Make sure to sign up for Setters Showdown here to claim your spot ahead of time!
Every year, Summit Strength and Fitness hosts an epic climbing competition known as the Setters Showdown. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill climbing competition. It’s a celebration of creativity, community, and the art of route setting.
Behind every great climbing experience is a route setter who has carefully selected and placed each hold, considered every movement, and created a challenge for climbers to solve. The Setters Showdown puts those creative minds in the spotlight and gives the climbing community a chance to experience their work in a whole new way.
This year, the Setters Showdown is happening Saturday, November 14, from 12 PM–3 PM at Summit Strength and Fitness! Whether you’re a seasoned climber, a beginner, or simply curious about the sport, this is an event you won’t want to miss.
What Are Route Setters?
In the world of indoor climbing, route setters (or simply setters) are the people responsible for creating the climbing routes you see on the walls. Using a variety of climbing holds and creative movement sequences, setters transform an empty section of wall into a puzzle for climbers to solve.
But route setting is about much more than deciding where to put the holds. A good route challenges both the mind and body. Setters consider everything from body positioning and balance to technique, and problem-solving. They think about how a climber will move from one hold to the next, where they might need to shift their weight, and how to make the experience both challenging and enjoyable.
Route setting is an art form, and the Setters Showdown is an opportunity to celebrate the people behind it.
Meet the Setters Showdown Route Setters
Every setter brings a unique perspective, style, and personality to the wall. Some might favor powerful movements, while others gravitate toward technical sequences or creative footwork. That’s what makes this competition so exciting. Each setter has the opportunity to showcase their creativity and put their own spin on what makes a great climbing route.
For the Setters Showdown, our setters will go head-to-head to see whose routes resonate most with the climbing community. Let me introduce you to a few of the setters at Summit Strength and Fitness
Eamon Burke
Eamon is the head setter at Summit. He learned to set and climb near Toledo, OH (where the highest elevation is about 20ft above sea level). He also love slab climbing!
Ella Palacios
Ella identifies as 85% cheese and says she will crimp anything. Her favorite routes to climb are steep walls that require her to think with her whole body.
Erez Ayalon
His favorite style of climbing are the “pinchy power” boulders
How Does the Setters Showdown Work?
The Setters Showdown is a blind judging competition. Rather than judging the setters themselves, climbers get to experience the routes firsthand and score them based on three main criteria: fun, flow, and flair.
What do these categories mean?
- Fun: Is the route enjoyable to climb? Does it make you want to get back on the wall and give it another try?
- Flow: Do the movements connect naturally? Does the route create a sequence that feels intentional and satisfying?
- Flair: Does the route have something special? Is there a creative movement, unexpected sequence, or unique feature that makes it stand out?
Climbers of all ages and experience levels are welcome to participate. You don’t need to be an expert climber to have an opinion on what makes a route enjoyable!
In fact, having climbers with different abilities and perspectives is part of what makes the competition so great. A route that feels like a fun challenge for one climber might be a completely different experience for another.
The goal is to get out there, try something new, and celebrate the creativity that goes into building a great climbing experience.
Setters Showndown Prizes: Who Will Take Home the Golden Drill?
Of course, what’s a competition without a little friendly rivalry?
There will be a wide variety of prizes up for grabs, generously donated by local businesses, including Forage Kitchen and others! It’s another opportunity to highlight and support the local businesses that help make our outdoor and climbing community so special.
But there’s one prize that stands above the rest. Only one setter will walk away with the ultimate symbol of setting supremacy: The Golden Drill.
Winning the Golden Drills means a year’s worth of bragging rights plus recognition for creative route setting, and the opportunity to claim victory until next year’s showdown.
More Than a Climbing Competition
Just like Summit Strength and Fitness as a whole, the Setters Showdown is about bringing people together.
Events like the Setters Showdown give us an opportunity to appreciate a different side of climbing. They allow climbers to connect with one another, support local businesses, meet the people behind the routes, and experience the gym in a new way.
Whether you’re chasing the hardest route in the gym or simply looking for a fun way to spend your Saturday, there’s a place for you at the Setters Showdown.
Join Us!
Ready to climb, compete, and celebrate the art of route setting?
Setters Showdown
- When: Saturday, November 14
- Time: 11 AM–3 PM
- Where: Summit Strength and Fitness
Bring your friends, challenge yourself on some creative new routes, and help us decide who deserves to take home the Golden Drill!