Plywood Masters 2015 - Report

Gill Peet - Boulder UK

1st December, 2015

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Boulder UK in Blackburn was the first wall of its kind to host the legendary 'bouldering competitions' and The Plywood Masters has certainly been known as 'the one to do' for many competition climbers as well as those who just want to climb on some fantastic blocs. The 2015 event proved just that with the senior event and junior event being fully booked, welcoming climbers from across the North.

Route setters Ian Vickers, Jamie Cassidy and Garry Cummings joined forces to set some classic problems sticking with the traditional Boulder UK style of pure pulling!! No gymnastics and volume wrestling at this comp...only the strongest can survive! This was demonstrated in a fantastic final where the finalist battled it out in a world cup style final, including the junior event which for the first time ever had a 3 problem final for the eldest 2 categories.

Team Boulder UK held their own with a strong presence in both finals with Adam Jeeworth, Pete Wilkinson and Jordan Buys in the senior males and Naomi Buys in the senior females. Not to mention up and coming super stars Max Holme and Rebecca Stephens from Junior Team B:UK.

The senior event tested the competitors with Dave Barrans and Nathan Phillips battling it out for first place as they were neck and neck all the way to the last problem, but it was Dave who took the title who made light work of the final problem.

In the female event, it was the last two problems that made the difference with plenty of tops on the first two blocs. It was new face Mel Jackson who was looking the strongest after being the only female to complete the hardest female bloc, but despite her efforts she was unable to make it to the top of the last problem and was nudged in to 3rd place by Naomi Buys who topped out in 2 attempts but a flash from Tara Hayes allowed her to take the victory!

Tara Hayes Plywood Masters Champion 2015

In the junior event, only the top 3 competitors progressed to the final to battle their way to the top of the podium. For some, it was their first ever final but the enthusiastic crowd and supportive team of staff made it a relaxed but enjoyable experience.

introducing the junior finalist

It was flashes all around for all the competitors on their first problem, but bloc 2 and 3 gave the crowd something to shout about but victory was given to the strongest and most experienced youths with Team Precision duo Kitty Morrison and Holly Toothill taking the girls title and Yorkshire boys Toby Chan and George Stables taking the win for the boys.

All in all, the event proved a massive success and all the staff of Boulder UK would like to thank everyone who competed and a special thanks to all those who passed on their appreciation and positive feedback. A massive thankyou to all who competed.

The event wouldn’t be as successful without support from the companies who provided fantastic prizes for all the finalist. Thanks goes out to ABK, EB, 8a Agency, Holdz, Scarpa, Crusher Holds, DMM, Moon and Lancashire Bouldering.