Rock the Blocs 2022 Wrap Up

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the Rock the Blocs 2022 bouldering festival over the weekend! It was great to bring back this annual festival and competition, after a hiatus of two years. This was our 8th time running the event, and the energy was higher than ever.

We had 196 people attend the Saturday portion of the event, greatly exceeding our expectations and almost reaching our pre-pandemic numbers. The competition ran from 10 am to 4 pm, followed by awards, raffle prizes, challenges and giveaways. In total, we had 94 competitors across 9 categories. Congratulations to all the winners below!

Open Men

1. Carter Colleaux, Saskatoon

2. Ondrej Rozec, Kelowna

3. Ryan Watkins, Kelowna

Open Women

1. Caiya Ainslie, Kelowna

2. Siena Mar, Calgary

3. Sofie King, North Vancouver

Intermediate Men

1. Ryan Kideckel, Kelowna

2. Anthony Martens, Kelowna

3. Jared Borsheim, Kelowna

Intermediate Women

1. Ella Block, Kelowna

2. Jennifer Robbins, Surrey

3. Julie Gagnon, Chilliwack

Beginner Men

1. Cameron Knox, Kelowna

2. Sean McLeod, Kelowna

3. Daniel Coward, Kelowna

Beginner Women

1. Maeve Bergeron, Squamish; Joanna Pineda, Burnaby; Yasmine Galindo, New Westminster

Masters Men

1. Justin Van Sickle, Kelowna

2. Jonathan Waddington, Vernon

3. Khrisna Nacua, Chilliwack

Masters Women

1. Julia Waddington, Vernon

Kids

1. Ty Siddon, Kelowna

2. Isaiah McCrea, Vernon

3. Sam Volk, Kelowna

A tremendous thank you to all our sponsors, who generously donated tons of gear, passes, and swag (do we need a T-shirt cannon for next year?!) With their support, we were able to raise over $1,800 for the Okanagan Bouldering Society! We would like to give special acknowledgements to Deadpoint Climbing, Gneiss Climbing, Flashed who went above and beyond in their donations. We also want to acknowledge all the local small businesses and artists that were willing to support the event. Please support them in return!

• Deadpoint Climbing Co.

• Gneiss Climbing

• Flashed

• Cornerstone Climbing Community

• Rock Garden Climbing Center

• Beyond the Crux Climbing Gym

• Climb On Equipment

• Trout Waters Fly & Tackle

• Hoodoo Adventures

• Valhalla Pure Outfitters

• The Hive

• West Coast Resoles

• Eskala Mountain Sports

• Ochre Mountain Apparel

• Climb Base5

• Okanagan Beach Rentals

• Send Climbing

• Kelowna Bike Rentals

• La Rose Serenity Spa

• CoolHandPrint

• Ricky Redlich

After the prizes, competitors all tested themselves on the table climb, the pinch block challenge, and the now-traditional highball night session on Purgatory. This year, those brave climbers sporting headlamps were cheered on by dozens of spectators sitting under cozy blankets.

Many of the attendees braved the chilly night to stay and climb again on Sunday. We had a great turnout for the Women’s Bouldering Clinic run by Moira and Kayla, while other climbers took tours to the different corners of the Boulderfields.

A big thanks to the Board of Directors (Loïc, Jonty, Kayla, Shamus, Mike, Will, and Robson) and our volunteers (Moira, Quentin, Garret, Eric, Olek, Eddy, Felix, Nathan, Isaac, Carter, Shilong, Ricky, and Robyn) for putting on such a smooth event.

Can’t wait until next year!