Last weekend, Manchester's Big Depot - and the steep and intimidating walls that it has to offer - hosted the 2025 edition of the British Lead Climbing Championships.

As with the British Bouldering Championships, held in the same venue at the end of January, the event doubled up as a selection event for the GB Climbing Team, and - in both the men's and the women's comps - it was Team GB's Olympic Finalists that were the star performers.

Having won the British Bouldering Championships two weeks prior - topping twelve of the thirteen boulders, in just fourteen attempts - Erin McNeice reasserted her dominance within the GB competition scene with an assured performance in Manchester.

Alongside Zoë Peetermans and Connie Bridgens, she was one of only three climbers to top both of the qualification routes, and was then the only climber to top the semi-final route, with Hannah Kerr's high point of 41+ making her the next closest competitor.

Coming into the final Erin had a high point of 34+ to beat, set by last year's runner-up Zoë Peetermans. Climbing confidently and quickly, she made easy progress through the lower part of the route, but found herself in an awkward position around two thirds of the way through the route where she had to bring her hand out from behind the rope and snatch for the next hold. She caught it, her feet cut, but she was able to control the momentum. She paused and regained composure.

As she moved upwards, her rising elbows indicated the extent to which the pump was setting in. She fought through the last couple of moves, falling as she matched the penultimate hold, with a total score of 36. She looked disappointed to not achieve a top on the final route, giving her a clean sweep of the entire competition, but she had won.

As such, Erin added the British Lead Climbing Championship title to the British Bouldering Championship title she won in late January.

The top three was completed by Zoë Peetermans - who also finished runner up last year - and Lucy Garlick, who narrowly missed out on a podium place at the BBCs.

Final results:

You can read our interview with Erin about her 2024 season below:

The men's comp featured a similarly dominant performance, as might be expected from the overall Olympic Champion, Toby Roberts.

The first qualification route offered a clear indication of Toby's form, with none of his 41 competitors able to match his top. Whilst Rhys Conlon, reigning BLCC title holder Jack MacDougall, Sam Hammond, and Oliver Goodwin were able to keep up with his top of the second qualification route, the semi-final route proved a step too difficult for all but Toby, who went into the final with three tops to the rest of the competition's four.

On the final route, Toby climbed like someone who was well aware that this was a competition that was his to lose. Climbing precisely and slowly, and taking good rests when opportunities arose, there was little to suggest that Toby would fall.

Finding himself on the final move of the route, an awkward move where the climber had to launch sideways and hop their right foot over to create opposition for their right hand, Toby took a moment to compose himself, and then made the move look simple. He clipped, and added the British Lead Climbing Championship title, for the very first time, to his already impressive list of accolades.

The competition for second and third was well fought, with Sam Butterworth securing silver position with a score of 37+, and Rhys Conlon securing bronze position with a score of 32+, narrowly beating Jamie Jenkins on countback.

Final results:

In the women's under 17's, Isabella Rinaldi made it a double double for the women, matching Erin's achievement of winning both the Bouldering and the Lead Climbing Championships. Bella Ryder came in second place, with Seren Wednesday Wills rounding out the podium.

Final results:

In the men's under 17 finals, Isaac Sutton came in first, with an impressive three tops across the four routes. Tom Bouwknegt came in second place, an improvement on his third place finish in the bouldering, and Louie Cawley came in third.

Final Results:

You can watch a replay of the finals below: