LOWDOWN - Earth Treks Roc Comp

After more than a decade of ruling the American bouldering comps, Chris Sharma proved that he still has it. As he hiked the men’s third and final problem at the Earth Treks Roc Comp in Timonium, Maryland, the crowd roared in approval. Paul Robinson came in a strong second, with Daniel Woods close behind.

On the women’s side, the Alexes (Puccio and Johnson) were once again neck and neck for first place. While one usually sends the final problem, neither managed to top out, which left the winner to be decided by their high points on problem 2, leaving Puccio with the title. Lisa Rands made an impressive high point on problem 2, but her scores on other problems secured her a third place finish.

The event opened April 23 at Earth Treks Columbia, where competitors shared walls with the pros during the combined citizens comp and qualifiers red-point round. Climbers waited up to 30 minutes for a problem, though most didn’t seem to mind since they were able to watch their favorite pros cruise the day’s hardest problems.

The Roc Comp also kicked off the Unified Bouldering Championship (UBC) series of 2010, hosted by NE2C Productions. NE2C also aired the comp live online. “We broadcast our last event at the OR Summer Tradeshow in 2009,” said Pete Ward of NE2C. “It wasn’t close to the production value that we managed this time. We really couldn’t have hoped for much more.” The broadcast was also in HD, so viewers were able to plug into their TVs and watch from there. It was projected from a giant JumboTron in the venue, so those who were in unlucky spots were still able to catch all the action.

“Anyone with money could build a climbing wall on top of a hotel or an open venue for a day and draw big crowds,” said Buck Branson, Minister of Culture of Evolv. “These guys [Earth Treks] proved they can do it in an established facility and have it be top notch.”

Competitors and fans alike were enthusiastic about the event. “The problems were some of the hardest competition problems I’ve encountered,” said Alex Johnson, who was vying for her piece of the $11,000 prize purse. “I had fun — the atmosphere was relaxed, and I was psyched on the fi nals format.”

Perhaps the best part of the comp was the assurance it gave organizers and climbers about the future of American competitive climbing. The Earth Treks Roc Comp, successful in 2003, had gone under, as had the once-popular Professional Climbers Association (PCA). “The challenge for climbing in the last few years is to communicate what is great about our sport without turning it into a bastardization of itself — hoping that ‘nonclimbers’ will get it,” said Pete Ward of NE2C.

UBC’s future looks promising. “The Roc Comp defi nitely gave our industry the kick in the pants it needed. We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout,” said Christina Rensch, Earth Treks’ director of marketing. The Roc Comp is back — and with it the confi dence in competition climbing’s ability to put on a good show.