Jeremy Hemberger
Amanda Crawford
For the past two years, Madison climbing enthusiast Jeremy Hemberger watched the American Bouldering Series National Championships streamed live from the City Auditorium in Colorado Springs, Colo. Sooner or later, he thought, he would travel west and compete.
"Watching those events has been inspirational, and they always looked like so much fun," says Hemberger, a 24-year-old entomology graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Once rumors of a location change to the Midwest started circulating, I got even more excited."
The rumors were true: Monona Terrace will host the 2015 American Bouldering Series (ABS) National Championships over two weeks in February. The Open National Championship will be held Feb. 6-7, followed by the Youth National Championship on Feb. 13-15. The competition is open to anyone, and adults and youths from the Madison area already are registered for the event.
Hemberger and Amanda Crawford -- a route setter and coach, respectively, at Boulders Climbing Gym -- will join an estimated 1,200 climbers from around the country expected to participate in the event, featuring the same world-class, 18-foot-high USA Climbing bouldering wall used for the annual International Federation of Sport Climbing's World Cup in Vail, Colo. And, like previous ABS National Championships that Hemberger watched, the action will be delivered to an international audience via webcast.
Mary-Clare Brennan, chief executive officer of USA Climbing, the national governing body for competition climbing, cites Madison as "a tremendous college town and climbing community," and the atmosphere will be similar to that of the X Games -- with music, lights and drama.
"This is a big deal for our city," says Jamie Patrick, vice president of the Madison Area Sports Commission, which collaborated with USA Climbing and Boulders to relocate the event from Colorado Springs for the first time. "It certainly helps that we're an outdoor town, but we also have an iconic venue in Monona Terrace."
"It's akin to having the Super Bowl come to your town, and only having to register to be a part of it," says Hemberger. "When they announced that Madison would host this year's ABS, I knew right away that I would be doing it."
Crawford, also 24, hopes participating in the ABS Nationals "will help me become a better mentor to the kids at the climbing gym," she says. "I'll be able to offer them better advice and guidance if I've actually participated in some competitions."
Securing 37,000 square feet of space for 18 consecutive days (including setup, competition and takedown) at Monona Terrace was no easy task, Patrick says. But the environment will make for an intimate spectacle in which climbers will not see the wall routes until the competition begins.
"It's a very raw experience, seeing people scale a wall for the first time," Patrick says. "This will be a powerful visual experience for spectators." Tickets will range from $5 to $15.
Patrick credits UW-Madison Hoofers with hosting an on-site visit to Devil's Lake for USA Climbing officials that showcased the area's enthusiasm for climbing and the great outdoors. "While we're not necessarily your first thought when discussing climbing, Madison doesn't stop just because it's winter," Patrick says. "And by February, people will really be ready to get out and do things."
"The climbing community is very open and welcoming," Hemberger says. "We're all psyched to get people into the sport in any way possible, and what better way to showcase that than with this event?"
Other opportunities for spectating and participating are available during the ABS Nationals, too. Boulders, which has held local ABS competitions at its location at 3964 Commercial Ave., will host the ABS Citizens' National Championships on Saturday, Feb. 7, between the semifinal and final rounds of the ABS Open National Championship. This event will provide climbers who did not advance in the Open competition with another opportunity, while at the same time offering a low-pressure environment for novice climbers.
Additionally, the gym will host a USA Paraclimbing adaptive climbing clinic on Sunday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free learn-to-climb event is designed to help people of all ages who have amputations, cerebral palsy, spinal injuries, visual impairments and other physical challenges.
"I think a lot of people from our community will get involved," Katie Schultz, general manager of Boulders, says about all of the festivities surrounding the ABS Nationals. "It's something you don't have the chance to see very often."
Registration details, ticket orders and volunteer information can be found at absnationals.org.
