How to run a bouldering competition at your wall

Quick answer: most wall comps are a single session of 2 to 4 hours where climbers try a set of comp problems in any order and score their best efforts, followed by an optional final for the top few in each category. Pick a scoring format first (points per problem with a flash bonus for mixed-ability comps, or tops, then zones, then attempts for a competitive one), keep categories few, set enough problems for every level, decide how tops are checked, and plan how results will be up before people go home.

A one-day comp is the busiest night a wall runs. It brings in climbers who don’t usually come, gives regulars a reason to try hard, and fills the café. It also packs a season’s worth of admin into one evening. This guide covers the decisions that make a comp night run well, in the order you need to make them. If you’re planning a series of rounds rather than one event, start with how to run a bouldering league instead.

Decide what kind of comp it is

Before anything else, decide who it’s for. The answer shapes every other choice.

A social comp can be relaxed about checking tops. An open comp with prize money can’t. Settle this first and the rules follow.

Step 1: Choose the scoring format

There are two formats in common use at walls.

Points per problem, with a flash bonus. Each problem is worth a number of points, harder problems more. Climbers who top a problem on their first go get a bonus. Some comps add points for reaching a zone hold. It suits mixed-ability comps because everyone scores something, and it’s easy to follow on a board.

Tops, then zones, then attempts. Climbers are ranked by how many problems they topped, then by zones, then by how few attempts they needed. This is close to how formal competitions rank climbers, and it suits finals and competitive comps. It needs attempts recorded honestly, which is harder to self-score.

The detail of both, with worked examples and how ties are broken, is in bouldering comp scoring explained. Whichever you pick, write it on the poster and say it at the briefing.

Step 2: Keep the categories few

Common categories at UK walls are Open, Women’s, Men’s, Under-16 and Masters (often 40+). Every extra category means another set of prizes, another line on the board and more people to chase for results.

• Start small. Two to four categories is plenty for a first comp.
• Avoid tiny categories. A category with two entrants isn’t a competition. Merge it, or say in advance that small categories may be combined.
• Juniors. Age groups need dates of birth checked at entry. Keep any results that name under-16s off public screens and websites unless parents have agreed.

Step 3: Set the problems and the time window

For a single open session, set enough problems that the strongest climbers are still working on something in the last hour, and enough easy ones that a first-timer tops several. Spread them across the grades your members actually climb, not just the hard end.

A session of 2 to 4 hours suits most walls. Shorter and climbers rush; longer and the room empties before results. Number every problem clearly, use a tag or tape colour that marks it as a comp problem, and check the list against the wall the day before.

If you’re using points per problem, set the points by grade band so the scoring follows the setting. A simple ladder (for example 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 points across five bands) is easy for climbers to understand.

Step 4: Decide on qualifiers and finals

A final is optional. It adds a spectacle and settles close results, but it also adds an hour and needs staff.

If you run one:

• Who goes through. The top few in each category from the qualifying session. Decide the number in advance and say how ties for the last place are broken.
• The final problems. Three or four new problems, set for the finalists’ level.
• Time per problem. A fixed time on each problem, with a short rest between. Four or five minutes is common at wall comps.
• Scoring. Tops, then zones, then attempts, with a judge or a member of staff watching each problem.

Formal competitions follow the IFSC’s current rules for finals. Most wall comps borrow the shape (a fixed time per problem, ranked by tops, zones and attempts) without the full rulebook.

Step 5: Decide how tops are checked

Match the checking to what’s at stake:

• Trust for a social comp.
• Peer marking or a partner check for an open session: another climber confirms each top.
• A judge or staff sign-off for finals and anything that decides prize money.

Name one person who settles disputes on the night, and keep a record of every change. How to stop disputes over tops covers this in more detail.

Step 6: Entry, timings and the briefing

Sell entry the way you sell anything else at your wall. Then fix the timings and publish them.

Keep the briefing to five minutes. Climbers remember the poster, not the speech, so put the rules on the poster too.

Results on the night

The moment that decides whether a comp feels well run is how quickly results go up. With paper scorecards, someone has to collect them, check them and add them up while everyone waits. Plan for it: a table, two people with calculators or a spreadsheet, and a cut-off time for handing cards in. Our printable bouldering scorecard is free if you need one.

With phone scoring and a live board, results are there the moment scores close, and the waiting turns into watching. Paper scorecards vs phones compares the two honestly.

For a step-by-step list for the night itself, use the comp night checklist.

Where software fits

ClimbTable scores comps and leagues from climbers’ phones. Climbers scan a QR poster and tick their tops, with no app or account, and your TV shows the live board. It has a one-day comp template (points with a flash bonus and zones) and a finals template (ranked by tops, then zones, then attempts, with staff signing off each top). Partner ticks keep self-scoring honest, staff can fix any score with every change logged, and A4 scoresheets cover the night the wifi fails. Your first comp night is free.