This Saturday, Rock Republic completed 2 weeks of the “Boulder Bash 2017” with a fantastic showcase of strength, endurance, and sportsmanship in the final live round of this summer’s hottest competition!
Bouldering is a form of free climbing, it employs the same technical principles as sports climbing with the added bonus of being free from ropes and climbing equipment, only your body strength against the wall. Split into 3 categories this year, the top 5 finalists in Male and Female categories battled against each other for over 2 hours in front of a crowd of 50 at the Region’s biggest dedicated bouldering facility, “Rock Republic Dubai” in Dubai Investment Park.
Everyone who signed up, finalists or not, showed incredible improvement during the 2 weeks of competition. We saw excellent progression and strength from the community’s top seeds but also relative newcomers. This year the ladies showed the most improvement. Guida Versucht a Partner in the Rock Republic and the Director of Business Development and Marketing said that; “The pool of participants consisted of almost all new climbers compared to last year and we always welcome ladies to join and participate in this growing sport.”
The finals for Men were all about muscle power. Hamad Sajwani, UAE, scooped first place with an impromptu showdown after scoring with Jan-Georg Wafenfeld, Germany, matching his top score and threatening a tie. Jan-Georg placed second and James McLean, South Africa, came a close third.
The ladies came on strong with a distinctive first place belonging to Diana Nateras, Mexico; second and third places were scooped in closed score count by Carina Ganahl, Austria and Guida Versucht, Netherlands, respectively. Fourth place was proudly occupied by Emily Garbutt, UK a rising star who is 12 yet opted out of the Junior Category and placed beautifully among the ladies. The overall winner in the Junior Category and another rock star was Maria Luisa Gierich, Germany, pushing herself to a victorious finish!
When we asked Rock Republics other Partner and General Manager, Peter Aldwinkle, What’s next for Rock Republic? He told us; “We are gearing up for the academic year and students’ after school programs. Supplementary class sessions such as Pilates and Yoga are returning from September onwards widening our reach and potential for customer fitness improvement. This year has been fantastic for us with the completion of our expansion which facilitated the flow of customers, especially over the summer months. We look forward to keeping this positive trend going by expanding our offers and providing excellent service in the friendly atmosphere our patrons are accustomed to.” Rock Republic Dubai is located in Dubai Investment Park 1. Open Sun- Wed 3.30-10pm, Fri-Sat 9am-6pm, half price on weekend mornings, day pass 100 Aed, monthly memberships available. ■
