On Saturday, Feb. 19 the St. Edward’s University climbing team hosted their sixth annual bouldering competition known as the “Redpoint Rodeo” at the Crux Climbing Center in Austin. Teams from around Texas, including one from Oklahoma, met to test their skills on 18 total routes – nine for men, and nine for women.

The competition kicked off with the citizens competition where anyone of any age could enter. The collegiate competition followed with the qualifying round starting at 3 p.m. Only college students were allowed to enter for this portion. Finals began at 8 p.m. where the five highest scoring women and five highest scoring men from both the citizens and collegiate categories climbed the final boulders. 

“The best part for me was definitely watching the finals,” Abigail Poirier, an SEU climbing team member, said. “The lights were dimmed and finalists were climbing in spotlights. The entire gym was screaming and shouting, cheering everyone on.”  

Bouldering is a form of free-climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. The scoring is based on how far a competitor gets on each route, as well as how many attempts it takes to complete it. The routes are commonly referred to as “problems.”  

“We do not compete in our competition since we have to work it,” Hannah Jones, vice president of the SEU climbing team, said. “An SEU climbing team member was stationed at each of the problems to score the climbers.”

The Redpoint Rodeo was one of four collegiate qualifying competitions this season. While not every team in the division hosts a competition of their own, all qualifying competitions are either hosted or co-hosted by a college climbing team.

“Our team has been doing very well so far,” Bruno Gonzalez Ianes Geraldo, president of the SEU climbing team, said. “We’ve had a strong officer group and managed to achieve everything we set out to do.” 

After joining the SEU climbing team in the fall of 2019, Geraldo started as an officer in 2020 and became president of the team in 2021.

“We’ve encountered some challenges due to having a majority of new members in comparison to old members, but we’re continuously working to get everyone adapted and in their best climbing shape,” Geraldo said.

Next up for the SEU climbing team is the Divisional round for USA Climbing starting on March 26, where several members of the team will be competing.

For those interested, tryouts for the SEU climbing team take place in the fall each year. The St. Edward’s community can find them on Instagram @SEUclimbing, where they announce updates and events as well as highlight team spotlights and honorable mentions.