Our biggest event of the year
9 Degrees presents the Winter Boulder Series - our annual multi gym competition. Log your 12 hardest sends over 3 weeks of climbing and join us for finals at Chatswood
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The Winter Boulder Series (or WBS, from here on out) is a free social competition for climbers of all levels.
To get involved all you need to do is log your 12 hardest sends across the Sydney 9D gyms during the qualification period: Saturday August 1st to Sunday August 23rd.
We’ll wrap up the competition with a huge finals event at Chatswood on Saturday the 29th of August with World Cup style finals, merch, games, pop ups, food, drinks, door prizes and more.
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There are 11 competition categories:
Open A Male & Female
Open B Male & Female
Open C Male & Female
Open D Male & Female
Inclusive: an open category for all climbers, regardless of how they identify
All Stars Male & Female: a finals spectacle with some of Australia’s strongest climbers, intended to allow our community to fill the Open A finals spots
There are pre selected cut off points for each category that will be hidden until the scoring period closes, ensuring a fair competition for everyone.
The top 6 competitors from our Open A , Open B and Inclusive categories will qualify to compete in finals.
Open C and Open D will be decided off of qualification scores. Prize-giving for these categories will take place at the finals event.
Climb & Qualify
Climb at least 12 boulders between August 1st and 23rd
To ensure a fair competition, category cut offs remain hidden, but you can use the chart below as a guide
Visiting multiple 9D gyms helps increase your score!
Take a detour via the Gramicci boulders at each gym for some sweet discounts - more info coming soon!
Join Us For Finals!
Keep an eye on your phone and our socials on Friday, August 28th to see how you qualified
Then join us on Sat, August 29th for the finale at Chatswood! Spectators can enjoy big door prizes, incredible climbing, pop up stores, mini games and more
Earn yourself a discount from our friends at Gramicci
This year we’re bringing you a new WBS sidequest, the Gramicci Passport.
As the gyms reset, each location will set their own unique Gramicci Boulder, ranging between teal and red. By climbing the Gramicci Boulder at all 5 of the Sydney locations you can earn a 20% discount over on the Gramicci Australia website.
To get involved, grab a passport from the front desk of any 9D gym and look for the featured Gramicci Boulder. To get your passport stamped, you’ll need to send the boulder and show proof (a photo or video) to the front desk crew. Once you’re ready, you can submit your stamped passport via the link below.
3 stamps = 10%, 4 stamps = 15%, 5 stamps = 20%*
WBS Week 1: Chatswood | Grade: Pink (set on Tue 4th Aug)
WBS Week 2: Lane Cove & Waterloo | Grade: Teal (9dLC), Red (9dW)
WBS Week 3: Parramatta & Alexandria | Grade: Orange (Red) (9dP), Pink (9dA)
All passports must be submitted by end of day, Monday 24th August
*Discounts are limited and will be issued on a first come, first served basis until the allocation cap is reached. They will be sent out during WBS finals.
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Everything you need to know
Qualification: August 1-23
Finals: Sat, August 29 at Chatswood
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From Saturday, August 1st!
Each gym will start with one reset worth of boulders available for scoring. As the weeks pass, all new sets will be added, totalling 4 resets worth of boulders at each gym.
Even though some boulders will be up beforehand, for a send to count towards your score you’ll need to climb it within the qualification window: August 1st - 23rd.
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Predetermined cut offs (hidden, to ensure a fair competition) create our Open A, B, C and D categories so there’s no need to self determine - give it your best go and see where you end up, maybe you’ll surprise yourself!
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In bouldering, a ‘send’ is a successful completion of a climb and a ‘flash’ is when you climb something on your very first try
To get into the nitty gritty:
The first holds (or volumes) your hands touch must have start tags on them
Before moving from the starting holds, you must show control with both feet off the ground
To finish, two hands need to be on the tagged end hold in a controlled manner for 3 seconds
Any outside influences like touching the mat or other holds during your climb will stop that attempt from counting - even if it was unintentional, and even if it didn’t help
To flash a climb is to send it on your first go, ever. Not first go of that session or after a cheeky foot slip nobody saw! A flash will score you 75 extra points.
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No, but it’s a lot easier to get a higher score if you do!
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Absolutely. All finalists are contacted individually to confirm attendance so if you qualify and you’re not available just let us know and we’ll select the next ranked climber. It’s a blast though, we promise it’ll be worth stepping out of your comfort zone!
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Of course! Sit back and enjoy the show with food, drinks, music, merch, mini games, spectator prizes, pop up shops and more. It’s also a great opportunity to show all of the non-climbers in your life where on earth you’ve been spending all of your time!
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In the event of a tie we will count back to the top 15 scored boulders.
In the event of a tied top 15, we will rank climbers based off of their total visits to 9 Degrees - the higher the better.
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TBC! Rougly from 2pm until late. Keep an eye on our instagram for updates or check back in here closer to the date.