Level Up Your Redpoint Comp Strategy

Just signed up for your first comp and not sure where to start? If you haven’t yet, check out our article, Comp Climbing 101, to learn about comp climbing basics. Still, the day of a redpoint comp can feel overwhelming. So many climbs and so little time – and so many decisions to make! Not to worry, we’ve created a step-by-step strategy guide to help you make key choices to maximize your competition experience.

Step 1: Exploration

When you first enter the facility, take some time to walk around the gym and preview all the available climbs.

💡 Create a to-do list on your score card for the following categories:

“Warm Up” Climbs – just to get the blood flowing!
“Too Easy” Climbs – safely within your flash grade
“Safety Net” Climbs – provide a good challenge, but doable within 2-3 attempts; these are important to establish a base score for yourself
“Moderate to Max Limit” Climbs – in the upper end of your grade limit

Step 2: Develop a Plan

When you feel warmed up and ready to go, assess your energy levels and return to your to-do list to formulate your game plan.

💡 Here’s an approach you can take:

Remove all the “Too-Easy” climbs from your list.
Instead, prioritize completing your “Safety-Net” climbs
- Focus on climbs that you’re confident about completing in the least number of attempts (of course, a flash is best!) but still offer a decent number of points. This approach will help you accomplish the main goal of completing the minimum number of climbs early on!
Spend the remaining time attempting “Moderate to Max Limit” climbs
- Completing these higher difficulty climbs will award you more points. Any “Moderate to Max Limit” climbs you complete will start to replace your “Safety-Net” climbs to contribute to a higher overall final score.
- ⚠ Beware of focusing only on your “Moderate to Max Limit” climbs, as this can cause you to fatigue yourself early on. It may be tempting to try hard out of the gate, but this may reduce your ability to attain a higher point-value average or worse, prevent you from completing the minimum number of climbs!

Step 3: Strategizing Attempts & Execution

In a redpoint or modified redpoint round, points are valued based on 1) the difficulty of a climb and 2) the number of attempts used to successfully complete a climb. Each attempt counts, so if you fall, make sure to learn and adjust from your previous attempt!

💡 After giving a climb 3 tries, ask yourself if you are confident you will top it within the next 2 attempts. If you’re not sure, consider moving on to a different climb, since you can always return to it later in the round!

Reminder: Point deductions can occur for every attempt you use to help break ties!

Tips, Tricks, & Tactics

On top of your baseline strategy, here are some valuable tactics that can make a huge difference on comp day:

🧩 Use Others for Solutions

In a redpoint round, you are allowed to watch other climbers and discuss beta with them – use that to your advantage!

Socialize with other climbers who are attempting the same climbs as you.
Pay extra attention to climbers with similar height, styles, and strengths as you.
Find out how other climbs find success on the climbs you are attempting.

Reminder: Don’t judge a climb by its cover!

Sometimes a climb can be deceiving in its difficulty. Don’t let the visual presentation of a climb intimidate you from trying it! Sometimes it’s easier than it looks and vice versa.

🧩 Relax & Enjoy Yourself!

We understand that everyone hopes to place high in a comp but putting too much pressure on yourself to podium will only create excessive stress. Remember that competing in a comp should be fun!

Focus on gaining useful experience – comps don’t happen every day!
Do your best to avoid over-analyzing your overall placement.
Enjoy the high energy levels from the community around you!

🧩 Take Breaks

A redpoint round can be a few hours long – pace yourself!

Take a break if you start to feel fatigued
Have a snack, drink some water & take a step back for a few minutes. Rest long enough to clear your mind and get back some of your energy.
Remember that feeling tired in a redpoint round is totally normal!

🧩 Pay Attention to Lines

During redpoint comps, boulders are controlled by a queue line that creates a running order of climbers.

Determine if a climb’s point value is worth the wait.
Make sure to factor the difficulty of the climb and your potential success rate into your decision!

Whether you're a new or experienced comp climber, hopefully you've learned a thing or two today! Remember, pace yourself and remember your strategy - you're sure to have a rewarding competition experience!