Ascent Studio - Climbing & Fitness

BATTLE FOR THE FORT 2025

Northern Colorado's Premier Bouldering Competition

November 7th & 8th

Athlete scholarship application forms are further down this page!

Battle for the Fort 2025 is almost here!

What is Battle for the Fort?

Battle for the Fort is Northern Colorado's premiere bouldering competition, where anyone can win big! The competition is open to competitors of all levels, from beginners to elite/pro level athletes. Come show off your skills, compete for a sweet pool of prizes, and hang out with the best climbing community in town!

We will be closed for normal operations from 12 PM on Friday, November 7th - 2 PM on Sunday, November 9th, but anyone can come spectate the event on either day. Advance spectator tickets for non-members are $5 and are FREE for Ascent members so be sure to get yours in advance! Friday the gym will be open from 5-8 PM for spectating the open qualifiers round on November 7th, a vendor village with our premium sponsors, and also will get you extra raffle tickets for the main event on Saturday. Saturday, November 8th, we will have food trucks, a vendor village, beer, drawing giveaways, a live DJ, and the chance to watch your friends and favorite elite climbers compete! All beer ticket sales and drawing ticket sales are being donated to the Northern Colorado Climbers Coalition to support our local climbing community. Day-of spectator tickets are $10 for everyone.

Event Schedule

Friday, November 7th

Closed for normal operations after 12 PM

4:00 PM | Open Qualifiers Check-in Opens

5:00 - 8:00 PM | Open Qualifiers Round

Saturday, November 8th

Closed for normal operations all day

8:00 AM | Citizens Round 1 Check-in Opens

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Citizens Round 1

12:00 PM | Citizens Round 2 Check-in Opens

1:00 - 4:00 PM | Citizens Round 2

4:00 - 6:30 PM | Intermission Games, Raffle, Vendor Village, Live Music

6:30 PM | Citizens Round Awards

7:00 PM | Open Finals

10:00 PM | Gym Close/Event End

New to Battle this year: Athlete Scholarship Program

One of our goals as a gym is to be an inclusive, welcoming space for all. Our goal with Battle this year is to intentionally create space for underrepresented groups in climbing. We want Battle to be more than just a climbing competition; we want it to be a catalyst for change, and truly cater to every climber with intentional action.

We are putting a large emphasis on signups for climbers that are traditionally underrepresented in competition climbing, and in the sport of climbing in general. We are focusing in particular on women, non-binary/gender expansive climbers, BIPOC climbers, para climbers, and climbers that are new to competition climbing.

We are prioritizing this in a number of ways:

Application-based scholarship program for non-binary/gender expansive athletes, BIPOC athletes, and para climbing athletes. Ascent will be offering free registration to 3 athletes per category, and 20% off registration for all applicants.
20% discount entries for up to 40 first-time climbing competition participants, with 75% of these reserved for women.
Adding additional awards categories to citizens rounds: para climbing categories that mirror the USA Climbing para categories, and a youth (under 14) category.

We hope to grow this program significantly in years to come. If you are part of one of these groups, apply in just a few short minutes via one of the links below!

BIPOC Athlete Application // Partnership with Cruxing in Color

Non-Binary/Gender Expansive Athlete Application

Para Athlete Application // Partnership with Adaptive Adventures

First-time Competition Climber Discount Application // 75% of slots reserved for women

Citizens Round

Our citizens round is open to all climbing experience levels! The top 3 male, female, and non-binary/gender expansive competitors in each category will win awesome prizes from our sponsors. Registration includes a competitor swag bag with a competition medal, one raffle ticket and one beer ticket (21+)! You have the option to add a competition shirt for $10 extra during the registration process.

This year we have two citizens sessions on Saturday, November 8th:

Session 1 from 9 AM - 12 PM
Session 2 from 1 PM - 4 PM

There is no difference between the two sessions. Choose whichever session works best for you!

Categories:

Beginner: V0-V2 | Women, Men, Non-binary/Gender Expansive, Para, Youth (14 & under)
Intermediate: V3-V5 | Women, Men, Non-binary/Gender Expansive, Para, Youth (14 & under)
Advanced: V6-V8 | Women, Men, Non-binary/Gender Expansive, Para, Youth (14 & under)

Maximum 130 competitors per session

Open Round

Our open round is for our elite/pro level athletes, and anyone who is comfortable climbing V7+. The top 6 competitors from each division will advance to finals at 7 PM to compete for cash prizes, and 7th - 10th will receive a $100 cash prize. Registration includes competitor swag, a competition shirt, one raffle ticket, and one beer ticket (21+)!

Open qualifiers are on Friday, November 7th, from 5 - 8 PM

Divisions: Women, Men

Please note: Here at Ascent, we want you to compete in the gender category that best fits your gender identity/expression. We do not adhere to the current USAC policy for transgender athletes for our competitions and events.

Maximum 100 competitors

Prizes

Citizens:
Top 3 male, female, non-binary/gender expansive, para, and youth (14 & under) competitors in each category will win gear prizes from our sponsors.

Open:
1st - 10th in the male and female divisions will win cash prizes:
1st | $2500
2nd | $1500
3rd | $1000
4th | $500
5th | $250
6th | $150
7th - 10th | $100

Title Sponsors: Trango & Essential Climbing

Other Cash Purse Sponsors: Colorado In Motion & more TBA

Prize Sponsors: Friction Labs, Friendly Foot, SCARPA, Topo Designs & more TBA

Competitor Swag Bag Sponsors: TBA

Open Categories

12.6k Cash Purse
Male | Female
V7+
Early Bird Pricing through 10/1:
Members: $70
Non-members: $80

FAQ

1I am not sure what category to compete in. What if I choose the wrong category?

Choose the category that best fits your typical climbing grades. If you climb 2+ above your category grades, you will be bumped to compete in the above category.

2What is the format for the citizens round?

Classic Redpoint:
You will be scored on your top 5 climbs that you top during the 3 hour citizens round.
It only counts if you climb from start hold (either matching or if specified, a dual start) to controlling the finish hold (finish holds must be matched and controlled, meaning staying on the hold for at least 3 seconds).

3What is the format for open qualis and finals?

Qualis: Modified Redpoint

8 boulders per gender

Judge scored

Single-zone and Top

Attempts count

Finals: Onsight

4 boulders per gender

4 minutes on each boulder

4Can I drink and climb?

No, you cannot climb after you drink.

5Is there a fee to spectate the event?

Battle for the Fort is FREE to spectate for all Ascent members, and just $5 for non-members for ADVANCE TICKETS. Day-of spectator tickets will be $10 for everyone. Your spectator pass gets you in to open qualis on Friday 5-8 PM, and to the event all day on Saturday. Showing up to spectate on Friday gets you 2 free drawing tickets for Saturday!

6Is my registration refundable?

All Battle registrations are fully refundable up to two weeks prior to the event (10/19/24). We will not be offering refunds after that date.

7Can my child compete in Battle for the Fort?

Yes, our Battle for the Fort Citizens comp is open to all ages. There will be boulders that kids can climb on, and we have a youth-specific category (14 & under) for kids to compete in. You can sign up your child for either citizens comp session.

8Is there a difference between the two citizens comp sessions?

Nope, they are exactly the same! Sign up for whichever session works best with your schedule.

9What categories are there for para climbers?

We are following USAC's categories for para climbing. You will self-select your category upon signing up. Depending on how many climbers we have, we will either do overall prizes for para climbers, or category-specific.