The NZAC National Indoor Bouldering Series is all about having fun and giving it a go! Whether it’s your first climbing competition or you're a seasoned pro, you'll find challenges suited to your skill and confidence level, all within a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

Once the self-scored main rounds are done, the top 6 ranked female and male competitors in the open category advance to the finals. This is where the energy and music volume ramp up and we get to witness some incredible climbing from the best in the game.

Summary of Changes in 2025

• New online registration and scoring platform 

• Scoring change, points awarded to each boulder divided by the number of successful tops

• Age group changes to reflect IFSC categories

• Finals format updated to 2025 IFSC Boulder rules 

• Youth round (U11, U13, and U15 and caregivers) on Sunday morning 

Categories

Age at 31 December Category

Under 11 U11 (Youth Round)

11 or 12 U13 (Youth Round)

13 or 14 U15 (Youth Round)

15 or 16 U17

17 or 18 U19 and Open

19 - 34 Open

35 - 44 Masters and Open

45+ Veterans and Open

Format

Participants can choose from one of four main rounds on Saturday, or the Youth Round on Sunday morning.

• Saturday 9.30am - 11.30am - registration opens 9am

• Saturday 12pm - 2pm - registration opens 11.30am

• Saturday 2.30pm - 4.30pm - registration opens 2pm

• Saturday 5pm - 7pm - registration opens 4.30pm

• Sunday  9am - 11am - registration opens 8.30am (Youth Round)

Finals will be at approximately 7.30pm for the top 6 open female and top 6 open male entrants after the Saturday main rounds.

Sunday Youth Round

The Sunday Youth round will be open only to competitors in the U11, U13, and U15 categories and any parents/caregivers who prefer to climb in the same round as their kids.

U11, U13, and U15 participants can only climb in the Sunday Youth round and will require an adult (who can be climbing) to help keep them safe and record their scores on their behalf.

Adults who aren't parents/caregivers can't climb in the Sunday Youth round.

We will run prizegiving for the U11, U13, and U15 categories at the end of the Sunday Youth round. Caregivers climbing in other categories (Opens, Masters, Veterans) will still qualify for series points, but if you want to make the podium you’ll need to climb in a Saturday round as prizegiving will be held for these categories before the finals at 7pm.

Main Rounds

Boulders will be split into one of five difficulty grades and each assigned a unique identifier, which will be displayed on a tag at the start of the boulder, example below for the third Orange boulder, O3:

Tag Colour Approximate Grade Point Allocation

Green VB-V0 1000

Yellow V0 - V2 1500

Orange V2 - V4 2000

Red V4 - V6 2500

Black V6+ 3000

Every handhold and foothold that you can use for a specific problem must be of the same colour (this doesn't need to correspond with the tag colour), and:

• The starting handhold or handholds will be clearly identifiable

• The finishing hold will be clearly identifiable

Usable parts of the wall

The event organiser will identify any volumes or features that are usable for all boulders prior to the start of the rounds.

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

• Considered “structural” (e.g. the tops, sides of the wall, exposed beams)

• 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.

T-nut holes on the climbing wall surface cannot be used as a handhold, this does not apply to holes on volumes or holds that are attached to the wall.

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.

Scoring 

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 in a stable body position, without touching the ground, out-of-bounds areas or holds not allowed, will be awarded the ‘top’ of that problem. Each problem can be scored only once.

Boulders must be recorded as ‘topped’ in the online scoring platform.

Main Round Score

The less people top a boulder, the more points it is worth.

The points awarded for each boulder are equal to the total point allocation divided by the number of tops in the ranking category. There are three ranking categories: Female, Male and All.

For instance, Problem B7 has an allocation of 3000 points. If 6 Female competitors top this boulder, they will each receive 500 points in their categories (e.g. Open, U19 etc.). If 5 Male competitors also top this boulder they will receive 600 points in their categories. If one Other/Non-Binary competitor also tops this boulder, all 12 will receive 250 points in the All category rankings.

The top 7 highest-value boulders that you top determine your final main round score.

RECORDING SCORES 

Prior to the event, an email will be sent to each participant inviting them to login or register with our online scoring platform. Once the event in underway, scores can be recorded in the web app by finding the boulder reference and clicking ‘top’. More than 7 boulders can be recorded as topped but only the 7 most valuable will contribute to your overall score.

We ask you to keep your phones off of the mats and will supply you with a pencil and paper scorecard, we suggest using this to record your boulders then inputting them to the web app off of the mats when you are resting.

You can record any boulder in the web app up to 10 minutes after your round finishes, with the exception of black tag boulders.

Black tag boulders must be recorded in the app within 5 minutes of topping the boulder

All boulders are timestamped and if there are any challenges to a recorded top, the event organisers may at their discretion use CCTV footage to review any ascents. Any incorrect recording may result in part or all of a participant’s scores being nullified.

FINAL ROUND 

The top six ranked Open Men’s and Open Women’s competitors after the Saturday 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 finals boulders each for the Open Men’s and 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 903 points (1000+805) / 2

The overall series winner will be decided at the conclusion of event 4, and the series medals 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.

Series points will be awarded according to the current IFSC World Cup points.