This coming Friday and Saturday, the national sport and speed climbing championships will be held at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder, Colorado. The winners will divvy up a $6,000 cash purse and earn a spot on the US Climbing Team, determining which American climbers will compete in the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup, coming to Movement this October. The event will be the first IFSC Lead World Cup held in the US since 1988.

This weekend's national championships will kick off with sport climbing qualifiers on Friday afternoon (April 1) and finals on Saturday (April 2). Speed climbing qualifiers and finals will both be held on Saturday. Many of the United States strongest sport climbers have already registered for the competition, including Sasha Digiulian, Paige Claasen and Emily Harrington for the women and Alex Johnson and Ian Dory for the men, promising an exciting weekend.

The event is sponsored by The North Face and local Upslope Brewing Company. Friday is free to spectate, Saturday is $10. The best part? Come watch the comp and enter the raffle to win a new Jeep Cherokee!

--Caroline Treadway

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