Elite climbers to compete at Rockcity’s 30th anniversary event
DELIGHTED AND PROUD: Rockcity’s managing director Mark English. Pictures by Tom Arran
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
Three world-class climbers will be scaling the walls at Rockcity as part of a special event to mark the 30th anniversary of the centre opening.
Rockcity, based on Hawthorn Avenue, in Hull, is hosting its annual ‘Bloctoberfest’ bouldering competition this weekend.
The event takes on greater significance this year, marking three decades of the hugely successful climbing centre in the city.
As part of the event across Saturday and Sunday, three GB athletes – including two Olympians – will be competing.
They are:
Toby Roberts – gold medallist in the recent Paris Olympic Games and multiple World Cup winner
Hamish McArthur – who secured fifth place in the Paris Olympics
Max Milne – a World Cup medallist.
ANNIVERSARY: Rockcity is celebrating its 30th year
Rockcity’s managing director Mark English said: “To have these top British climbers coming here to compete shows the quality of this event and the incredible support we have within the competition climbing community.
“We have such a strong set of athletes in the UK who rely on the private and commercial gym sector for their training facilities and practice, which is unique.
“Here at Rockcity, we’re delighted and incredibly proud to be able to host events like this that attract the finest climbers in the country to Hull.”
The participation of Toby, Hamish and Max in Bloctoberfest is the latest feather in the cap of Rockcity, which was selected to provide 600 climbing holds for the Olympic Games in Paris.
It also provided the holds for the Olympic climbing qualifiers in Shanghai, China, and Budapest, Hungary.
Previously, Rockcity’s internationally-recognised expertise in the design of challenging holds also resulted in it being selected to provide the holds for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 – when competition climbing made its debut.
CHALLENGING: Competition climbing holds at Rockcity
The company has provided holds for other major competitions in recent years too, including the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Hachioji, Japan, in 2018, and the European Championships in Zacopane, Poland, the following year, among others.
Rockcity is now planning to expand with a new climbing hold manufacturing factory in Hull.
It currently designs all its own holds but has to outsource the manufacturing side to specialist companies across the world.
Rockcity plans to open a new £400,000, 10,000 sq ft facility next to its climbing centre to bring the whole process in-house.
With support from Hull City Council’s business advisors, it is applying for £120,000 from the Growing Places Fund towards the development of the new factory, which will create eight full-time jobs
Bloctoberfest, which is sponsored by Secur-IT, Serious Climbing, James Legal, Design Signs and So iLL, is open to participants and spectators. The qualifying rounds take place on Saturday, with the semi-finals and final being held the following day. To find out more, visit https://rockcity.co.uk/bloctoberfest-2024/