Mellow Rock Games is a video-based climbing competition designed to showcase raw talent, creativity, and the culture of outdoor climbing. This event gives climbers and filmmakers a platform to present their best work in a community-driven contest. 

The top 24 videos from the submission window will enter a heat-style elimination contest through community voting. Finals will consist of a vote from an elite panel of judges to fairly select the winners. Participants will be judged on technical difficulty, creativity and style, cinematography, and overall cultural impact. 

$20K Total Prize Purse

Prizes

1st Place

$10,000

2nd Place

$5,000

3rd Place

$2,500

Cinematography

$2,500

Timeline

Submission Window (September 30th - November 15th)

Climbers submit their video segments through Mellow's website.

Qualifiers (November 30th - December 9th)

Four videos will be released every 48 hours in 6 heats. The community will vote for their favorite video each heat. Voting will take place on the mellow website.

Finals (December 17th - December 22nd)

The top-voted video from each heat will move on to the finals round. A video will be released every day.

Results (December 27th)

The final six videos will conmpete in a final round of voting. The results will be determined by both the community (50%) and the judging panel (50%). Live stream will take place December 27th to announce the winners.

rules +

Video Length

3 to 10 minutes

Filming Window

Footage can be filmed at any time, however, the climb or climbs must have been sent in 2026.

Music

Copyrighted music is not allowed. You must use copyright-free or licensable music. It must adhere to YouTube's guidelines.

Sponsors

No brand logos may appear in the video. Logos on clothing, pads, ropes, or gear in the film are totally fine. What's not allowed: title cards, voiceover, or editing built around a sponsor, prominent/repeated logo placement clearly meant to promote a brand.

Eligibility

Open to climbers and filmmakers. One entry per team.

Voting

A free Mellow account is required to vote. This keeps results fair and prevents manipulation.

Judging Criteria +

Difficulty / Try Hard

Level of grit or effort

Creativity & Style

Approach and execution of the video and climbing

Cinematography

Quality of filming, editing, and storytelling

Overall Cultural Impact

Influence of the video on climbing culture

Judging Panel

Brooke Raboutou, Daniel Woods, Alex Johnson, Ben Neilson, Tim Kemple

Deliverables +

Full Video Export

  • Format: H.264 (.mp4)
  • Video Thumbnail: 1280×720 (2MB)
  • Music: Copyrighted music is not allowed. You must use copuright-free or licensable music. It must adhere to YouTube's guidelines.

Promo Assets

  • 30 second promo video
  • 10 second promo video
  • 1-5 still assets

Required Information

  • YouTube description
  • Video Title
  • All required social tags (climber, filmers, photographers etc.)

Video Submission

  • Submission portal will be open soon.