Want to learn from the best? Louis Parkinson (AKA Captain Cutloose) is a former Team GB climber, coach (founder of Catalyst Climbing) and influencer inspiring the next generation of boulderers across the UK. It’s safe to say that he has a world of experience when it comes to competition climbing!

Indirock’s summer climbing competition is just around the corner, and Louis will be coming to Indirock on Saturday 8th July to deliver a packed day of workshops to help our climbers prepare. What better opportunity to ask Louis his top tips for smashing it at climbing competitions? Here we go…

One

Go around looking at all the competition boulders before you start, labelling them on your scorecard as easy (will feel easy even if I climb it terribly), medium (will feel easy if I climb it well) and hard (will feel hard even when I climb it well). Knowing what is in store will help you plan what to try and when, making the best use of your time and energy (hint – DON’T leave all the medium and hard climbs to the end when you’re worn out and tired!)

Two

Avoid queuing for the easy comp boulders by warming up on climbs not included in the competition! This will allow you to start on the medium climbs whilst everyone else queues for the easy ones… you can then do these at the end of the competition once the queues have moved on to everything else!

Three

Allow yourself to make mistakes. However hard we train and practice, it is almost inevitable that at some point during the competition we will misread a climb or have our foot slip. This can be very frustrating, but seeing as it is somewhat inevitable, it is arguably not a mistake. Getting really angry and frustrated, rushing your next attempts and falling off loads more climbs as a result IS a mistake which you can avoid!

Four

Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing… at competitions, it often feels as though everyone is flashing every climb apart from you. This is never the case; you’re only noticing their best moments and assuming the rest of their competition has gone that way too! Whatever else is happening around you can only serve to distract you, so just focus on your own climbing 😉

Five

Focus on trying hard and having fun, and don’t worry about your result… you’ll have a FAR more enjoyable experience, will climb better, and likely get a better result overall than you would have if you were stressed and anxious for the whole comp!

So there you have it – Louis Parkinson’s top five tips for smashing it at climbing competitions. We’re excited to learn more at Louis’ workshops this Saturday, and put it all into action at the Indirock summer comp on Sunday 23rd July!

Good luck and happy climbing.