Welcome to NBS 2010

Welcome to the official website of the NZAC National Bouldering Series, New Zealand's one and only annual rockclimbing series on real rock.

The NZAC National Bouldering Series, or NBS for short, is held over four weekends in summer each year. Coordinated by the New Zealand Alpine Club and run by local NZAC volunteers, the NBS is your chance to have lots of fun and meet climbers of all ages and abilities. Entry fees are $15,  or $10 for students with ID and NZAC members, $5 for 12 and under. You get a BBQ, drink and the chance to win cool prizes.

What is bouldering?

Haven't heard of bouldering before? Its a form of rockclimbing on boulders and rock faces anywhere between one  and five metres high. Bouldering routes are called problems and climbers tackle these without the use ropes or climbing hardware. The only equipment used is rock shoes and a chalkbag, and anyone can give it a go!

How does a competition on real rock work?

It's not like an indoor rock comp where you only get one attempt at the problem; in the NBS you can have as many goes as your fingers and energy will last for! In the expert category points are scored based on the grade of the problem and in the recreational its 1 point per climb regardless of grade.

Are the competitions really competitive? (hell no!)

The NBS is more about participation in bouldering than anything else. Most people come along to enjoy the buzz of the bouldering scene and maybe climb a few problems or pick up some beta for problems they havn't done before. There is a healthy dose of competitive spirit in the expert categories, usually where up and coming young climbers are trying to better their peers or out climb established gurus. This shouldn't discourage people just starting out; the NBS is the best way to get into bouldering and learn the tricks of the trade quickly as all the problems are marked out and there are lots of other climbers to learn from!

BUY YOUR 2010 CHALKY DIGITS NBS T-SHIRT ONLINE!

Mens T-ShirtClick here to purchase your 2010 NBS T-Shirt. Manufactured by Chalky Digits in organic cotton, New Zealand made.

Acknowledgements

The NBS is organised wholey by volunteers and people willing to give their time and skills for not much in return. A big thank you to all the people involved including the New Zealand Alpine Club Competition Organisers and the landowners (Stubbs, Jardines and John Reed).

Thankyou also to the sponsors in particular Andrew at Bivouac, Liz at Chalkydigits, Kate at Marvelox, Mark at Tools of the Adventures and Rob at Cactus.