Urban Rocks Overview

Thursday, October 28, 2010

BouldeRAVE 2010


On Friday, October 22nd 2010 Urban Rocks Gym hosted Boulderave, our inaugural Halloween Climbing Party. The night was filled with activities and offered something exciting for everyone. All participants were engulfed in the energetic lights, music and a cosmic atmosphere. In addition to hosting gear demos, two mini-competitions, a costume contest and a huge raffle, the purpose of the night was to raise food, funds and awareness for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

Boulderave was undoubtedly the biggest and most energetic event hosted at Urban Rocks to date. Bringing in around 300 participants, $250 and 100 cans of food it was also the most successful event at U.R.G. Not only was it great to see our regular members and previous visitors having a good time, it was really exciting to see loads of new faces in the crowd getting their introduction to the world of indoor pebble wrestling. Whether participants were new to climbing or had been scaling the walls for 20 years it is scarce to find a climber in the South East who has participated in such a unique event.

To set the stage, first the house lights were turned off and the music turned up. Next, courtesy of Lee University Theatre Department, colored wash lights flung lively blues, reds, purples and yellows on the climbable surface of the wall. With the addition of a couple of professional studio lights provided by Chattanooga State Media Department and some dancing DJ lights, the already vibrant scene was intensified to make a high energy climbing party. Topping it all off, black lights provided that elusive neon glow all boulde-ravers were looking for. Of course, the party would be nothing short of a gathering if it were not for gym member, Ron Nance, lending his bumpin’ sound system for the event’s tunes that stayed on point with the night’s various comps and contests.

Outside the cosmic craziness, climbing manufacturers set up gear booths in the parking lot showcasing the newest climbing gear on the market. Rock/Creek pulled together shoe companies Evolv, Five Ten and La Sportiva as well as gear manufacturers Black Diamond, Petzl and BlueWater Ropes. The shoe companies and their knowledgeable reps allowed participants to try out (and climb in) a bunch of different models of shoes. Sticking with the cosmic theme, Petzl and Black Diamond demoed the newest headlamps on the market as well.

At 8 o’clock the lights turned to the lead wall as competitors geared up for the first ever speed climbing mini-comp to be set on the prominent, steep and over hanging lead wall. Competitors climbed head-to-head top roping up to the 6th bolt, leaping to the glowing tape signifying the end of the route and finishing the climb with a 15 foot whipper (Google it). Highlights of the speed comp were seeing Escalade Gym owner, Chris Sierzant, and TBA’s resident strong girl, Kasia Pietras, battle head-to-head in a 3-round climb off. Sierzant pulled ahead taking the cake, but they ended the series with a crowd pleasing mid-air high five to end the event.

Up next was the dyno competition. “Dyno” = dynamic move = climbers (some dressed up for Halloween) flinging themselves from starting holds to various finish holds towering 8 feet above. With U.R.G. in house entertainer, MC Chedder, on the mic the competition began with the qualifying round. 20 competitors received 3 chances to snag the highest hold possible. After narrowing it down to 8 finalists the smaller dynos were removed and replaced by 2 super dynos. The results were close: a 3-way tie for 2nd place between Preston Alexander, Jacob Fellers and Nate Bierce, but of course long-armed Chris Sierzant smashed the 2nd placers taking 1st for the event.

Local brewery, Terminal Brewhouse, was the official after party sponsor for Boulderave donating a keg of their tasty Maibock to the event. While competitors eagerly waited for the comp results, MC Chedder kicked off the raffle. Thanks to climbing companies and local sponsors, we were able to raise $250 in raffle ticket sales for the Chattanooga Food Bank. Prizes ranged from the highly sought after Blue Water climbing rope and 5.10 climbing shoes to some of the newest headlamps from Petzl and Black Diamond, gift cards to local eateries and a 2-hour photo session with Chuffer Photography.

A special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers who helped the event run smoothly and to Rock/Creek and the vendors who brought all of the latest gear and friendly vibe. Also a big thanks to the sponsors who donated raffle prizes to really increase motivation for raffle ticket sales. We look forward to the Boulderave being the Halloween climbing event in Chattanooga for years to come. Rumors have already been circulating about having a live DJ for Boulderave 2011!

Pics and Video soon to come...

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

2010 RiverRocks Ruckus

If you stepped in to Urban Rocks this past Friday night, you were saturated with color and surrounded by the area’s youngest climbers. This new immersive experience at Urban Rocks was developed for the RiverRocks Ruckus, an event held as a part of Chattanooga’s inaugural RiverRocks Festival. It was a night of free cosmic climbing for children and families. Generous volunteers donated their time by helping child participants ascend to the top of the thirty-five foot climbing walls and returning them to the ground complete with tired fingers and wide smiles. Good Dog had their tasty on-the-go hotdog cart on-site and contributed a percentage of their profits from the entire night.

The event was a huge success bringing in over 300 excited participants and raised over $200 for the Ronald McDonald House. Even more exciting was the debut of cosmic climbing at Urban Rocks Gym. Overhead lights were absent and in their place a vivid light show accompanied by high-energy music. A special thanks is given to Lee University Theatre Department for lending stage lighting that made this cosmic experience possible.

Thanks to our generous local sponsors, Urban Rocks raffled off prizes throughout the event. The lucky raffle winners went home with prizes donated by Insane Paintball, North Shore Yoga, Montlake Golf Course, Blue Orleans Creole Restaurant, Lupi’s Pizza Pies, Holiday Bowl, Stone Cup Coffee House and the Hunter Art Museum. One hundred percent of raffle ticket proceeds were donated to the Ronald McDonald House.

Urban Rocks Gym looks forward to continued partnership local charities and our next cosmic climbing event, BouldeRave on October 22nd, benefitting the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.