 | |
| Formation | 27 January 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Turin, Italy |
Membership | 98 member federations |
President | Marco Maria Scolaris |
| Website | IFSC-Climbing.org |
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is the international governing body for the sport of competition climbing, which consists of the disciplines lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing.
The IFSC describes itself as "the international federation responsible for all aspects of international competition climbing and is the final authority for all matters concerning international competition climbing". [1] It describes itself as responsible for all technical aspects of the sport of competition climbing, for the approval of all member federations and their respective competitions, and of approving the calendar and schedule of events held during the year. [1] The IFSC is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. [1]
The IFSC was founded in Frankfurt on 27 January 2007 by 57 member federations as a continuation of the International Council for Competition Climbing , which had been in existence from 1997 to 2007 under the governance of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA). [2] [3] Later that year, the IFSC was granted provisional recognition by the IOC, and consisted of 80 member federations. [3] On 10 February 2010, the IOC granted the IFSC formal recognition, and on the 4 July 2011, the IOC added climbing to a shortlist of potential new sports for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was confirmed in 2016. [3]
Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IFSC suspended the Russian and Belarusian federations and canceled all events in Russia in 2022. [4]
The major competitions organized by the IFSC are:
The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of competitions held annually. The athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering, and speed. The number of competitions and venues vary from year to year. [5] The first World Cup was held under the auspices of UIAA in 1989, [2] World Cups were held under the auspices of IFSC from 2007.
The IFSC Climbing World Championship is a competition held biennially. This event determines the male and female world champions in the three disciplines of sport climbing lead, bouldering and speed as well as in para-climbing. [6]
The IFSC World Youth Championship is a competition held annually. This event determines the male and female world youth champions in three disciplines: lead, speed, and bouldering. For each discipline, the athletes are grouped in three age groups: Youth B, Youth A and Juniors. [7]
The IFSC European Championship is a competition held biennially in years when World Championships are not held. This event determines the male and female European champions in the three disciplines of sport climbing lead, bouldering, and speed.
The IFSC European Youth Cup is a series of competitions held annually. Athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, speed, and bouldering and are grouped into three age groups: Youth B, Youth A, and Juniors.
In the following tables are listed the members of the national federations: [8] [9]
| Country | Federation | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
 Argentina | Federación Argentina de Ski y Andinismo | FASA |
 Australia | Sport Climbing Australia | SCA |
 Austria | Kletterverband Österreich | KVÖ |
 Azerbaijan | Air and Extreme Sports Federation of Azerbaijan | FAIREX |
 Belgium | Climbing and Mountaineering Belgium | CMBEL |
 Bolivia | Federación Boliviana de Ski y Andinismo | FEBSA |
 Brazil | Associação Brasileira de Escalada Esportiva | ABEE |
 Bulgaria | Bulgarian Climbing and Mountaineering Federation | BCMF |
 Cameroon | Association des Sport de Montagne et d'Escalade | ASME |
 Canada | Climbing Escalade Canada | CEC |
 Chile | Federación de Andinismo de Chile | FEACH |
 China | Chinese Mountaineering Association | CMA |
 Chinese Taipei | Chinese Taipei Alpine Association | CTAA |
 Colombia | Federación Colombiana de Escalada Deportiva | FCED |
 Costa Rica | Federación costarricense de Deportes de Montaña | FECODEM |
 Croatia | Hrvatski Planinarski Savez (Croatian Mountaineering Association) | HPS |
 Cyprus | Cyprus Mountaineering and Climbing Federation | CMCF |
 Czech Republic | Cesky horolezecky svaz (Czech mountaineering association) | CHS |
 Denmark | Dansk Klatreforbund/Danish Climbing Federation | DKF/DCF |
 Ecuador | Federación Ecuatoriana de Andinismo y Escalada | FEDAN |
 El Salvador | Federación Salvadoreña de montañismo y escalada | FSME |
 Finland | Finnish Climbing association | FCA |
 France | Fédération française de la montagne et de l'escalade | FFME |
 Georgia | Georgian Climbing National Federation | GCNF |
 Germany | Deutscher Alpenverein | DAV |
 Great Britain | British Mountaineering Council | BMC |
 Greece | Hellenic Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing | HFMCU (EOOA) |
 Guatemala | Federación Nacional de Andinismo de Guatemala | FNAG |
 Honduras | Federación Hondurena de Deportes de Montana y Escalada | FEHDME |
 Hong Kong | Hong Kong Mountaineering Union | HKMU |
 Hungary | Hungarian Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation | MHSSz |
 India | Indian Mountaineering Foundation | IMF |
 Indonesia | Federasi Panjat Tebing Indonesia | FPTI |
 Iran | Iran Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation | IRI MF |
 Ireland | Mountaineering Ireland | MI |
 Israel | Israel Climbers' Club | ILCC |
 Italy | Federazione Arrampicata Sportiva Italiana | FASI |
 Japan | Japan Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association | JMSCA |
 Kazakhstan | Mountaineering and Climbing Federation of Republic of Kazakhstan | MCFRK |
 Latvia | Latvian Alpinist Association | LAA |
 Lithuania | Lithuania Federation of Sport Climbing | LFSC |
 Luxembourg | Fédération Luxembourgeoise d'Escalade, de Randonnée et d'Alpinisme | FLERA |
 Malaysia | Persekutuan Mendaki Malaysia (Malaysia Mountaineering Federation) | PMM |
 Malta | Malta Sport for All | MSFA |
 Mauritius | Mauritius Sport Climbing Federation | MSCF |
 Mexico | Federación Mexicana de Deportes de Montana Y Escalada | FMDMYE |
 Mongolia | Mongolian National Climbing Federation | MNCF |
 Nepal | Nepal Mountaineering Association | NMA |
 Netherlands | Koninklijke Nederlandse Klim- en Bergsportvereniging | NKBV |
 New Zealand | Climbing New Zealand | CNZ |
 North Macedonia | Macedonian Sport Climbing Federation | MSCF |
 Norway | The Norwegian Climbing Federation | NCF |
 Pakistan | Alpine Club of Pakistan | ACP |
 Panama | Asociación Panameña de Escalada | APAES |
 Peru | Federación Deportiva Peruana de Escalada | FEDPE |
 Poland | Polski Zwiazek Alpinizmu (Polish Mountaineering Association) | PZA |
 Portugal | Federação Portuguesa de Montanhismo e Escalada / Portuguese Mountaineering and Climbing Federation | FPME |
 Romania | Federația Română de Alpinism și Escaladă | FRAE |
 Russia | Climbing Federation of Russia (suspended) [4] | CFR |
 Saudi Arabia | The Saudi Climbing and Hiking Federation | SCHF |
 Serbia | United Sport Climbing Federation of Serbia | USCFS |
 Singapore | Singapore Mountaineering Federation | SMF |
 Slovakia | Slovak Mountaineering Union JAMES | SMU JAMES |
 Slovenia | Alpine Association of Slovenia | PZS |
 South Korea | Korean Alpine Federation | KAF |
 Spain | Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada | FEDME |
 South Africa | South African National Climbing Federation | SANCF |
 Sweden | Swedish Climbing Federation | SKF |
 Switzerland | Swiss Alpine Club | CAS |
 Thailand | The Sport Climbing Association of Thailand | SCAT |
 Turkey | Turkish Mountaineering Federation | TDF/TMF |
 Ukraine | Ukrainian Mountaineering and Climbing Federation | UMF |
 USA | USA Climbing | USAC |
 Venezuela | Federación Venezolana de Escalada Deportiva | FEVME |
| Country | Federation | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
 Algeria | Fédération Algérienne de Ski et sports de Montagne | FASSM |
 Andorra | Federacio Andorrana de Muntanyisme | FAM |
 Armenia | Armenia Alpine Club | AAC |
 Belarus | Belarus Alpine Federation (suspended) [4] | BAF |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | Mountaineering Union of Bosnia - Herzegovina | PSBIH |
 Cambodia | Cambodia Climbing Federation | CCD |
 Estonia | Estonian Climbing Association | ECA |
 Fiji | Sport Climbing Fiji | SCF |
 Jordan | Jordan Federation of Sport Climbing | JFSC |
 Kyrgyzstan | Federation of Mountaineering Rock and Ice Climbing of Kirgiz Republic | FMRICK |
 Macau | Mountaineering Federation Macau China | MFMC |
 Philippines | Sport Climbing Association of the Philippines | SCAPI |
 Rwanda | Rwanda Sports Climbing Federation | RSCF |
 Sri Lanka | National Association for Climbing and Mountaineering in Sri Lanka | NACMSL |
 Uganda | Uganda Sport Climbing Federation | USCF |
 Uzbekistan | Federation of Mountaineering and Rock Climbing of Uzbekistan | FMCU |
| Country | Federation | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
 New Caledonia | Comité Régional de la Montagne et de l'Escalade de la Nouvelle Calédonie |
| Country | Federation | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Austrian Alpine Club | ÖAV |
| Spain | Basque Mountaineering Federation (Eusko Mendizale Federazioa) | EMF |
| Spain | Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya | FEEC |
Competition climbing is a form of regulated rock climbing competition held indoors on purpose-built artificial climbing walls. The three competition climbing disciplines are lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing. The result of multiple disciplines can be used in a "combined" format to determine an all-round winner. Competition climbing is sometimes called "sport climbing", which is the name given to pre-bolted lead climbing.
Edinburgh International Climbing Arena is an adventure sports facility located in Ratho, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Built in a disused quarry, it is one of the largest indoor climbing walls in the world.
The IFSC Climbing World Championships are the biennial world championship event for competition climbing that is organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). This event determines the male and female world champions in the three disciplines of competition climbing: competition lead climbing, competition bouldering, and competition speed climbing. Since 2012, a combined ranking is also determined, for climbers competing in all disciplines, and additional medals are awarded based on that ranking. The first event was organized in Frankfurt in 1991.
USA Climbing is the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, they promote Sport Climbing which comprises three competition disciplines: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing, in elite, youth and collegiate formats.
Anna Stöhr is a professional climber. She is a champion in bouldering climbing competitions. She won four Bouldering World Cups, in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and two World Championships, in 2007 and 2011. Notably, she dominated the 2013 Bouldering World Cup series, by winning seven events out of eight, losing one just by one attempt to Juliane Wurm.
Dmitri Sarafutdinov, also known as Dmitrii Sharafutdinov, is a professional Russian rock climber and competition climber who specializes in competition bouldering. He has won three World Championships, in 2007, 2011 and 2012 and one Bouldering World Cup in 2013.
Mina Markovič is a professional rock climber who specialized in competition climbing, from which she is now retired. She competed in the World Cup and World Championships in competition lead climbing, competition bouldering, and competition speed climbing, obtaining her best results in lead. She also climbs on outdoor sport climbing routes where she has redpointed to 9a (5.14d).
The IFSC Climbing European Championships are the biennial European championship for competition climbing organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The first competition was held in Frankfurt in 1992.
The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of competition climbing events held during the year at various locations around the world, organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). At each event, the athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering, and speed. The number of events varies from year to year, and the winners for each discipline are decided by the points accumulated in the year.
Marco Maria Scolaris is a professional photographer and former amateur rock climber who founded the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), which is the international governing body for competition climbing in the disciplines of lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing.
Artimes Farshad Yeganeh is an Iranian rock climber who has specialized in both competition climbing, and outdoor sport climbing and bouldering. He has been climbing for 30 years as a professional climber, a member of the Iranian National climbing team for many years, as a route setter in many national, continental, and world cups and championships, and Head Coach of the Iranian National climbing team for 6 years. He also participates in sport climbing and bouldering competitions and is one of the most famous Iranian climbers.
Janja Garnbret is a Slovenian professional rock climber who specializes in sport climbing and competition climbing. She has won multiple competition lead climbing and competition bouldering events, two Olympic gold medals, and is widely regarded as the greatest competition climber of all time. In 2021, Garnbret became the first-ever female Olympic gold medalist in climbing, and successfully defended her title in 2024. With two gold medals, she is the most successful Slovenian athlete at the Summer Olympics. She is also the world's first-ever female climber to onsight an 8c (5.14b) graded sport climbing route.
Competition climbing made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Two events were held, one each for men and women. The format controversially consisted of one combined event with three disciplines: lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering. The medals were determined based on best performance across all three disciplines. This format was previously tested at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. The Olympic code for sports climbing is CLB.
South African National Climbing Federation(SANCF) is the governing body for competition climbing, involving competition lead climbing, competition bouldering and competition speed climbing in South Africa. SANCF oversees competitive climbing across the country as well as the promotion and development of the sport in artificial climbing environments. SANCF is affiliated to the world body International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) with full member status, and SASCOC.
Competitions in the sport of climbing, governed by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), have been held at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games. First selected as one of the discretionary sports at the 2020 and 2024 games, sport climbing will be inducted as one of the mandatory sports at the 2028 games. Athletes compete in the disciplines of bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. All three were contested as a single event in the 2020 programme, while speed climbing was spun off into its own event in the 2024 programme. Slovenia have won the most gold medals (2), while Austria, Japan, and the United States have won the most medals overall.
The 2017 IFSC Climbing World Cup was held in 15 locations. Bouldering competitions were held in 7 locations, lead in 8 locations, and speed in 7 locations. The season began on 7 April in Meiringen, Switzerland and concluded on 12 November in Kranj, Slovenia.
The IFSC Climbing Asian Championships or Asian Sport Climbing Championships are annual Asian championships for competition climbing organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). Until 2006, it was called UIAA Asian Championships. Then, from 2007 onwards it was called IFSC Asian Championships. In 2001, the first Bouldering Championship was held separately from 19 to 20 December 2001 in Yung Ho, Taiwan. In 2018, at the Asian Championships in Kurayoshi, Japan, a combined format was introduced.
The IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships are the annual World Youth Championships for competition climbing organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The first competition was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1992. Bouldering was introduced at the 2015 championships.
This is a ranking of total career IFSC victories obtained in the annual IFSC Climbing World Cup, and the biennial IFSC Climbing World Championships, which were organized by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, and the International Federation of Sport Climbing.
Petra Klingler is a Swiss rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. Known as a versatile climber, she competes in a wide range of competitive events, including competition bouldering, competition speed climbing, competition lead climbing, and also competition ice climbing.
