Every year the Huntsman Senior Games in St. George Utah hosts more than 12,000 athletes competing in Olympic-style events such as cycling, swimming, volleyball, triathlon, shooting, archery, and more. This year, for the first time, climbing will be included as a medaled event on October 16-17, 2024. As there are not many climbing competitions focused on athletes aged 50+, this promises to be a unique opportunity for competitors from around the world to come together in a beautiful part of the country to test their skills against their peers.
The Climbing events will be Top-Rope, Lead, and Speed, with sub-categories for Men/Women, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Age group divisions will be in 5-year increments. The format of the competition will be citizen style, with 4 hours to climb as much as you’d like, and the top 4 hardest climbs will be scored. The senior games leadership felt that this would be the most congenial way to host the events and would lead to camaraderie, sportsmanship, and a great experience for all involved, including spectators. Lead and Top Rope events will take place on separate days, so athletes can compete in both events if they choose. The speed event will allow competitors to climb 3 times and the fastest time will be used.
To help get the word out to the members of your climbing community who are age 50+ we have included a link to the Huntsman Senior Games website here: https://seniorgames.net/sports/climbing
You could also download and print this flyer to display in your local gym: https://9b6a181e-cb98-4134-a381-c8940f0f18c2.usrfiles.com/ugd/9b6a18_aa9faad54ffe4e3ba1d272fba48f7794.pdf
We have spoken with several gyms in the western region who plan to have a good number of people participate – those gyms have even said that they might provide logo apparel for their athletes so that there would be a sense of “home gym representation.” We think this is an amazing idea and heartily encourage it.
The best way to help promote this event will be to talk with your community members, gauge their interest, and encourage them to participate. Word of mouth among members is always the best way for these kinds of things to be advertised.
We are hoping for over 100 participants, and we will cap the participation at the first 200, so some urgency to register early may be advisable. Accommodations in St. George during the Senior Games events can be at a premium so early arrangement of places to stay is also a good idea.
St. George is located in Southern Utah and is a short drive away from a number of major national parks, including Zion, Bryce Canyon, The Grand Canyon, and Red Rock near Las Vegas. There are thousands of climbing routes within a 2-hour drive and hundreds within 15 minutes. The weather in October is the best time of the year with daytime temperatures in the 70’s.
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
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CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
