Entr-Prises wall from The Highgate Group.
The Crux bouldering gym in Coburg North (top) and Flow Climbing on the Sunshine Coast.
Sport climbing set for rapid ascent James Croll examines the status of sport climbing in Australia following the success of the Tokyo Olympics and the impact on the sport’s venues, product development and growth
O
f the five sports that made their debut at the Tokyo Olympics, it was sport climbing that probably had the most impact. Apart from the drama of the competition itself, the sport provided a wonderful spectacle with blaring music and strobe lights accompanied by a backdrop of a massive 20 metre high Gundam anime robot. The event’s triathlon-style format, where climbers needed to perform in each of the three disciplines - speed, boulder, and lead climbing - initially drew some criticism but, as it was, the format packed in a lot of entertainment and finally showcased one of the fastest growing sports to the world. Leading up to the Olympics, organisers had been encouraged by the growing number of indoor climbing gyms and a surge in the sport’s popularity. The 2019 Oscar winning documentary ‘Free Solo’ about Alex Honnold’s exhilarating climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in the USA had also undoubtedly provided a wonderful pre-curser to the event. Sport climbing’s triathlon format at the Olympics meant that each athlete was obliged to participate in all three of the sport’s disciplines - speed, boulder, and lead climbing. In speed climbing, two athletes compete against each other by racing to the top of a 15-metre wall while secured to safety ropes. Bouldering involved climbers - without safety ropes individually trying to negotiate as many routes as they can on a 4-metre-high wall within four minutes. In lead climbing athletes sought to climb as high as they can up a 15-metre-high wall
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within six minutes, again using safety ropes. Commenting on the format, Rob Parer of Brisbane-based ICP Climb, one of Australia’s leading specialists in climbing wall design, construction and safety, advised “the Tokyo 2020 format no doubt would have unsettled a number of athletes at first. “While it was not the most conventional format it did manage to pack in a lot of entertainment and did certainly showcase our sport to the world. I do believe athletes will welcome a revised format in Paris 2024 when they will split up the disciplines.” Considering the implications of the discipline’s success in Tokyo 2020 for the sport in Australia, Parer comments “our Australian athletes really did shine on the Olympic stage and have brought back a wealth of knowledge which will not only help prepare for the Paris Olympics but knowledge that will prove invaluable to Australia’s future Olympic climbers. “What’s more, at ICP Climb we have already seen several climbing centres reach out to us wanting to grow their facilities. They’ve realised the need to upgrade to provide world-class walls, holds and safety matting for their local athletes so that they can become comfortable with international products and competition route setting. “That said, to see a strong gain in performance we need the support of government to build some world-class training facilities and back our climbing athletes like many of the European countries do.” Todd Austin of the Highgate Group, one of Australia’s leading
