Youth Climbing Series

Section Menu

Start Climbing

Youth

Climber Development Pathway

Where To Climb

Staying Safe

Competitions

Youth Climbing Series

Irish Bouldering League

Irish Boulder Championships

Irish Lead Championships

International Competition

Anti Doping

Results Archive

Climbing Development Guidelines

The Irish Youth Climbing Series is a Competition Series for intermediate to experienced level youth climbers from 9 to 19 years old. The series comprises four events which take place in four of Mountaineering Ireland affiliated top level Climbing facilities in Belfast, Cork and Dublin during the Autumn months of September and October. There are two bouldering format events and two events roped climbing events. This is a fantastic opportunity for our youth climbers, and a great event to be part of.

The overall top three ranked athletes from each age category will be awarded the much coveted Great Outdoors Green Champion Hoodies and will have the opportunity to go forward to represent Ireland in the Youth Climbing Series Grand Final in Manchester in November, competing against top Athletes from England, Scotland and Wales for the Grand Final Youth Series Titles.

Registration Opens 11th August at 8pm

Competition Schedule

Round 1

Boulder World Belfast

6th September 2025

Bouldering Format

Registration Info Sheet
Available 18/08

Registration Closes 8pm 28th Aug.

Round 2

Awesome Walls Cork

20th September 2025

Roped Climbing Format

Registration Info Sheet
Available 18/08

Registration Closes 8pm 11th Sept.

Round 3

Dublin Climbing Centre

4th October 2025

Bouldering Format

Registration Info Sheet
Available 18/08

Registration Closes 8pm 25th Sept.

Round 4

Awesome Walls Dublin

18th October 2025

Roped Climbing Format

Registration Info Sheet
Available 18/08

Registration Closes 8pm 9th Oct.

Who can apply?

Intermediate to experienced level climbers aged between 9-19 (please reach out to your local climbing centre where your child climbs if you have any questions regarding suitability ).
Residents of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Male and female climbers. These categories are separated.
Climbers who are comfortable using the appropriate equipment required for each discipline without assistance, this includes tying in with a figure-of-eight knot and putting on a harness.
Climbers who are motivated, willing to push themselves, encouraging to those around them and are respectful of the hosting walls and volunteers.
Members of Mountaineering Ireland and non-members of Mountaineering Ireland (members receive a 25% discount on entry fee)

How to apply?

Entry is only accepted online. Please follow the registration links above for each event ( you must register as an athlete on the Vertical Life system before you can register for the competition. If you competed last year you will already have an account on the system)
Entry must be completed for each round competing in.
Entry must be paid online at time of registration.
Entries close at 8:00pm, on the Thursday before the week leading up to the individual competitions. (See above for dates)
Late entries will not be accepted.
No entries are accepted on the day of the competition.

Join Mountaineering Ireland and save money on entry fees! Individual youth membership is available for €25.

Click for more information: New Member Registration

Rules and Regulations

The rules and regulations for the Youth Climbing Series are available via the following link: YCS 2025 Rules

There is one significant change from the 2024 Rules. The exclusion referred to in 1.2.9 now applies to GB teams only. This means that members of the Irish Youth Team may compete in the 2025 YCS.
When entering the competition, all competitors must take note of the Anti-Doping information which can be found at: https://www.mountaineering.ie/content/AntiDoping/180
Competitors must compete in the nation and region in which they are resident.

Parental/Guardian, Spectators & Coaches:
All competitors must be accompanied by one parent/guardian at each round. An additional parent/guardian, spectator or coach can attend if they are fulfilling a volunteer role.

Volunteers

Volunteers are pivotal to the running of the Youth Climbing Series. Please volunteer if you can. The more volunteers there are, the smoother the events can run.

Volunteer requirements here (boulder)
Volunteer requirements here (roped)

Parents of competitors can confirm their intention to volunteer on the on-line entry form. Anyone else wishing to volunteer please email [email protected] stating which rounds and roles you are able to do. Roles will be allocated on the day.

Competition Format

Bouldering Rounds

Round 1 and Round 3 are bouldering rounds.
Each competition category will have eight boulder problems to attempt.
Competitors can make up to five attempts per boulder problem.
Competitors can attempt boulder problems in any order they choose.

Roped Climbing Rounds

Round 2 and Round 4 are route climbing rounds.
Each competition category will have four routes to attempt.
Competitors can make one attempt per route.
Competitors in U11 and U13 will top-rope, competitors in U15, U17 and U19 A will lead climb.

Qualification for Grand Final

Each competitor's Series score shall be the aggregate of their three best ranking results in the Series. The top three competitors in each category at the end of the Series who have competed in at least three rounds will qualify to enter the Grand Final. U11 are not eligible to attend the Grand Final.

The Grand-Final will be held in the Big Depot in Manchester 28/29th November . Please see the BMC website for further details.

Contact [email protected] for more details.

2024 Results

Click here for provisional results and here for overall rankings.