Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission
The county of Charleston, S.C., offers an array of activities to show off its beautiful coastline, but it is climbing to new heights with its latest program.
In March, the Parks and Recreation Department hosted its first USA Climbing competition on the climbing wall in James Island County Park, where roughly 50 to 70 competitors from across the country faced off in technical and speed challenges.
While USA Climbing gave the department wall guidelines to follow in the competition, Charleston officials were able to set the specific routes. In the technical aspect of the event, climbers were evaluated by their technique in five routes. With 45 to choose from, the climbers were given four hours to climb, and judges gave point values to each route climbed, only scoring the top five. In the speed round, climbers aimed to record their best speed score on two designated routes. Winners of the competition were awarded with climbing and outdoor supplies, such as ropes, shoes and training devices.