Rock the Blocs 2023 Wrap Up

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the Rock the Blocs 2023 bouldering festival over the weekend! This was our 9th time running the event, and the turnout was phenomenal, making the event all that we hoped it could be!

We had 305 people attend the Saturday portion of the event, greatly exceeding any previous Rock the Blocs event. The competition ran from 10 am to 4:30 pm, followed by awards, raffle prizes, challenges and giveaways. In total, we had 164 competitors across 8 categories. This year we added some fun challenges for those looking for something a little different, including the Pad Haul Challenge (10 in one go!) and the Enduro Challenge (71 climbs in a day!).

Open Winners

Mark Derksen, Calgary

Caiya Ainslie, Kelowna

Open Men's

1. Mark Derksen, Calgary

2. Sam Chow, Squamish

3. Ondrej Rozec, Kelowna

Open Women's

1. Caiya Ainslie, Kelowna

2. Hannah Musgrave, Penticton

3. Chloe Kerzner, North Vancouver

Intermediate Men's

1. Sam Volk, Kelowna

2. Landon Orr, Kelowna

3. Daniel Welte, Kelowna

Intermediate Women's

1. Nicole Scott, Kelowna

2. Katie Galotta, Kelowna

3. Julie Gagnon, Chilliwack

Beginner Men's

1. Jaxon Moare, Kelowna

1. Cole Broder, Kelowna

3. Josh Wiebe, Kelowna

Beginner Women's

1. Lucy Luo, Vernon

2. Bailey Morin, Vernon

3. Lisa Lawee, Squamish

Kids

1. Nico Mutus, Kelowna

2. Tacey Matte, Vernon

3. Nikita Dedonder, Squamish

Masters Men's

1. Kent Dunham, Chilliwack

2. Denis Hrubenja, Victoria

3. Justin Van Sickle, Kelowna

Enduro Challenge

Lucas Walker, Kelowna

Deadpoint Bloc Party

Enzo DiMichele, Vancouver

A tremendous thank you to all our sponsors, who generously donated tons of gear, passes, and swag. With their support, we were able to raise over $4,000 for the Okanagan Bouldering Society! We would like to give special acknowledgements to Deadpoint Climbing, Gneiss Climbing, Flashed Climbing, and Arcteryx 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

• Gniess Climbing

• Flashed Climbing

• Arcteryx

• Lattice Training

• TW Outdoors

• Cornerstone Climbing Holds

• The Hive

• The Rock Garden

• Beyond the Crux

• Hoodoo Adventures

• Valhala Pure Vernon

• West Coast Resoles

• Climb On Equipment

• Eskala Mountain Sports

• Ochre Mountain Apparel

• Climb Base 5

• Send Climbing

• Kelowna Bike Rentals

• La Rose Serenity Spa

• Black Diamond

• Bright Jenny Coffee

• Onsight Care

• Tension Climbing

• Firesen

• Kobuilt Kustom

• Cool Hand Print

• Base Camp Chiropractic and Sports Rehab

After the prizes, competitors tested themselves with the pinch block challenge, the hang challenge, the grip and pull strength challenge, and the pad wrangling challenge. The weekend had the best weather we could have hoped for and the atmosphere was electric in the evening when spectators came to watch the traditional highball night session on Purgatory. This year, those brave climbers sporting headlamps were cheered on by dozens of spectators, who got to see not one, but two, ascents!

Many of the attendees stayed Saturday night to climb again on Sunday, or take one of the clinics being offered. We had a great turnout, with over 50 participants, for the Queer Intro to Bouldering, Women's Bouldering, Intro to Bouldering, Ins and Outs of Bouldering Development, and Boulderfields 201 clinics.

A big thanks to the Board of Directors (Loïc, Jonty, Kayla, Mike, Will, Robson, and Chris) and our volunteers (Moira, Quentin, Garret, Eric, Eddy, Felix, Isaac, Ricky, Spencer, Maddy, Jesse, Edith, Rohan, Emma, and Marlene) for putting on such a smooth event. We can’t wait until next year and Rock the Blocs 10!!

Photos courtesy of Dan Welte (@weltedan), Shilong Pan (@shilong.pan), Moira Pearson (@sewmuchclimbing), Quentin Trollip (@rocknpaper77) and Isaac Schock (@schock.onthe.rocks).