The Black Diamond Grampians Bouldering Festival includes the only outdoor bouldering competition in Australia (insert froth here).

We call it a 'Casual Bouldering comp' not because the competition is casual but because there are no official judges nor set problems that you have to climb. You just head out to the blocs and crush whatever you can. When you send, get another competitor to sign off on your ascent to validate that no one is telling any porkies. The better the send, the bigger the score, the biggest scores win.

This year we are going to do the scoring and tallying via theCrag. Please visit theCrag, sign up for an account if you don't already have one and register for the GBF2018. You will need to use a phone to log your ascents on the day. It's easy for you, and easy for us – win / win (WIN!)

Minimise your impact: Our access to the Grampians National Park is predicated on us respecting the rock, the environment and other users. Don't trample vegetation, don't damage the rock, brush off your chalk marks and pick up any rubbish you see whether it is yours or not. Leave no trace. 

Scoring: A problem gets 100 points for each V-grade, ie V1 is worth 100, V8 is worth 800, V12 is worth 1200. You get a bonus 10% if you flash a problem, you lose 10% if you have done the problem before (be honest!). A person's top six ascents combine for their over all score, highest score wins. In the event of a tie, a person's seventh, eighth etc problems will come into play. (Note that a V0 is worth 50 points.)

Available areas: You must remain in your allocated major area – Andersens or Trackside – during your first session. You will swap areas after lunch. All problems must be at Andersens, Echidna Wall (a brand-new area! We will provide a topo with your entry sheet), Hollow Mountain Cave, Loopeys, the Kindergarten, Trackside and the Snakepit. This provides a wide grade and style range with enough footprint to spread the competition out whilst remaining compact enough that you will always hear your fellow competitors power screams of joy and the bellows of anguish.

Gold coin donation entry: Entry to the competition for Festival attendees is via a gold coin donation to CliffCare. We support CliffCare for the work they do to ensure we can keep bouldering in the Gramps.

There are two categories to the comp; Individual and Teams.

Important: If you are new to outdoor bouldering we will have some small groups guided through the first few hours of the competition to make sure that everyone is safe and responsible.

Super important: No one is to boulder alone at any time! Even if you are 'just warming up'. even if you're a double-digit boulderer. Grab a spotter. Look after yourself and your mates.

Individual category 

Every person who enters the comp will compete in an individual division.

There are three individual divisions; Beginner (V0-V3), Intermediate (V4-7) and Advanced (V8+). 

The divisions are self-seeding – you say which division you are in.

Seeding yourself is easy – take the top grade that you think you are going to climb, that's your category. Think you're gonna send a V9? You're Advanced. Have your sights set on ticking V3, welcome to the Beginner category. Got your eye on some sweet-as V6s? Then you are smack in the middle of Intermediate. Easy as.

V0 - V3 // Beginner (aka aspirational crushers)

V4 - V7 // intimidate (aka Crushers in Waiting)

V8 + // Advanced (aka The already strong)

Everyone must be registered on The Crag. On the day you will record your ascents on your account The Crag, note who your witness was and whether the problem was a flash a repeat or a regular old ascent.

Important: Be honest in your assessment of which category you think you are in. If you out perform your category by miles we will move you up.

Also important: Even though we had great success in the Festival's first year, the format remains experimental – again we are not separating individual competitors into Men's and Women's divisions. We believe that given the comp is self-seeding, that you can climb whatever problems you want (meaning the setting can't be too morpho) and that there is no difference between a man climbing a V5 and a women climbing a V5 that we can boulder in the competition together. We hope it works out as we think it is the right thing to do but it remains an experiment. Please let us know what you think, we really do care.

TEAM category

We are offering a team category. Form a team because nothing supercharges the sendage like the support of your near and dears. the format is simple-as;

• Form a team of four, that's you and three mates
• Give yourself a cool name
• Note that cool name on the entry form
• Members of a team must stay together all day during the comp, that's the point of being in a team right
• Scream, spot and support your team mates to get them up the hardest problems they've ever sent. You're all in this together
• The team score is the average of the four team member's individual scores (i.e. their top six boulders as per the individual category)

Maximise the fun, maximise the psyche, maximise the sending, rope in your SuperFriends, form a team.

Note; all team entrants are still entered into individual categories.

bonus awards

In addition to Individual and Team there are also some Bonus Awards; 

The Volumator

Forget about your top six problems, this award goes to the person who accumulates the greatest number of points in total. Be strategic and multiply your tickage. Climb till you puke, the most points takes the crown.

Nathan Manning Memorial Bleeding Tips Award

On Saturday night show us your tips; flappers, red-raw, bleeding, worn through, gouged, sliced, diced and julienned, the more mangled the better.

Best Photo Awards

Bring your camera, use your phone, snap your mates, document the whole weekend. After the Festival we, in conjunction with one of our fave photogs, Kamil Sustiak, will award prizes in three categories.

• Rat Face Best Bouldering Shot
• Dirtbag Glamour Best Lifestyle Shot
• Sea to Summit 'All the Cool Kids have Stamps' Best Temporary Tattoo Shot

Simon Madden Award for Best Dressedness

Fabulous or frightening, frocked up or fly-as, the best dressed comp competitor (as judged by Simon) wins a prize.

putting the fun back into Fund Raising

Compete and feel good. Because we love the work CliffCare does to ensure we can keep bouldering in the Gramps, entry to competition for Festival attendees is via a gold coin donation.

We raise money, they represent us, we get to boulder.

get your

2018 black diamond Grampians Bouldering Festival

tickets here

\PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THE advertised DETAILS OF FESTIVAL EVENTS AND LOCATIONS MAY CHANGE SUBJECT TO CONSULTATION WITH AND AT THE INSTRUCTION OF PARKS VICTORIA

Banner image this page, Julian Saunders gets Wet with Excitement (V6). Ross Taylor