Organisers of this open-category competition hope that it will unite people in a celebration of slab climbing.

Events focusing on one particular niche style of climbing such as the WideBoyz Crack Fest, the Beastmaker International Footless Festival and dyno competitions over the years have proved popular with devotees of these eccentric disciplines. Slab climbing, while more conventional than offwidth or footless bouldering, can be divisive. The fear of foot slips and sliding down the wall or the frustration of failing on the same move over and over make it an especially unforgiving activity. In recent years, slab fans such as YouTuber Anna Hazelnutt have tried to make slab climbing trendy, proudly coining the slogan: 'Slab is Sexy'. Those with an inclination for the off-vertical will descend on LancasterWall to participate in Slabfest on the 2nd of December, where all genders can compete in a rare open-category format.

The concept of Slabfest arose from a meeting of slab afficionados. "We have a lot of staff who are passionate about the dark art of slabs and we felt like we wanted to dedicate a competition to celebrate this aspect of the climbing world with our community," LancasterWall centre manager, Callum Wernyj, said. 

As well as highlighting this simultaneously feared and revered style of climbing, the team wanted host an inclusive event to make customers feel welcomed with no barriers to entry. Slabs seemed to provide the perfect medium for an open event to keep all genders on an relatively even - if slightly inclined - playing field where flexibility, faith in your footwork and a cool head can trump brute strength.

"We feel the nature of slab climbing makes setting relatively uniform for most body types as it usually revolves around the climber's technical ability to stay in balance and move well," LancasterWall route setter Ben Roe said.

The team acknowledges that achieving success for all genders will involve treading a fine line. 

"The only real areas that would lead to an unfair advantage would be moves that are significantly easier for a taller climber or moves that are extremely bunched, but we'll do our best to strike a nice balance!" Ben said.

The competition will consist of 20 slabby boulders set by Ben and the rest of LancasterWall's in-house team, including Callum Amos, Grace Culling, Jos Carrick and Matty Pawson. Diversifying the route setting and testing team for the event is a key focus.

"We're hoping to get another female freelance involved in some wonderful slab-based creations," Ben said. "If that doesn't prove possible, we'll be utilising some of our amazing female staff members to help with the testing and tweaking process."

While the traditional slab style typically involves balance-oriented movements on small holds with tenuously technical footwork and delicate rockovers, the new-school parkour style of dynamic slab climbing has gained ground in recent years. Ben plans to showcase both styles at the event, with an emphasis on the former.

"We can't unequivocally state that there won't be a single co-ordination-based move in the whole competition, but we will definitely be focusing on the true art of technical slab climbing rather than a dynamic approach," he explained. "You can expect lots of amazing delicate movement over a variety of slab angles within a widespread range of grades!"

As an added challenge, those channelling their inner Johnny Dawes with his no-hands gritstone prowess can claim bonus points for topping a boulder without using their hands. 

The team also hope that a newfound or rekindled passion for slabs might encourage people to transfer their skills to the rock. T-shirts are set to be made for the event with the names of the 100 best slab climbs in Britain printed on them. 

In line with its gender neutral inclusivity, the event will also cater for all ages and abilities with junior, senior and veteran categories. "Anyone keen to get involved in the wonderful world of slabs can expect to find a challenge which matches the level they're at!" Ben added. "There will be some of the very easiest slabs up to the hardest of nailbiters on offer!"

Whether it's a classic Science Friction-esque smear-fest or a comp-style run-and-jump, the team want to encourage participants to enjoy the process of getting stuck into a stubborn slab — whether they succeed or not.

"It's definitely a love hate thing!" Callum said. "We currently use marmite as a bit of a metaphor for climbing and our hope is that we can help everyone to see how deliciously tasty slab climbing can be!"