Something special was on the agenda last weekend: the Flow bouldering competition at my home gym, Bossche Boulders. A home competition is always fun and familiar, but it also comes with extra pressure. You know the walls, the holds, and the setting style, so you might unconsciously expect a little more from yourself.
Fresh Holds, Fresh Challenges
Still, I couldn’t fully take advantage of that ‘home advantage’ this time. The gym had gone all out with new holds from Cheeta and Flathold, and some of the boulders were set by external route setters, which brought a different style. When I entered the gym shortly after the competition had started, my eyes were immediately drawn to all those new holds. It made me excited!
A total of 30 boulders had been set. As usual: 4 start tapes, a zone halfway up, and 10 points per boulder, with 5 points for the zone. A flash earned you 2 extra points.
Warming up and building momentum
I started with boulders 1 through 10. Great warm-ups to get into the rhythm. It was pleasantly busy with around 100 participants, but thanks to the spread throughout the gym, there were no long waits anywhere. After the first ten, I tried a few problems in the middle section (10 to 20), and once I was properly warmed up, I felt ready to tackle the harder boulders between 20 and 30. On the second hardest boulder, I reached the zone on my first attempt, but the next move felt tough. I decided to save that one for later.
Boulders outside my style
Two boulders weren’t really my style, but they were important for the final score. The first was a crack boulder. Fortunately, the footholds below the crack were usable, so I finished that one quickly. The second was a sideways dyno on no-texture holds. I saw other climbers use an alternative solution: pushing themselves up in the corner. That way, I managed to flash the boulder after all. I did try the original dyno, but that didn’t go anywhere.
Final push and living up to the favourite role
In the end, three boulders remained for me to really sink my teeth into. The hardest one, set in the overhang, turned out to be hopeless for me. I kept peeling off on the first move. So I opted for boulder 28 on a vertical wall, where I felt more confident. The start was technical, and after many attempts I finally reached the top hold, only to slip off. Fortunately, I got it on the next try.
After that, I gave boulder 29 another try. I realized it might actually be doable—but not today. In the end, I climbed 28 out of 30 boulders, including 24 flashes and 1 zone. Enough for the win!
Pizza, prizes, and a party
At registration, everyone received four pizza vouchers and a raffle ticket. Each voucher got you a quarter of a pizza, and despite the crowd, things moved quickly. During the award ceremony, lots of fun prizes were raffled off, and I got lucky. I won a card game. As the winner, I also received a prize: a set of bananas for my smelly climbing shoes. Always useful.
Afterwards, there was a small party. One of the perks of a home competition: you can stick around a bit longer without worrying about the trip back. I’m happy I was able to live up to my role as a favourite and look back on a super fun afternoon. And those beautiful new holds? I’ll definitely be enjoying them in the coming months!
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