This information describes eligibility conditions, competition format and rules for the upcoming event April 25/26 at True North Climbing, which is a dual event:
- For Youth: OCF Youth Provincial Difficulty Championships
- For Adult/Open climbers: Ontario’s CEC National Series Difficulty Event
Eligibility
Every youth climber who wants to compete in this event must have an OCF Youth Series membership, and must also have competed in at least one OCF local difficulty competition this season. If you have been competing with a Recreational Day Pass, you must buy a Series Membership before registering.
Check out our Series Rules at archive.climbontario.ca for more details.
Open climbers who want to compete in this event must have a CEC National Athlete membership purchased through their Provincial Sport Organization (the OCF for those from Ontario). Open climbers from other countries have the option to instead demonstrate membership in their own national climbing federation recognized by the IFSC (e.g.USA Climbing). Open athletes do not need to have competed at the one local event that included Open climbers.
Athletes in the Open, Junior and A Categories will climb the same routes. Competitors in Junior and A will have their results counted in both their Youth category (to earn OCF Youth Series points and qualifying for CEC Youth Difficulty Nationals) and in the Open Category (to earn CEC National Series Difficulty ranking points and qualifying for selection to the National Open Difficulty Team), as long as they hold a valid CEC National Athlete membership before this event.
All athletes must have provided proof of citizenship before the event in order to compete.
Competition Format and Rules
The format will match that used at the National Difficulty Championships.
QUALIFIER ROUNDS:
Competitors will be able to preview a demonstration of each of their Qualifying routes on a video monitor before they climb. These video demonstrations will be playing continuously in the gym for at least an hour before climbing begins in each round. Competitors may also watch other climbers during the qualification rounds.
At the end of the Qualifying Round every competitor will be ranked in their category based on the International scoring method, using a formula that combines their ranking in the two qualifying climbs. This is the same scoring format that is used at all sanctioned international difficulty competitions, as well as the scoring method that will be used at the CEC Youth Difficulty National Championships.
SEMI-FINAL AND FINAL ROUNDS
There is a single route for each competitor in the Semi-final and Final rounds. Competitors will be in an Isolation Zone before each route. The opening and closing times of the Isolation Zone will be published in the schedule, which is posted at:
16 competitors per category (or all competitors in smaller categories) advance to the Semi-Final round. 8 climbers per category (or all climbers in smaller categories) advance to the Final round.
When there are non-Canadians that make up the
Finals quota, the Finals quota will be increased to include the appropriate number of Canadians.The next highest ranked Canadian(s) will be included in the quota. A non-Canadian placing out of the Finals quota above will not advance to finals
Competitors will be given a 6-minute preview period to look at their route as a group before each round begins, before returning to the Isolation Zone. Competitors will stay in an Isolation Zone prior to climbing, and will not see their route again until their turn to climb it. Competitors should expect to spend between one and three hours in Isolation. No electronic communication devices are permitted in Isolation, and competitors are not allowed to communicate with anyone outside of Isolation. Competitors may not communicate with anyone other than Officials from the time they come out to start their route until they complete their route.
At the end of the Semi-Final and Final Rounds every competitor will be ranked in their category, based on their progress on their route.
Note: Only registered competitors, registered Coaches and authorized Officials will be allowed to enter the Isolation Zone during the competition. All coaches must have a Provincial Coach’s membership, which is available for sale on the OCF website.