Competitive Climbing: Explained

by Jay Pasricha

bouldering

For many years, climbing has been dismissed as a sport by the general public. This dismissal can be boiled down to a lack of information. I am often asked, “How do you score points?” or “How can people win?”. Soon, competitive climbing will be catapulted into the public eye due to its entry into the Olympic roster so I feel the need to explain a little more about it before people start watching it. 

Firstly, however, it is important that I clarify the difference between “competitive” climbing and “professional” climbing. Whilst there are many professional climbers who do also compete, many do not. Competitive climbing is when a climber is part of a team or squad (this could be an official team, or just based on who they are sponsored by), and takes part in competitions representing their team. Professional climbing is when climbers (typically outdoor climbers) are paid to climb walls across the world and are often paid to make a film of it as well. It is arguable that being a “professional” climbing is more impressive than being a “competitive” climber due to the scale of the projects faced by professionals, but in reality, they both have their unique aspects and difficulties. It should also be noted that people who aren’t “competitive” climbers can still attend competitions. I wouldn’t classify myself as a competitive climber but I still take part in a competition every once in a while. 

There are three main disciplines in climbing, the first being “bouldering”. This is probably the most popular and the most commonly found discipline in competitions. Bouldering involves completing short routes, close to the ground (typically around 5 metres off the ground). Whilst it is not so technical in terms of what the climber needs to do whilst climbing, bouldering requires climbers to use every technique in their arsenal to complete a route. Competitive bouldering is commonly scored by attempts. This means that a certain number of points will be awarded to a climber based on how many attempts it takes them to complete a route. Interestingly, this is the discipline in which British climbers seem to thrive, with big names such as Shauna Coxsey taking multiple podiums at the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) World Cup. In my opinion, this is a great scoring system as it makes the competitions accessible to anyone, regardless of their abilities or experience. Bouldering competitions are definitely my favourite as there is always a massively wide range of people there and a huge variety of climbing routes to solve. 

The second discipline is “lead climbing”. This is arguably the most technical of the three disciplines. Leading involves climbing much higher than you would whilst bouldering and having a rope which you attach to clips placed periodically up the route. This also requires a belayer who makes sure you have enough rope when you need it, and to make sure you don’t hit the ground should you fall. Often, lead climbing is judged on the basis of who can get the furthest on a route, not who can complete it. The routes are often rated very highly in difficulty. Unfortunately, due to the nature of these competitions, competitors who climb later get the opportunity to watch every single person climb before them and think through their route. In my opinion, lead climbing competitions aren’t as fun as bouldering competitions as they tend to be quite intense and the routes are very difficult. 

The third and most niche discipline is speed climbing. This discipline is purely based on muscle memory and explosive power. The route is always the same. Competitors can train as much as they possibly can on the route and when it comes to competitions, the winner is the first to the top. Alongside being the easiest to understand, it is also the least skilled (in my opinion). The main skills needed to be a good speed climber are strength and a good memory. But, importantly, that’s just my opinion. I may be wrong. Speed climbing competitions usually take the form of two climbers racing next to each other on two different walls. There will usually be a big stop-clock above each wall and the first climber to reach the top and press the button to stop the clock is the winner. Often, this is the discipline that most people associate the most with competitive climbing as it is definitely the easiest to understand. A simple race to the top.

It should be noted that there are many other disciplines which are much more niche and rare. For example, mixed climbing involves the use of winter tools (ice axes and crampons) to climb on ice and rock. There is also Psicobloc, which is the most exciting variant. This involves a route which is the size of a lead route but the climber is not attached. Meaning that if they fall, they fall all the way. Their only protection from certain death being a huge swimming pool directly beneath them. These competitions tend to be as fun to watch as they are to compete in and once the competition is complete, climbers often jump from the top into the water. 

The main purpose of this article was to inform people about the concept of competitive climbing in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic in which climbing will be a new addition. A second article will follow containing more details about the actual events which while take place during the Olympics but for now I hope I have achieved my goal of removing some myths surrounding climbing. If you’re interested in learning more about competitive climbing then I would encourage you to head to the IFSC website where you can find details on competitions, photos, athletes, and details about the Olympics.