Winter Sport League
Weekly Updates/Clarifications
I hope everyone had a great first week in league! First off, thank you for your patience as we navigate an entirely new way of running sport league. Not being physically present to answer all your questions is difficult, and we miss you. Also, this is a semi-lengthy email, but should help to clear up any confusion. (I will post this on the League home page as well.)
Target Grades: First off, way to go! Most everyone did a really great job setting their target grades. Better than any league before! For those that were bumped, it's okay, making a target grade first week is the hardest part of league.
Reminders:
- For 1st week scores: Some people's target grades were bumped and your week 1 scores now reflect that bump. This is to ensure everyone starts on an even playing field. It's unfair to the people that set their target grades accurately to end up with lower scores than their comrades that underestimated their abilities and are getting significantly higher scores out of the gate. *If you climbed on Monday before we finished scores, your week 2 scores may also be different than you thought. Feel free to email me directly for clarification.*
- Why bumped? Because you set your target grade too low and it is apparent you can climb your target and above your target consistently. Or you set your grade too high and climbed significantly below that.
- Lastly, from here on out, if you are bumped it will only count towards your future scores. Also, it is extremely unlikely that we bump people down. When you check in to climb, check your target grade on your sheet or at the desk to confirm that week's target grades.
- Yes, we do have a system for judging when to bump people. Some have to be looked at on a case-by-case basis, but we do our best to be fair and objective.
It does not have to be a brand new to you climb, but only that you have not counted it for league in previous weeks. We know there are only so many climbs per grade and if you climb more than once a week at the gym, you are likely to have climbed many of them before the following league week.
Again, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, discrepancies. Mistakes happen from time to time when entering scores or changing target grades. Please don't hesitate to let me know, hannah@ascentstudio.com. If you have an issue with your scorecard specifically email, jon@ascentstudio.com.
Happy Monday fierce competitors,
Updates/Clarifications Week 3 Edition: League shirts have been ordered and should arrive the first week of March! If you did not pay for your shirt when you registered, it has been invoiced to your account. Feel free to pay that the next time you are in the gym, otherwise, it will come out of your account at the first of the month.
Target grades should be difficult to the point that you are not sending 3 of them in a 2 hour period. That doesn't mean it won't happen eventually, but then congrats! You'll have a new target grade the following week to work towards!
Being bumped is not a bad thing. We get that weeks can fluctuate and routes can be easy or hard for your climbing style, but we have a system in place so that bumping up or down is as objective as possible. If you are truly concerned and feel like you were unreasonably bumped, email Hannah@ascentstudio.com and I'm happy to chat about it.
Onward & Upward to Week 3!
Finals will start next Monday, March 8th - 14th
Goal: For you and your partner to climb as many routes as you can (within a specified target range) in a 2 hour period.
-- Must climb with your partner
-- You and your partner have 2 hours total (not 2 hours each)
-- Handicap scoring still applies for all your climbs (see rubric on this page), but instead of just 3 climbs, all your climbs within your range will be totaled
What you can climb: One full letter grade below your target and up will count towards your overall score.
Ex) Your target grade is 5.11, you can only count climbs 5.10 and higher for your final week climbs.
How it works:
League will run Monday - Sunday | February 1st - March 14th | 1 drop week
Declaring your Target Grade: Each climber declares their "target" grade on their 1st day of league. This is used to calculate the points you receive for your climbs (Handicap breakdown chart below). Your target grade should be difficult (but doable) for you and unlikely that all 3 of your top climbs will be at or above your target grade.
Getting Bumped: We keep an eye on each week's scores and will bump a climber to a higher target grade if your performance indicates that your target grade is too low. Most people will likely be bumped at some point or multiple times throughout the league. That's what progress looks like!
The Routes: Every route in the gym is acceptable for league even if you've climbed them prior to your league session. Each route is given a unique number (marked at the start with a league tag). This number is what we use to track which climbs you have completed. You can get credit for the same route twice during the 5 regular session weeks, but it cannot be counted twice in the same session.
Google Sheets:
Paper scorecards will be available, but please only use them if you cannot possibly use the app. Each week you come in to climb for league, check in at the front desk and they will make your scorecard for that week available for edit in your Google Sheets app. From there, fill out each column needed for each climb you send. Team scores will be pulled together each week on Monday and a leaderboard will be posted on this page.
Scoring:
Your personal score each week will be the sum of the 3 hardest climbs you complete. Keep in mind that if you set your target grade accurately, it is unlikely that all 3 of your climbs will be at or above your target grade, unless you have progressed and need to be bumped.
Your team score is the total points between you and your partner.
To receive points for a route you must:
- Send it cleanly from the start hold to the anchors without any takes, falls, or weighting the rope.
- Fill out all relevant information in your Google Sheets scorecard.
- Climbs must be logged during the current week (Ex. Week 1 climbs must be logged sometime Monday - Sunday during week 1).
- Climbs must be logged during the same 2 hour session.
Misc. Rules:
- This season there are no bonus points for leading. The benefit to leading is that you have more terrain to climb on.
- You may "second" a route in the lead-only terrain and get the points for that send.
- This season we ARE doing bonus points (10pts) for non repeat climbs. Meaning, if you haven't counted it in previous weeks, you get +10 points. This will start in Week 2.
Point System Breakdown
Points for a climb are awarded based on the following table. For example, if a climber with a target grade of 5.10+ sends a 5.10+, they earned 100 points. If that same climber sends 5.11, they are awarded 120 points. Basically, your 100 point base is your target grade with a +/- 10 points for each grade deviation from your target.
Finals Week
Winners announced no later than Tuesday, March 16th at 5pm.
Prizes:
Top 3 teams will receive a prize:
1st place: 1 month free membership + Friction Labs Chalk
2nd place: Ascent beanie + Friction Labs Chalk
3rd place: Friction Labs Chalk
Frequently Asked Q's
Please use the app if you can. If need be, you can get a paper scorecard at the front desk.
If you only lead climb, you know we’re not talking to you.
If you are working on leading, but still top rope most of the time, go off your top rope grade, but push yourself where you see fit.
If you are pushing yourself on lead and are only logging climbs you have led then go with your lead target grade. BUT, if we see your scores are dramatically fluctuating, because you went with your lead target, but then top rope something at a much higher point value and count it, we will bump you and fix your past scores based on your newly bumped top rope target.