2008 Bouldering World Cup
LVM Rock was on the scene for the first ever bouldering World Cup competition held on American soil. On June 6, 2008 climbers came from all over the world to beautiful Vail Colorado to try to qualify for the semi-finals. From there, is one more step to the finals where the prize for first place is over $3000 and the title of world’s best boulderer. This is a very significant step for American climbing. Historically the bouldering world has been dominated by the Europeans.
The rules for the competition are as follows: There are four problems for men and women respectively. Climbers get five minutes per problem. The highest score is awarded for a flash. (This is when the climber sends the problem on the very first try.) There are bonus holds on each problem that, if touched, the climber is awarded more points. Climbers rotate in on five minute intervals. After one five minute go, the contestants rest for five minutes and then go to the next problem. While resting, the climbers must look away from the wall so they can not gain an advantage by watching others. The scores are combined and the top 20 advance on to the semi-finals held the next day.
The competition was fierce. Boulderers of all different body sizes attempted very difficult problems one after the other. Tempers flared and emotions were high as the event rolled on. These are the best of the best and they were certainly putting it on the line.
Gerome Pouvreau was looking strong as he came in sixth. He was one of four French climbers to advance to the semi-finals.
Alex Johnson of USA finished the day in first place. Four American women will join her in the semi-finals.
Cecile Avezou was looking very confident. She has a precise style that is really fun to watch. She finished up the day in 12th place. She will be joined by two other french climbers in the next round.
The results for the qualification round are as follows:
Women Qualifier
1. Alex Johnson USA
2. Anne-Laure Chevrier FRA
3. Chloe Graftiaux BEL
4. Anna Stohr AUT
5. Alex Puccio USA
6. Charlotte Jouett USA
6. Vera Zijlstra NED
8. Katja Vidmar SLO
9. Tiffany Hensley USA
10. Asher Elizabeth USA
11. Natalija Gros SLO
12. Cecile Avezou FRA
12. Lisa Rands USA
14. Thirza Carpenter CAN
14. Angelica Lind SWE
16. Katharina Saurwein AUT
17. Victoria Weldon CAN
17. Silvie Rajfova CZE
19. Maud Ansade FRA
19. Erin Ford-Zieleniewski CAN
Men Qualifier
1. Paul Robinson USA
2. Gabriele Moroni ITA
3. Chris Sharma USA
4. Tyler Landman GBR
4. Kilian Fischhuber AUT
6. Gerome Pouvreau FRA
7. Michele Caminati ITA
8. Jerome Meyer FRA
9. Jonas Baumann GER
10. Daniel Woods USA
11. Wouter Jongeneelen NED
12. Sean McColl CAN
13. Carlo Traversi USA
14. Mark Hobson USA
15. David Lama AUT
16. Keita Mogaki JPN
16. Remo Sommer SUI
18. Kyle Owen USA
19. Julien Meral FRA
20. Martin Stranik CZE
20. Pierre Duroche FRA
20. Christian Core ITA
Click on the play icon below to watch some of the action.