Bermuda rock climber Joshua Stephenson has won his first title at the Earth Trek Unified International Bouldering Championships Beginners division in Baltimore, Maryland.

Competing against 27 other climbers, Stephenson won with a score of 3128, 384 points ahead of second-placed Ryan Johnson.

Previously the Bermudian had trained at the Olympic Club in Hamilton, climbing the wall for some three years before travelling abroad.

His father, Mark, attended the weekend championships and said he was delighted with the result and reckoned his son is ready to go into the intermediate class.

"His performance was fantastic considering all the people he was competing against who train in huge facilities with multiple coaches," said Stephenson.

"He is ready to step up a category the next time we manage to get him into a contest which we hope to do as soon as possible.

"We have had a fantastic time, meeting up again with his former instructor Ward Byrum who taught him to climb at the Olympic Club wall.

"We are so proud of him for winning his first ever international Bouldering competition.

"We hope it will be the first of many."

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury.

It is typically practised on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas.