Jagged walls, colourful plastic rocks, smiling faces, people dangling from ropes – these are all things that you can find at Centretown’s own rock-climbing gym, Vertical Reality.
Today, the indoor rock-climbing gym, located on Victoria Island, is hosting the National Capital Bouldering Series.
The competition is at 6 p.m. and will run for two and a half hours.
It is the second event of the series.
The other events in the series will be at held at Coyote Rock Gym in Ottawa and Altitude Gym in Gatineau.
Bouldering is a type of rock climbing that allows you to scale freely without any ropes. Petra Slivka-Flagg, the owner of Vertical Reality, explains that the competition is like an obstacle course.
“You’re following set-up problems,” she says. “This could be indicated by a colour of a tape, so you would follow the colour of the tape.”
The rules are simple: you need to get through 25 different problems in a certain amount of time. “You will get the most points if you get it on your first try,” Slivka-Flagg explains. “You usually climb with a friend who will sign off each time you have completed a problem.”
Vertical Reality hosts more competitive events for serious rock climbers, but for this event, anybody can join.
“We have kids who are seven and adults who are in their seventies,” Slivka-Flagg says.
According to the rock-climbing enthusiast, there is never a shortage of contestants. “We cap it at 100 and we always get a 100.” Audiences are welcomed and encouraged, although the majority seems to be family and friends of competitors.
Slivka-Flagg says that the competition is very friendly. “It’s basically just to get the climbing community together.”
Will Donaldson, a young member of Vertical Reality, says that one of the reasons he loves climbing so much is the sense of community.
“The climbing community is one of the most supportive and encouraging communities I’ve been in,” he says.
“When you succeed, everyone celebrates together regardless if it’s a competition or late-night training session.”
Michael Woo, 22, who has been climbing for over four years and is also a regular member at Vertical Reality, agrees that the competition is very relaxed. “The best thing about NCBS and competition climbing in general is the atmosphere,” he explains.
The young rock-climber and NCBS competitor believes that competing pushes you to improve. “Competitions give you the ability to see how you measure up against other climbers,” he says. “It sharpens your mental focus to a point where just having a regular session at the gym can’t compare.”
Even though Woo has only competed in the NCBS once, he believes sport climbing in general is on the rise. “New gyms are opening every year,” he points out, “and the potential inclusion of sport climbing in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will only increase its popularity.”