The Climbing Academy recently hosted Round 1 of their annual Winter Series bouldering competitions in Glasgow. Made up of three qualifying rounds and a finals round with a fun comp on the day for anyone to participate in, the series brings together climbers in Glasgow and lets them compete to take the title of (unofficially) "Glasgow's Best Boulderer". This kicked off with a packed four hour event at The Prop Store, one of their venues in Glasgow. With over 170 climbers coming through the door on the day, the competition helped to shine a light on how thriving the community is in Glasgow. 

Competitors battled it out across 30 problems to be crowned winner. Split into two categories, open and female, there were three podium spots up for grabs in each category. Prizes were supplied by the two main sponsors of the competition, Black Diamond and Ellis Brigham with winners taking home a selection of BD goodies and £100, £50 and £25 of Ellis Brigham vouchers respectively.

Those who secured a podium are all in good stead with the top six overall from the first three rounds securing a spot in the finals and a chance of winning the overall series. Every round you enter also gains you a ticket to the mammoth raffle being held during the final with everything from boulder pads to Black Diamond rucksacks up for grabs. 

Taking first place in the open category was Euan McFadyen with a resounding victory, topping all problems, flashing 28 of them. Brendan Gallagher, one of the finalists from last year's series, claimed second place followed closely by Timo Zheng. In the female category was one of the youngest competitors of the competition and TCA Youth Squad member, Rebecca Day followed closely by Lily Moss and then Ingrid Ledingham with 5 points separating the podium positions. 

The setting team on the day threw in a mix of problems showcasing the diverse nature of TCA's boulder setting strategy with some new comp style blocs alongside some more traditional, technical boulder problems. The competition set was led by TCA's new head setter, Ross Hunter. He brings a breadth of experience to the company coming over from Germany having previously undertaken the same role at Boulderwelt Munich. Other setters for the event were Fraser Moodie, Ferran Roca Ribas, Pippa Watkin and Toby Leach. 

The next round of the series is taking place on Sat 20 January at The Newsroom in Kinning Park. The company is also running a Winter Series in Bristol in tandem with Glasgow's.

TCA The Prop Store was also one of the host walls for the Scottish National Bouldering League with this round being a part of the annual SNBL competition - meaning lots to play for with climbers from across Scotland travelling for this. The next round of the SNBL is being held at The Ledge in Inverness - full details over on ClimbScotland's website. 

Results:

TCA are a group of climbing walls with five bouldering and roped climbing venues throughout the UK with two locations in Glasgow, north and south of the city.