The Boston University Outing Club will host its first bouldering competition Friday to further strengthen BU’s athletic reputation. The competition will take place at the rock wall in the Fitness and Recreation Center, and anyone willing is welcome to take their interests to new heights.
“I think students usually sometimes need a break from school, from the urban environment, from all the noise,” said Gabe Messercola, the co-president of BUOC and a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Many colleges in the area have hosted bouldering and rock climbing competitions in the past, so Messercola decided it was BU’s turn.
With support from sponsors Butora, adidas Outdoor, College Outside, CAMP USA and Grand Trunk, BUOC will also be offering grand prizes. All participants are in the running for climbing shoes, hammocks, a slack line and other outdoor equipment.
In an attempt to connect BU with Greater Boston, the competition is open to both students and other community members, regardless of experience level. Though the huge rock wall may seem intimidating to some, the sport is fairly easy to pick up, and event coordinators are encouraging everyone, even beginners, to try it out.
“You don’t have to be an experienced climber to participate,” Messercola said. “Even if you’ve been to the rock wall only one time at BU, you can still compete in the beginner category and potentially win something.”
The competition will be divided into six categories — beginner, intermediate and advanced for both men and women.
“It’ll be a really fun and a great way to hang out and meet people, especially during the final event,” said Amanda DeJesus, a BUOC on-campus events coordinator and a sophomore in the School of Hospitality Administration. “We’re going to get everyone in there to cheer everyone on, and even if you don’t want to compete, you can still come and cheer people on for free and it’ll be really fun.”
With an enthusiastic rock climbing and bouldering community at BU, the competition will be informative as well as entertaining. Though Messercola said the “practice makes perfect” mentality applies to bouldering, he suggested technique is highly important as well. Watching these techniques at play should be a learning experience for both audience members and other participants, he added.
“It’s a lot of footwork and stuff like that, but forearms are pretty important — having good forearm strength, having good hand strength,” Messercola said. “Technique is huge. Technique is something you gain the more you do it. The first time you go, you’re going to wear yourself out in, like, 10 minutes. But slowly, you’re going to get better and better. One day, it’ll just click. And once it does, you’re always going to figure out how to position your body for that kind of problem.”
DeJesus said she hopes the competition will also inspire participants to get more involved with BUOC. The club usually does off-campus trips such as hiking, backpacking, kayaking, canoeing, biking, skiing and, of course, climbing.
“It’s really refreshing to get out either for just a day on the weekends,” Messercola said, “or go for an overnight trip and stay the whole weekend somewhere where you can have some peace and quiet and be in nature and not think and worry about school.”
Messercola added that he believes it is worthwhile to have opportunities to “observe the beauty of the outdoors” and “spend a lot of time with people who are interested in that same kind of experience.”
BUOC Vice President Mary Beth Parkerson, a participant in the beginner category and a senior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she appreciates how relaxing outdoor activities like bouldering can be, although she specializes in top-rope rock climbing.
“I am just starting to learn how to boulder, which is the beauty of this event,” she said. “Anyone can compete and do well.”
Those interested in rock climbing and bouldering, Parkerson said, can easily find a home within this group.
“There’s this huge community of climbers that go to the open rec hours at the rock wall in FitRec,” Messercola said. “There are a lot of students who are into it. And it’s never too late for people to try it, either.”
