Irish
Bouldering League Round 1 UCG
|
James
O'Reilly just about maintains three points of contact |
Climbing
competitions are great and the Irish Bouldering League is
particularly
great. A day out ( or rather in ) with your mates trying all
sorts
of weird and wonderful boulder problems, competing and slagging all
afternoon
followed by an alcoholic post analysis and then weeks of criticism
and
email soapboxing leaving the organisers wondering whether it was worth
it
and all for the price of a couple of pints. Wonderful stuff. I think
you've
finally got to admit that this is what Irish climbing is all about or
at
least it seems to be what Irish climbers want.
|
Galway
is a good old town and a highly appropriate venue for an IBL
qualifying
round. The wall is basic enough and I guess there would have to
be
a bit more investment before it would be worthy of hosting a final but
considering
it came from nothing to something in a couple of short years its
not
bad going.
|
First
impressions were nice sports centre and nice crowd at
the
competition. The stats were 45 Male A entrants (most of whom were men)
8
Female entrants, 3 Juniors and 37 Male B entrants. Joan Flanagan having
won
more women's bouldering competitions than I care to count took the
courageous
step of entering in the Male A category. Although finishing 37th
I'm
sure as the season progresses and winter training gets well under way
Joan's
ranking will improve spurred on by the higher technical level of
competition.
A very worthy precedent indeed.
|
DCU
bloke(?) on the traverse problem |
More
worrying is the constant low
numbers of women's and juniors entrants.
What's
wrong with the women's competition? Where are all the Millennium
youth?
I
really can't understand why the competition draws so few competitors in
these
categories.
I suspect something is very fundamentally wrong. Unfortunately the
reachy
nature of this competition's problems and the high level of
technical
difficulty
on the easiest entry grade problems isn't going to get them back in
their
droves I suspect. Male A seemed to be particularly healthy with the
average
score
over 50% of the available 170 points. The entrants outnumbered Male B
for
once.
|
Vera
Quinlan grasping a large knob, firmly
|
As
for the comp well the first round is usually an exercise in cobweb
shedding,
some very shaky performances indeed. A new open judging system
seemed
to be quite popular with the masses. Basically competitors marked
each
others cards. This had a noticeable effect in improvement of throughput
of
climbers on the problems and less queuing but there were some very dodgy
calls
on holds being in/out because the judges were unfamiliar with the
problem
being attempted. Nobody seemed to cheat too much. It seems like a
very
good idea that should be brought in for all competitions once the
climbers
and organizers put a bit of polish on it and improve the scoring
cards
and problem descriptions.
|
| Bad
vibes included lack of food & drink (not the first comp to suffer from
this) and
the usual accident waiting to happen phenomenon of having climbers milling
about on the mats. Some poorchap had Kevin Cooper land on him. Ouch. Lucky
to get away without a broken collarbone
(Click HERE! to see a broken collarbone).
More niggles were not having the women's results list available on the
night when Male B was well documented. The problems themselves were FFA to
be honest and the gap in technical difficulty of the problems between Male
A and the other categories was not all that great! |
Ronan
Browner - How many straps hold this man together? |
|
Still
there were definite winners and
losers and I guess that's the whole point. Nigel
Callender
(affectionately known as "The Brat" being all of 15 years old
and
still
technically a Junior) won the competition outright, Gina won the
women's
and Joseph the juniors. Well done all.
Big
thanks to all the organisers. The 2000/2001 IBL is well and truly
underway.
Round
2 - DCU, Dublin, 25th November 2000.
Steve
McMullan
And
finally thanks to Peter Owens for the photos!
|
Chappie
"that looks like Dara Owens but isn't" cheating using
his knee (or
technique as we like to call it).
|
Results
Male
A
|
Rank
|
Number
|
Name
|
10's
|
7's
|
4's
|
Total
Score
|
|
1
|
31
|
Nigel Callender
|
16
|
1
|
0
|
167
|
|
2
|
62
|
Alister Wilson
|
14
|
1
|
1
|
151
|
|
3
|
87
|
Ronan Browner
|
12
|
3
|
|
141
|
|
4
|
43
|
Dermot Shiels
|
12
|
1
|
1
|
131
|
|
4
|
86
|
Danny Buckton
|
11
|
3
|
|
131
|
|
4
|
91
|
John Gilmore
|
11
|
3
|
0
|
131
|
|
7
|
41
|
Seamus Crowley
|
12
|
|
2
|
128
|
|
7
|
61
|
Brian Bliss
|
10
|
4
|
0
|
128
|
|
9
|
68
|
Tim Wilson
|
12
|
1
|
|
127
|
|
10
|
49
|
Alan Sahran
|
10
|
2
|
3
|
126
|
|
11
|
66
|
Ricky Young
|
10
|
3
|
1
|
125
|
|
12
|
65
|
Stephen Pearson
|
10
|
3
|
|
121
|
|
13
|
63
|
Michael O'Dwyer
|
11
|
1
|
0
|
117
|
|
13
|
27
|
Eoin Fitzgerald
|
11
|
1
|
|
117
|
|
15
|
100
|
Battault Pascal
|
11
|
|
1
|
114
|
|
15
|
24
|
Peter O'Farrell
|
10
|
2
|
|
114
|
|
15
|
35
|
Peter Owens
|
10
|
2
|
|
114
|
|
18
|
95
|
Andrew Kelly
|
10
|
1
|
|
107
|
|
19
|
28
|
Jerry Fogg
|
9
|
1
|
2
|
105
|
|
20
|
42
|
Declen Tormey
|
7
|
5
|
0
|
105
|
|
21
|
2
|
Patrick Gallagher
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
21
|
45
|
Ross Treacy
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
21
|
103
|
James O'Reilly
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
24
|
96
|
Eimhin McManus
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
99
|
|
25
|
25
|
Terry O'Neil
|
9
|
|
2
|
98
|
|
26
|
88
|
Peter Keane
|
9
|
1
|
|
97
|
|
27
|
46
|
Richard Bray
|
7
|
2
|
3
|
96
|
|
28
|
102
|
Kevin Power
|
8
|
1
|
2
|
95
|
|
29
|
51
|
Kevin Byrne
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
94
|
|
30
|
20
|
Conor O'Conner
|
9
|
|
1
|
94
|
|
31
|
33
|
Colm O'Carra
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
92
|
|
32
|
47
|
Barry O'Dwyer
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
91
|
|
33
|
37
|
Dave Gallagher
|
8
|
|
2
|
88
|
|
34
|
4
|
Mike Foulkes
|
7
|
2
|
1
|
88
|
|
35
|
52
|
Glynn Foster
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
85
|
|
36
|
54
|
Neil O'Conner
|
6
|
3
|
1
|
85
|
|
37
|
69
|
Joan Flanaghan
|
8
|
|
1
|
84
|
|
38
|
48
|
Kevin Nash
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
81
|
|
39
|
98
|
Robert Whelen
|
6
|
1
|
3
|
79
|
|
40
|
19
|
Dara Owens
|
7
|
0
|
2
|
78
|
|
41
|
8
|
Terry O'Conner
|
7
|
|
2
|
78
|
|
42
|
101
|
Richard Managan
|
6
|
2
|
1
|
78
|
|
43
|
75
|
Jonathan Mullen
|
6
|
0
|
3
|
72
|
|
44
|
50
|
Conor McGrath
|
6
|
|
2
|
68
|
|
45
|
29
|
Brian Dunne
|
6
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Female
|
Rank
|
Number
|
Name
|
10's
|
7's
|
4's
|
Total
Score
|
|
1
|
|
Gina Smyth
|
10
|
1
|
1
|
91
|
|
2
|
|
Clare Sheriden
|
6
|
1
|
2
|
75
|
|
3
|
|
Clare Cullinan
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
4
|
|
Johanne Somne
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
45
|
|
4
|
|
Vera Quinlan
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
45
|
|
6
|
|
Torill Backken
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
21
|
|
7
|
|
J McCormick
|
1
|
|
|
10
|
|
8
|
|
Orna Cullinan
|
|
1
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Junior
|
Rank
|
Number
|
Name
|
10's
|
7's
|
4's
|
Total
Score
|
|
1
|
|
Joseph Keane
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
2
|
|
James Wilson
|
8
|
2
|
|
94
|
|
3
|
|
Eamonn
O’Sullivan
|
1
|
|
|
10
|
Male
B
|
Rank
|
Number
|
Name
|
10's
|
7's
|
4's
|
Total
Score
|
|
1
|
72
|
Aaron Boyd
|
10
|
2
|
1
|
118
|
|
2
|
15
|
David Hanlon
|
9
|
2
|
2
|
112
|
|
3
|
38
|
Donnacha O'Brian
|
9
|
2
|
1
|
108
|
|
4
|
60
|
Kyle Sox
|
10
|
1
|
|
107
|
|
5
|
74
|
John Moore
|
10
|
|
1
|
104
|
|
6
|
53
|
Keith Kuss
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
6
|
39
|
Darren Mulkerring
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
6
|
22
|
Andrew Speer
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
101
|
|
9
|
55
|
John Loane
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
98
|
|
9
|
56
|
Liam Murray
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
98
|
|
9
|
36
|
Stephen McM
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
98
|
|
12
|
9
|
Barry Tuite
|
8
|
1
|
2
|
95
|
|
13
|
80
|
John Harrison
|
7
|
3
|
1
|
95
|
|
14
|
26
|
Ciaran McDonald
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
94
|
|
15
|
67
|
John Herron
|
9
|
|
1
|
94
|
|
16
|
7
|
Derek McClatchie
|
8
|
|
3
|
92
|
|
17
|
1
|
Joseph Terry
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
91
|
|
18
|
97
|
Daire O'Brien
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
91
|
|
19
|
58
|
Mick Bolger
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
85
|
|
20
|
13
|
Adrian Laffey
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
85
|
|
21
|
44
|
Liam Langan
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
84
|
|
22
|
10
|
Julian Marks
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
81
|
|
23
|
12
|
John Oconnor
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
81
|
|
24
|
5
|
Martin Keane
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
81
|
|
25
|
11
|
John Healy
|
5
|
3
|
1
|
75
|
|
26
|
94
|
Kevin Curran
|
5
|
2
|
2
|
72
|
|
27
|
92
|
Connor Murphy
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
28
|
34
|
Stephen Ryan
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
29
|
99
|
Brendan Gormley
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
30
|
90
|
Kevin Marnane
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
31
|
59
|
Richie Byrene
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
71
|
|
32
|
89
|
Sean Marnane
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
68
|
|
33
|
78
|
Malcom O'Byrne
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
52
|
|
34
|
18
|
Ole Martin
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
48
|
|
35
|
14
|
Colm Dempsey
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
45
|
|
36
|
93
|
Colin P Gloster
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
41
|
|
37
|
16
|
John Norian
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
|
