Sports climbing
In the last two decades, sport climbing has seen a huge surge in popularity. This youthful, mixed-age sport, attracts climbers of all ages and skill levels. Climbers hone their skills both outdoors and in urban, indoor environments. There are already over 25 million climbers in approximately 150 countries worldwide. At the Olympic Games, sport climbing is a competition that includes bouldering, speed climbing, and lead climbing. In bouldering, competitors ascend as many fixed routes as possible within a specified time, typically without a safety rope, which is the norm in other competition formats. They are allowed to observe—and scout—each route for a few minutes before firing themselves at the wall. Speed climbing is a race to the top on a specific route, while lead climbing involves longer routes, higher walls, and timed ascents.
