Hangout open 2025

The Hangout Open is our annual spring competition designed as a celebration of all the hard work the climbers of Vancouver Island have put in during the indoor climbing season. We bring in guest setters from different gyms to create a diverse climbing experience, and challenge all athletes to do their best by recognizing those top performers with an invitation to our unique, fan friendly finals experience.

This year, we are running three separate competitive divisions. The top athletes in the Youth (14 and Under), Open (14 and Over), and Masters (35 and Older) divisions will battle for the title of Hangout Open Champion on Saturday, April 12th. The number of finalists for the Youth and Masters Division will be determined based on the number of registrants in each division and the competitiveness of those athletes (more good climbers means more available finals spots). As a bonus, those athletes who qualify for the Open Finals (Top 6 Males and Females) may be able to win cash prizes if they can finish in 1st ($350), 2nd ($250), or 3rd place ($150).

For those climbers who prefer a relaxed and social experience, the Recreation Division on Sunday, April 13th will allow them to try 40+ climbs with more flexibility. If this is your first competition, or you simply are not prepared emotionally to try your very hardest and test yourself, this is a fantastic opportunity to make new friends, be proud of yourself, and have a good time figuring out the new problems and maybe even win a prize.

Note: The Recreational Division events for both younger and older competitors will follow an “open scramble” format. This means climbers can attempt any climb in any order they choose. However, it also means determining who should climb next requires a bit of cooperation amongst the athletes. If this sounds too chaotic, you may want to consider signing up for the Competitive time slots, because those events will be more structured (“Modified Scramble”), with judges determining who climbs next in each area and keeping track of who topped which problem and in how many attempts.

Also consider that the competitive nature of competitions provides more adrenaline which helps some athletes try harder. It also provides a fair bit of anxiety, which can make relatively simply problems feel harder. With that said, the approximate (“indoor grade”) difficulty of the majority of climbs set in the various time slots will be as follows, with a few climbs potentially feeling easier or harder than the grades listed:

Youth Competitive: V0 to V6

Open/Masters Females: V1 to V7

Open/Masters Males: V2 to V8

Youth Recreational: V-Easy to V5

Recreational (14 and Older): V-Easy to V6

Competition Schedule:

Competitive Athletes:

YOUTH (14 and Under): SATURDAY APR 12 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM REGISTER HERE

YOUTH FINALS: SATURDAY APR 12 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

ADULT OPEN/MASTERS (35+): FRIDAY APR 11 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM REGISTER HERE

FRIDAY APR 11 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM REGISTER HERE

ADULT MASTERS FINALS: SATURDAY APR 12 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

ADULT OPEN FINALS: SATURDAY APR 12 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Recreational Athletes:

YOUTH (14 and Under): SUNDAY APR 13 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM REGISTER HERE

ADULT (15+): SUNDAY APR 13 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM REGISTER HERE

SUNDAY APR 13 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM REGISTER HERE