West Virginia University’s Student Recreation Center held its first top-rope climbing competition Saturday with more than 25 contestants.
Contestants paid $20 to enter, and the top five won prizes ranging from T-shirts to helmets to rope bags. A raffle was also held to win Evolv climbing shoes.
The competition was pointbased, meaning certain holds were worth more than others.
Ben Davis, a sophomore environmental protection major won first prize, and Bill Brandow, a sophomore pre-physics major, won the raffle.
Technique was key to the competition, said Brett Hagerty, the Rec Center’s program coordinator, and he would bet a ballet dancer would make a better climber than a weight lifter.
"The weight lifter might power up the wall, while the dancer might use balance," he said.
Good technique includes putting weight on one’s feet, but most beginning climbers usually put weight on their arms, Hagerty said.
The competition was informal, he said, but most who competed had prior experience.
Shawna Mullenax, a sophomore pre-political science major, has been climbing since the second semester of her freshman year.
Another competitor, sophomore pre-speech pathology and audiology major, Kate Bostic, did not expect to win, but was there to have fun.
"It’s definitely challenging," Bostic said. "But everyone’s having a good time."
While the rec has hosted bouldering competitions in the past, a top-rope climbing one has never been attempted.
"It’s logistically harder to do, and it’s a bigger process," Hagerty said.
The bouldering competition brings in approximately 65 competitors, he said, and the expected amount for the top-rope climbing competition was around 45.
"Since the weather is good, not as many people came," he said, though he would have liked a higher attendance.
Another rope climbing competition will be held in the spring, Hagerty said.
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