Ratho Comp Report

Nick Crawshaw - 09/02/2006

On Sunday the 29th January, the Adventure Centre - or Ratho as it is more commonly known, held its first friendly bouldering comp. Since the centre was bought from the bank recently and Edinburgh Leisure appointed as operators, there has been an increased feeling of optimism that the dark days are over and the place can progress to fulfil it's full potential. The centre aims as being an arena for world class events as well as catering for the needs of the Scottish climbing community as a whole, providing a way to introduce new people to the sport, and develop their skills. Events like this competition serve to help this purpose.

A flurry of activity saw all the bouldering areas of the arena stripped of holds, and with the dish(hold)washer straining under the load shiny new problems started appearing on the blank walls. At the same time the boulders were realigned so that all the surfaces came back into use. By Saturday night fifty problems ranging from UK 4a to 7a or V10+ had been set and valiant attempts made to check their grade by weary route setters. Despite the excellent weather, the steady stream of competitors at midday grew to a crowd of one hundred by 2pm - the five hour format meaning there was plenty of time to attempt the problems without rushing around too much. The feedback was superb and having nine route setters available ensured a great variety in the problems.

Dylan MacKenzie won the boy's U12 comp whilst Kircaldy girl Jamie Davidson was top girl in this cat. Robert MacKenzie beat Deb Banjeri in the 12-16 boys and local girl Janey came out comfortably ahead of Amelia Breeze. In the adult recreational category Johnny Watson emerged victorious (although there was some debate about which category he should have been in!) Jenny Glumoff put in a typically determined effort to become top recreational female.

In the advaced catagory - top boulderer Kirsty McBirnie won the women's cat despite a valiant effort from Anna Trybis and in the men's Alan Cassidy and Rob Sutton tied for first place in the mens with stunning displays of power and coordination (apart from Cassidy on the white 5b). 90's comp superstar Gary Latter won the vet's cat (there were no female vets).

We held a short prize handout in the bar afterwards. Due to the 'last minute' opportunity to hold this comp, gathering a stunning pot of prizes was not realistic so thanks for last minute sponsorship from Tiso's, Hot Aches films, and Edinburgh Leisure!

Well done to the route setters, and we look forward to the next comp!