Rock climbing is coming to the National Stadium in San José this weekend.
Costa Rica’s National Climbing Championship, organized by the Costa Rican Federation of Mountain Sports (Fecodem) and the Association of Climbing and Mountaineering (AEM), will run Dec. 10-11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days.
The championship is a bouldering competition, so competitors will climb short but technically and physically difficult routes without ropes on artificial walls erected in the stadium. Climbers will be scored based on a system that takes into account the number of attempts a climber takes to finish a route and other factors. Climbers will have five minutes to attempt each of six routes as many times as they want on Saturday. Competitors who advance to the second stage of the competition on Sunday will face four longer and more difficult routes.
Julio Arce, who is organizing the competition with the help of Fecodem and AEM, said the idea is for people to come out, compete and have a good time. The fact that the competition will be held in the National Stadium is a big step in the development of Costa Rican rock climbing, Arce said.
“We feel it is really important to have this competition in the National Stadium to give climbing some legitimacy here and to keep developing climbing in Costa Rica,” Arce said.
Registration for climbers starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. There are three categories: men’s open and women’s open for advanced climbers and a mixed amateur/intermediate division. The cost to compete is ₡10,000 ($20) and includes a T-shirt. Spectators can watch for free.
