USA Climbing announced this week the location of its upcoming YETI National Climbing Championships. Momentum Indoor Climbing in Salt Lake City―the city where USAC is headquartered―will host the climbing nationals this year on November 13-17, 2021. According to USAC’s announcement, the event marks the first time that USAC’s bouldering, lead and speed championships will be combined into one event. In the past, the lead and speed nationals have taken place together, but bouldering had always been a separate event.
Given the size of the event, the competitions will be split across Momentum’s Millcreek and Lehi locations. Millcreek, a mixed facility with 40,000 square feet of climbing terrain, will host the lead and speed competitions, and Lehi, a bouldering-focused gym, will host the bouldering comp. Momentum Millcreek, in particular, recently hosted USAC’s Paraclimbing National Championships in June. Momentum operates six climbing facilities altogether across Washington, Utah and Texas.
“We are excited to finish our inaugural Olympic year in the beautiful Wasatch Front,” said Marc Norman, USAC’s CEO. “A special thanks to Momentum Indoor Climbing for hosting this important Championships. They are a proven partner and hosting the event in Utah helps us keep costs down while still delivering a great event for athletes and fans.”
The 2021 event in Salt Lake City also marks the first return to climbing nationals in the US since the pandemic began. Last year’s lead and speed championships―scheduled to take place at The Front South Main―were cancelled last summer and have not taken place since 2019 at Sportrock Alexandria in Virginia. The previous bouldering nationals took place at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon, in February before the spread of COVID-19 stateside.
Currently ticketed spectators will be allowed at the Salt Lake City event, although that will ultimately depend on COVID-19 developments. Like in years past, USAC is planning to livestream semi-finals and finals on YouTube and air highlights on ESPN2. YETI, which signed on as a USAC partner ahead of the 2020 bouldering championships, will also be the title sponsor of these 2021 nationals.
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