Events
January Newsletter 2023
Newsletter
Happy New Year, everyone! Did you know 59% of 18-34 year-olds make resolutions, half of them to exercise more, and half of those give up in the first week? Rock Climbers are a different breed, and we’re ready with several programs to get you charged up and build some strong habits quickly to carry you through the months and years to come. Interested? Ready?
This month we are starting our Consistency Challenge again (details below). La Sportiva was amazed at the number of people who met the challenge and stepped up again to provide a Pro Deal to everyone that makes it this year. We’re running membership specials and meetups for people just getting started in climbing as well as adding more of our climbing classes overall so it’s a great time to introduce your friends to climbing. We’ll also be launching our member referral program shortly (keep an eye out for the email on that). Lastly, there are new circuit cards in the gym to give you ideas for a purpose behind your sessions. Look for new posters around the gym describing thses climbing, fitness, and yoga/mobility sessions.
Congrats to our youth team members! 18 of them qualified to go to the USA Climbing Regional Championships in January. They are:
Merrie Crawford
Kit Hines
Adelaide Johnson
Lily Vincent
Katherine Mehlem
Abigail Schlotterback
Georgi Herlocker
Ashlyn Smith
Lily Arzt
Josephine Draplin
Caroline Collins
Ellen Zow
Gabrielle Acosta
(Oliver) Rodgers
Asa Ruffage
Cyrus Johnson
Silas Orr
It’s going to be a great, sendy year. Let’s get moving!
Newsletter Newsletter
Tell your friends and family about our January Membership Special!!
Sign up for a monthly membership is January and we will waive the enrollment fee AND take half off your first months dues!
We’re kicking off two new class options this month as we welcome in new members!
Feel free to grab a spot in one of the classes below!
Red Boulder Meetup
6:30 – 8PM
Our Red Boulder Meetups are a fun, relaxing environment for new climbers to come meet other members, climb with a BlocHaven crew member, get basic technique advice, and climb through the Red Boulder circuit! Our red boulders are the beginner level circuit in the gym.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 1
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Climbing Movement and Technique. Learn about climbing shoes, chalk, hold types and how to use them, route reading, flagging, and climbing more using your feet than your upper body. This is great for beginners or people just looking to take the next steps to improve their climbing.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
New Member Introduction
6 – 7PM
New Members here at BlocHaven are welcome to come and discuss a number of items with our Memberships and Events Director, Brittany!
She will walk you through:
- your membership benefits and policies
- how to set up your BlocHaven member app
- our class options and how to book
- our tag system for the climbs
- gear recommendations
- a few ways for you to become involved with the community more
- and answer any additional questions you may have!
Red Boulder Meetup
6:30 – 8PM
Our Red Boulder Meetups are a fun, relaxing environment for new climbers to come meet other members, climb with a BlocHaven crew member, get basic technique advice, and climb through the Red Boulder circuit! Our red boulders are the beginner level circuit in the gym.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 2
6 – 8PM
Take your climbing further! This class builds upon the concepts taught in Bloc Basics I. Learn skills such as body positioning, driving with your feet/hips, dynamic versus static movement, smearing and heel hooking basics. This should be taken after completion of BlocBasics 1 or if you are already knowledgeable in those concepts.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Gym to Crag
6 – 8PM
Looking for some tips and tricks for transitioning into outdoor climbing?
Gym to Crag will cover:
- outdoor ethics
- proper spotting
- proper pad placement
- top out basics
- what to bring
- boulder prep
- guidebooks & local crags
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Red Boulder Meetup
6:30 – 8PM
Our Red Boulder Meetups are a fun, relaxing environment for new climbers to come meet other members, climb with a BlocHaven crew member, get basic technique advice, and climb through the Red Boulder circuit! Our red boulders are the beginner level circuit in the gym.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Intro to Top Rope
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Top Rope Climbing will give you the necessary skills to confidently tie basic knots and belay (hold the ropes for the climber). You will also gain a general understanding of what a top rope system is and how to use the ropes effectively. This class provides the perfect opportunity for beginner climbers to learn as well as more advanced climbers to brush up on their skills.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
New Member Introduction
6 – 7PM
New Members here at BlocHaven are welcome to come and discuss a number of items with our Memberships and Events Director, Brittany!
She will walk you through:
- your membership benefits and policies
- how to set up your BlocHaven member app
- our class options and how to book
- our tag system for the climbs
- gear recommendations
- a few ways for you to become involved with the community more
- and answer any additional questions you may have!
Red Boulder Meetup
6:30 – 8PM
Our Red Boulder Meetups are a fun, relaxing environment for new climbers to come meet other members, climb with a BlocHaven crew member, get basic technique advice, and climb through the Red Boulder circuit! Our red boulders are the beginner level circuit in the gym.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Thanks for being the most important part of making BlocHaven a community!
Doug
December Newsletter
Newsletter
It’s Christmas time! Time to keep up the delicate balance between your climbing versus the cookies and Egg Nog Lattes. This month we have an exciting competition on tap, the Gingerbread House building comp. No climbing is involved. Maybe some chalk on that house will make it look like snow. Check out the details below. We are also joining together to support some local organizations this month in our Give Back Greenville initiative. The retail shop has some great bundles put together at different price points for those of you who are Christmas gift idea challenged. Most of all, have a Very Merry Christmas!
Newsletter Newsletter
Join us for the FIRST EVER Great BlocHaven Gingerbread Showdown!
Sign up your team of four and compete to create an amazing gingerbread structure in front of a live crowd and live judging! Prizes and bragging rights awarded to the winning team.
Gingerbread houses will be judged based on:
1. Overall Appearance
2. Originality and Creativity
3. Difficulty
4. Precision
5. Consistency of Theme
Meet our judges: Mary Berry & Paul Hollywood aka Mr. Wick & Mr. Harry
Give back greenville is a 4 week program we are running between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each week, we will highlight a different organization around the Greenville area with a list of their donation needs to continue doing the work they do.
We will have a donation box out at the gym each week collecting the items.
Please help us serve our community by donating!
Who we are:
Pendleton Place offers programs that protect, equip, and heal vulnerable children, young adults, and families. they strengthen children while rebuilding families because their goal is for each child to have a stable home environment and a bright future.
What we need:
- Men’s underwear (S, M, L, XL)
- Men’s socks
- Shoes (specifically men’s, larger sizes)
- Deodorant
- Travel sized shampoo/conditioner/body wash
- Sweatpants and Sweatshirts
- Coats
Drop off at BlocHaven between Nov 28 – Dec 4
More info on the next weeks organization to come! Be sure to look for the flyers at check-in!
ohhh SWAG-ALICIOUS
Do you need some new gear? Or maybe someone needs a gift idea for the climber in their life? Look no further!
These bundles can be purchased in person and all bundles include a FREE Day Pass. (Can be redeemed or gifted)
Bloc Basics 1
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Climbing Movement and Technique. Learn about climbing shoes, chalk, hold types and how to use them, route reading, flagging, and climbing more using your feet than your upper body. This is great for beginners or people just looking to take the next steps to improve their climbing.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 2
6 – 8PM
Take your climbing further! This class builds upon the concepts taught in Bloc Basics I. Learn skills such as body positioning, driving with your feet/hips, dynamic versus static movement, smearing and heel hooking basics. This should be taken after completion of BlocBasics 1 or if you are already knowledgeable in those concepts.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Intro to Top Rope
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Top Rope Climbing will give you the necessary skills to confidently tie basic knots and belay (hold the ropes for the climber). You will also gain a general understanding of what a top rope system is and how to use the ropes effectively. This class provides the perfect opportunity for beginner climbers to learn as well as more advanced climbers to brush up on their skills.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Our best present under the tree is all of you. “May your days be sendy and bright, and may all your Christmases be white (with chalk).”
Merry Christmas!
Santa Doug
November Newsletter
November Newsletter Volume 15
Welcome, November! It’s such a wonderful time of the year, clothes-layering weather, a chance to get together with families and friends and share thankfulness for health and provision. At BlocHaven, we are thankful for our members, our community (both inside and outside our gym walls), and our wonderful city/state/country. We are blessed to be here with all of you.
This month, we have events for members as well as a youth / collegiate climbing competition to keep building the stoke! This is a USA Climbing Youth-sanctioned event that will qualify climbers for the Regional championship event in January, where climbers will then qualify for the Divisional championships which we will host for the Southeast in February. If you can, please come out and support our team kids by volunteering as a judge / scorekeeper, or in whatever capacity you can.
Our Friendsgiving meal for members on the Monday of Thanksgiving week will be a climbing night with a potluck meal at one time this year so hopefully we can sit and eat together!
Instead of the traditional Turkey Day 5k, on the night of Friendsgiving we will have our own vertical 5k. Our walls are 16 feet high so together we will try to climb 5k – 16,400 feet. Come ready to climb, eat, and be thankful for our community.
Share the Stoke, our non-profit arm of BlocHaven, has been busy organizing and focusing its efforts. We support a variety of needs-based and low-supported groups of kids from the surrounding area with climbing opportunities. Likewise, we have begun work with the adaptive climbing community to open up climbing and our community to people within those communities. We are excited to see how that takes shape and will have more to share in coming months.
Newsletter Newsletter
Join the BlocHaven crew on Monday, November 21st for our second Friendsgiving Celebration! Bring a potluck dish to share and we’ll eat, and chat, and climb the pie off!
Dinner will begin promptly at 7pm!
Sign up for the dish you’re bringing by clicking the link below. We can’t wait to see you, friend!
“5k? No thanks.”
Not so fast, this is not your average 5k.
We are all working together to climb the distance of a 5K! Pickup a slip at the front desk and record your sends, at the end of the night all our sends will be added together, based on the height of our walls, to see if we completed the 5k!
Throughout the night the turkey will be filling up to show our progress.
You can pickup your slip and start climbing at any time on Monday 11/21, just make sure to take a break for dinner at 7pm!
ohhh SWAG-ALICIOUS
Get ready for some awesome BlocFriday (our version of Black Friday) Deals!!
More information to come!
Bloc Basics 1
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Climbing Movement and Technique. Learn about climbing shoes, chalk, hold types and how to use them, route reading, flagging, and climbing more using your feet than your upper body. This is great for beginners or people just looking to take the next steps to improve their climbing.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 2
6 – 8PM
Take your climbing further! This class builds upon the concepts taught in Bloc Basics I. Learn skills such as body positioning, driving with your feet/hips, dynamic versus static movement, smearing and heel hooking basics. This should be taken after completion of BlocBasics 1 or if you are already knowledgeable in those concepts.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Intro to Top Rope
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Top Rope Climbing will give you the necessary skills to confidently tie basic knots and belay (hold the ropes for the climber). You will also gain a general understanding of what a top rope system is and how to use the ropes effectively. This class provides the perfect opportunity for beginner climbers to learn as well as more advanced climbers to brush up on their skills.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
For October and November the Cafe will be making two new smoothie options: Black and Tan Chai, and a refreshing Raspberry Lemonade Shake
Black and Tan Chai contains 30 grams of protein and 40% daily calcium
- black tea
- chai spices
- ginger
- chocolate
Raspberry Lemonade has 20 grams of protein
- yogurt
- real raspberries
- banana
- lemonade
Cafe hours are changing beginning in November!
M, W, F: open 8 am; closing 8 pm
T, R: open 10 am; closing 8 pm
Sa: open 10 am, closing 6 pm
Su: open 12 pm, closing 6 pm.
I hope you made it this far in the newsletter. Once more, I’m thankful this season for health, climbing, and our community!
Climb On,
Doug
Boo at the Bloc – 2022
We really need you!! We need volunteers to bring candy and/or a decorated trunk to the trunk or treat or host a Halloween game
It’s time again for our annual Boo @ the Bloc trunk or treat and we need your help!
Our expected amount of attendees this year is considerably large, and with so few trunks it’s likely we will be unable to give these kiddos the experience we were hoping for. Please consider volunteering this Friday from 5-7:30PM.
Boo @ the Bloc is a free event for our neighbors here in the Judson area to give them a safe and affordable halloween activity. You can sign up through the SignUpGenius linked below.
Can’t make it to the event? Please consider dropping off a bag of candy at the front desk!
2022 College Brawl
All students and levels welcome. Come climb, chat, eat and compete for points (competing optional!)
Pizza included with Ticket
If signed up by Oct 10th, shirt also included in Ticket
Climb and collect points for your college! (Depending on the college with the lowest amount of participants, this will be our cap on climbs eligible for scoring. ie. if Furman only brings 10 participants, each climber will only be allowed to be scored on their top 10 climbs.)
More details on scoring, rules, etc to be delivered upon arrival that evening.
College Brawl
October Newsletter
October Newsletter Volume 14
What a month we just had! BlocBender 2022 was amazing with 345 total competitors. The spotlight finals for the open competition also did not disappoint, with some astonishing performances from athletes across the USA. Our winners came from Seattle and Atlanta and went home with a lot of great things to say for our Southern hospitality and stoke. Thanks again to all of the competitors and all of you members of our community for your participation and support. We really are humbled by your overwhelming response.
Looking forward into October, we have another event to support our local community, Boo at the Bloc. This will be a trunk or treat for kids from the Judson community and our own in our parking lot on Friday, October 28th. Please sign up to come and decorate your trunk and give out candy to some local kids in a safe setting.
This month there is also an inaugural event we are hosting for our local colleges, the College Brawl night October 28th from 9pm-1am.
In addition, we have begun creating an Adaptive Climbing Program to provide climbing opportunities to people with disabilities, health conditions, and impairments. We will be having an informational meeting on the 11th for people who are interested.
Newsletter Newsletter
Adaptive Program Partner/Interest Meeting
We are very excited to invite you to learn about an interactive, fun, and unique adaptive program for your patients.
BlocHaven is providing an opportunity through a new initiative called Share the Stoke. Share the Stoke, the philanthropic arm of BlocHaven, is starting an adaptive climbing program for individuals with disabilities and physical impairments.
We know that adaptive sports programs improve cardiovascular fitness, decrease rates of depression and anxiety, and improve quality of life. Adaptive climbing has a number of other therapeutic benefits including community connection, confidence building, and muscle strengthening.
ohhh SWAG-ALICIOUS
Bloc Basics 1
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Climbing Movement and Technique. Learn about climbing shoes, chalk, hold types and how to use them, route reading, flagging, and climbing more using your feet than your upper body. This is great for beginners or people just looking to take the next steps to improve their climbing.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 2
6 – 8PM
Take your climbing further! This class builds upon the concepts taught in Bloc Basics I. Learn skills such as body positioning, driving with your feet/hips, dynamic versus static movement, smearing and heel hooking basics. This should be taken after completion of BlocBasics 1 or if you are already knowledgeable in those concepts.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Intro to Top Rope
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Top Rope Climbing will give you the necessary skills to confidently tie basic knots and belay (hold the ropes for the climber). You will also gain a general understanding of what a top rope system is and how to use the ropes effectively. This class provides the perfect opportunity for beginner climbers to learn as well as more advanced climbers to brush up on their skills.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
For October and November the Cafe will be making two new smoothie options: Black and Tan Chai, and a refreshing Raspberry Lemonade Shake
Black and Tan Chai contains 30 grams of protein and 40% daily calcium
- black tea
- chai spices
- ginger
- chocolate
Raspberry Lemonade has 20 grams of protein
- yogurt
- real raspberries
- banana
- lemonade
Cafe hours on Saturdays are shifting to align with the gym, opening at 10 a.m. Closing hours will continue to be 8 p.m. each day, and Sundays open 12-6 as always.
Thanks for your support, and keep refueling for strength!
For those of you that read to the end, thanks! Enjoy the Apple and Pumpkin season and the looking forward to the Southern outdoor climbing season starting soon!
Best,
Doug
Breakthrough with Henry
BreakThrough for the V4+ climber
This class series is for the V4+ climber looking to break through a grade plateau. Henry Ritterpusch is a BlocHaven route setter and coach with 10 years of experience coaching competitive youth athletes. Henry himself is a National Medalist and V13 climber with notable ascents around the country.
Learn what it takes to get through a grade plateau through this three-week class series focusing on mental training, physical training, and climbing drills & technique.
September Newsletter
Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September…
(now try to get Earth, Wind, and Fire out of your head!)
What a summer we have had. Lots of climbing, new members, vacations, camps, a National Silver-medal performance from one of our members (woo hoo Abby!), an incredible start to a new women’s-only competition, new boulder league, our first anniversary…Whew! Want a little break? No? Okay, good!
This month we will be building up once again to our premiere event of the year, BlocBender! Minutes after recovering from last year’s event we asked ourselves “how do we make BB 2022 even better?” Allow our youth team kids to compete instead of hosting a USA Climbing event the same day? Check. Make the competition shirt better, and more colorful? Check. Add a Paraclimbing category? Check. Make sure everyone understands the rules so they don’t get kicked up and out of their category for flashing everything? Check. Bigger cash purse? Check. More food, more beverages, more fun all day long? You’ll have to see for yourself.
Yes, you. Sign up already!
NO Member’s Only hours from 6am – 9am on Sept 5th!
Sleep in, take your time, and we will see you from 9am – 6pm that day
BlocBender Pre-Reg + T-shirt deadline is right around the corner, don’t sleep on it 👀
Pre-registration guarantees you a competition tee & saves you $$ off your registration price!
BlocBender is our annual citizens bouldering competition, including categories for all ability levels from Recreational to Open taking place on Saturday, Oct 1st. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd in all categories and the Open category will be competing for a 💵 4K cash purse 💵
The grade breakdown for categories slightly changed from what we originally posted. Categories are ⬇️
FEMALE
Recreational: V0-V2
Intermediate: V2-V4
Advanced: V4-V6
Open: V6+
MALE
Recreational: V0-V3
Intermediate: V3-V5
Advanced: V5-V7
Open: V7+
PARA
Female & Male
Full schedule & details through the link below!
We need Volunteers to Judge Open Quali's and Finals!
Just a reminder, the Open Division for BlocBender is competing for a cash purse. Friday night will include a qualifying round with finals on Saturday evening. We will need judges for the Friday night session to sign off on climbs. Please volunteer if you can!
Bloc Basics 1
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Climbing Movement and Technique. Learn about climbing shoes, chalk, hold types and how to use them, route reading, flagging, and climbing more using your feet than your upper body. This is great for beginners or people just looking to take the next steps to improve their climbing.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Bloc Basics 2
6 – 8PM
Take your climbing further! This class builds upon the concepts taught in Bloc Basics I. Learn skills such as body positioning, driving with your feet/hips, dynamic versus static movement, smearing and heel hooking basics. This should be taken after completion of BlocBasics 1 or if you are already knowledgeable in those concepts.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Intro to Top Rope
6 – 7:30PM
Intro to Top Rope Climbing will give you the necessary skills to confidently tie basic knots and belay (hold the ropes for the climber). You will also gain a general understanding of what a top rope system is and how to use the ropes effectively. This class provides the perfect opportunity for beginner climbers to learn as well as more advanced climbers to brush up on their skills.
Free for members and $25 for guests.
Yoga translates to “yolk” and it is the idea of connecting, binding, yolking together mind, body and spirit. In each of our yoga classes we offer an opportunity for you to connect your mind, body and spirit. BlocYoga has three tiers of yoga classes to meet you wherever you are each day. We offer a variety of yoga classes per week from a variety of instructors.
Gentle Flow classes connect mind, body, and spirit through deep, slow stretches. You will use your breath to deepen your stretches and release muscle tension to improve flexibility. Our gentle flow classes are the lowest on our sweat meter but don’t underestimate the intensity of deep stretches and the benefits they have for mind, body, spirit, and climbing! In Gentle Flow, we focus more on stretching the muscles than strengthening.
Tuesdays at 7:15 PM
Wednesdays at 7 PM
Saturdays at 10:15 AM
In our Mindful Flow classes, participants will move with their breath through a steady-paced, vinyasa-style flow. Connect mind, body, and spirit through a series of moderate-intensity postures focusing on stretching and strengthening the body. At two sweat marks on the sweat meter, Mindful Flow classes will explore a combination of strengthening movement and deep stretching.
Mondays at 5:45 PM
Wednesdays at 5:45 PM
Thursdays at 7AM
Our Summit Flow classes connect mind, body, and spirit through a vinyasa-style flow with high-intensity postures and dynamic movements. Each instructor will offer their own unique style to classes. Advanced poses will be offered as an option, but you will always have the choice to modify these poses. At our highest level on the sweat meter, Summit Flow classes will stretch and strengthen both body, mind, and spirit.
Mondays at 7:30 AM
Tuesdays at 6 PM
Thursdays at 12 PM
Fridays at 7:30 AM
Congratulations to all 162 women who competed in the first annual La Capitana climbing competition. It was also very edifying to see an all female setting crew creating all of the problems for the competition. Great job to everyone involved, we can’t wait to do this again!
As the days get shorter, pumpkin spice everything starts showing up in stores, and we get that little chill in the air, we will be opening the roll-up doors once again. Thanks again to our amazing community, love you guys!
Best,
Doug
BlocBender
BlocBender 2023
BlocHaven’s Third Annual Climbing Competition
– All Levels Welcome!
Sept 29th & 30th
BlocBender is our annual citizens bouldering competition with categories for all levels ranging from Reacreational to Open. The Open category will compete in a qualifying round and Onsight Spotlight Finals on Sat. night. We will have prizes for the top three competitors in all categories, and the top three male & female open competitors will recieve a cash purse. You don’t want to miss it!
BlocBender ’23 will take place on September 29th & 30th. Open Category competes Friday (Qualis) and Saturday (Finals), all other categories compete just on Saturday.
If you missed the Sept 1st deadline to get a shirt, we will have a limited stock for sale at the event!
No experience required!
Recreational: V0-V2
Intermediate: V2-V4
Advanced: V4-V6
Open: V7+
Para
Masters (50+)
Squirt Guns (10yrs and under)
Young Guns (11 - 13yrs)
Recreational: V0-V3
Intermediate: V3-V5
Advanced: V5-V7
Open: V8+
Para
Masters (50+)
Squirt Guns (10yrs and under)
Young Guns (11 - 13yrs)
Friday, Sept 29th: Schedule
We STRONGLY encourage any Saturday Competitors that are in town on Friday to come to the Packet Pick-up
This will greatly reduce your time spent in line on Saturday, AND you can hang out during the Open Qualifier Round!
Saturday, Sept 30th: Schedule
Parents: You will still be scored in the usual categories: (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Para and Masters), you will just be able to climb with your child(ren).
