Rock climbers from all over country took part in the first round for the series in Dunedin on Saturday.
Competitors lined up on the mats at Resistance Climbing Gym, in Moray Pl, to take turns at 75 different climbs at five different grade levels.
The climber with the most higher-grade-level climbs at the end of the series won.
Dunedin round organiser Mike Simpson said bouldering was indoor climbing without ropes, which supposedly was not a problem.
"You can just drop off on to the soft padded mats and it’s usually up to a height where you don’t need ropes.
"Usually no higher than 5m."
Mr Simpson said it took him and his team two and a-half days to set the gym up and it was tested by some forerunners who determined the difficulty of the climbs.
"We have some for runners who have been testing them for the last couple of days just to make sure they’re really good quality and at the right difficulty.
"They are all theoretically doable. The hardest ones are hard, someone will probably do them, at least one person will do them."
The best climbers in New Zealand were present at the event and they were vying for the national title.
"We’re just really excited to have some the best climbers in the country here competing with some of the locals.
"However, the vast majority [are here] just purely for fun, purely to have a go, there is a kids section."
There were people with a range of skill levels at the event.
Some participants were competitive climbers, some were social climbers and others were in-between, like Emily Lane who had been climbing for 40 years and was at the event with her family.
"My daughters also compete and because they compete we come down and we do it too.
"It’s a cool family thing."
Even though Ms Lane was climbing to win, she considered herself a social climber.
"I’m more a social climber because it’s very disappointing there aren’t very many women in my grade.
"It would be more fun if there were more women who were competing."
Three more rounds will take place in the series in Wellington in June, in Auckland in August and in Christchurch in September.
