 and above
2:30-4:30pm - Main Round 3 - U16 and above
5:00-7:00pm - Main Round 4 - U16 and above
7:20 Finalists announced and U16, U18, Masters & Veterans prizegiving
7:30-9:00pm Finals

If the round is not full, late registrations will be taken after the competition briefing with no extra time allowed.

The top three results in all 16 categories will be read out at the end of each event, and the series medals will be awarded at the end of the final round.

MAIN ROUNDS


Sectioning the area:
The wall will be split into between 8 and 12 sections, divided vertically by black tape.

Setting the problems: Each section will have five problems of varying difficulty, marked out with coloured tags. The grade system is like so:

Colour

Grade

Points

Green

12-16 (or ‘VE’)

5

Yellow

17-19 (or ‘VM’)

6

Orange

V0 – V3

7

Red

V4 – V6

8

Black

V7 – Very Hard

10

Grades are indications only.

Every handhold and foothold that you can use for a specific problem must have one tag of that colour pointing to it except for:

    • If there are two starting handholds, each will have two tags (in a ‘v’)
    • If there is one starting handhold, it will have three tags
    • If it is a finishing hold, it will have two tags (in a ‘v’)
    • It is a usable part of the wall (see below)

Usable parts of the wall:

Any part of the climbing wall can be used unless it is:

    • Considered “structural” (e.g. the tops, sides of the wall, exposed beams)
    • In another section, as marked with black cloth tape.
    • Marked out of bounds with black cloth tape.
    • Any areas marked out of bounds should be described to competitors before the event starts.
  • Putting weight on the black tape or on an area outside the section will result in an incomplete attempt.

 Scoring Points:

A competitor that takes their weight off the wall in control with their hands on the designated start holds, and then progresses to the finishing hold and controls it with both hands for at least 2 seconds, without touching the ground, out of bounds areas or holds not allowed, will be awarded the points. Each problem can be scored only once.

Main Round Score

At the end of the 2-hour main round, each competitor tallies up their 7 highest individual scores. The total is their overall score. If there is a tie, competitors will be ranked by their split score.

Split Score

The split score ranks climbers by the number of black problems, then the number of red problem etc completed. All problems completed should be marked on the scoresheet as they count towards the split score.

Mats:

All the problems will be protected by mats as deemed safe by the host gym. On all problems the lowest part of the climber must not exceed three metres.

FINAL ROUND 

The top five ranked Open Men’s and Open Women’s competitors after the main rounds will progress to the final round. If there are time constraints, less or more finalists may be included at the discretion of the Head Judge.

There will be three final sections with two problems on each, one for the Open Men’s and one for the Open Women’s. There will be an observation period of 2 minutes per problem.

Each finalist will have 4 minutes to try each problem. They can have as many attempts as they want, but their current attempt is terminated at the 4 minute mark.

Scoring for the final round will be judged as per the current IFSC Boulder Rules.

 

SERIES POINTS

Series points will be allocated in all categories. The person with the highest score, based on their placing over their best 3 competitions, will be the overall series winner. Ties for all places will be allowed in each competition, including 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Points will be awarded for ties taking the average points for all placings.

For example a tie for 1st will score 93 points (100+86) / 2

The overall series winner will be decided at the conclusion of event 4, and the series trophies awarded. If a tie exists for 1st place after this competition there will be a count back as per IFSC rules, with the highest point score and number of competitors per event used to split the competitors.

e.g. Three competitors have a series points score of 100.

Person A came first in one event, with an attendance of 100 people.

Person B came first in one event, with an attendance of 80 people.

Person C came 6th in two events.

The series rankings would be 1st A, 2nd B and 3rd C

Place

Points

1

100

2

86

3

74

4

64

5

56

6

50

7

44

8

40

9

36

10

32

11

30

12

28

13

26

14

24

15

22

16

20

17

19

18

18

19

17

20

16

21

15

22

14

23

13

24

12

25

11

26

10

27

9

28

8

29

7

30

6

31

5

32

4

33

3

34

2

35

1

 


Note: Series points and overall placing will be posted on the NiBS results page after each competition.