Shauna Coxsey at the British Bouldering Championships

The 2013 British Bouldering Championships took place at this weekend’s Cliffhanger event in Sheffield.

Bouldering – a branch of rock climbing which involves attempting to ascend short, but physically and technically demanding ‘problems’ usually above crashmats – has dramatically increased in popularity over recent years.

Shauna Coxsey and Dave Barrans both successfully defended their titles at the British Bouldering Championships, and became national champions for the second year running.

The bouldering competition – one of the highlights of the Cliffhanger event – was held in a special big top marquee, which was packed with spectators shouting encouragement. The scorching heat made the conditions particularly testing for the competitors.

And the win for Shauna Coxsey came after recovering from a broken leg in 2012.

Co-organiser Matt Heason described women’s champion Shauna as “a world class athlete whose performance demonstrated why she’s ranked so highly.”

The men’s competition was closely fought: had 16 year old Dom Burns from Northern Ireland managed to complete his last climb, he would have won. Alas for Dom he didn’t, so in the final points rankings he came 5th. Dave Barrans climbed strongly to clinch the win.

2013 British Bouldering Championship Results

Women:

1. Shauna Coxsey; 2. Mina Leslie-Wujastyk; 3. Alex Puccio; 4. Leah Crane; 5. Gill Peet; 6. Jennifer Wood

Men:

1. Dave Barrans; 2. James Garden; 3. Ben West; 4. Jon Partridge; 5. Dominic Burns; 6. Stewart Watson

The Extreme Mountain Biking Show at Cliffhanger 2013

Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger – billed as the UK’s “biggest outdoor festival for outdoor folk”  – aims both to inspire and to involve attendees. The event also featured orienteering, cycle speedway, artificial climbing walls and caves, slacklining, mountain bike “timber trails”, stunt demonstrations and racing, and more.

What next?

• A full report of the results of the 2013 British Bouldering Championships is due to be posted on the British Mountaineering Council website
• The Cliffhanger website