Sport climbing words · Intermediate

The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.

I · Intermediate · 46 words · Step 2 of 2

Competition terms

Isolation zone

A separate area where climbers wait before their turn, preventing them from watching others attempt the route beforehand.

Observation period

A scheduled time, collective or individual, in which climbers may study the routes or boulders before an on-sight round. They may touch the starting holds in a collective period, but not practise moves.

Combined ranking

A scoring method used when results from multiple disciplines are combined into one overall placing.

Jury president

The official with full authority to enforce the rules in a competition. They must be independent of the organiser and may stop or delay any part of the competition, or any climber, for safety reasons.

Technical incident

A broken or loose hold, a badly positioned quickdraw, a tight rope caused by the belayer, a critical failure of the official timing, or any unusual circumstance that gives a climber a material advantage or disadvantage not caused by their own action. If it cannot be waived the climber may restart, and the result is the better of the progress before and after.

Caution and disqualification

A caution, shown with a yellow card, is for a breach without serious impact on fairness. A disqualification, with a red card, is for a serious breach, and also follows a second caution in an event. A disqualified competitor takes no further part and is unranked.

Also called: yellow card, red card

Invalid result mark

A code for a non-scoring or invalid result: did not start (DNS), disqualified for technical infractions (DSQ), and disqualified for unsporting behaviour (DQB).

Also called: IRM, DNS, DSQ, DQB

Starting order

The order in which climbers start a round. In rank ascending order the best seeded start first and in rank descending order the best seeded start last. Others are random order, offset order, or tournament bracket order.

Appeal

A written challenge by a competitor or team official over a judging error, an error in scorekeeping or timekeeping, or eligibility or conduct. The Appeal Jury decides on the admissible evidence.

Out of bounds

Holds or parts of the climbing surface that cannot be used on a route or boulder, shown by boundary markings. A climber who gains an advantage by using them has an unsuccessful attempt.

Bouldering-Specific terms

Starting position

The hold or holds, marked with four markings in a distinctive colour, on which a climber must be stable with both hands and both feet to start a boulder.

Control

The intentional management of a climber's position and movement, either using the holds or surface or by shifting their centre of mass. It is the standard for counting a hold or a start.

Establishing and advancing movements

An establishing movement is a movement or series aimed at stabilising the climber's position on a hold. An advancing movement is one aimed at securing the next hold in the sequence, reaching or gripping it and repositioning the body to do so.

Lead Climbing-Specific terms

Lead result

An unsuccessful attempt is recorded as the last scoring hold controlled, with a plus when an advancing movement was made. A successful attempt is a Top, with the climbing time when required.

Safety hold and last safe position

A safety hold is a marked hold, with a blue cross, past which a climber cannot progress without clipping the quickdraw. Making any climbing movement past the last safe position, where the climber still has control but has not clipped, ends the attempt unsuccessfully.

Clipping rules

A lead attempt is unsuccessful if the climber clips a quickdraw out of sequence, or unclips any quickdraw except to correct a z-clip.

Speed Climbing-Specific terms

Reaction time

The time between the starting signal and the force on the starting pad falling below the timer's threshold. Under 0.100 seconds is a false start.

Starting signal (speed)

The illumination of a start light at the left of the route, with a distinctive audible tone from the timing system, which starts both the allowed and the actual climbing time.

Route and scoring terms

Onsight

A ground-up attempt on a route or boulder made with no prior knowledge of the sequence and no prior practice or attempts. Only a climber's first attempt can be on-sight.

Flash

A ground-up attempt made with some knowledge of the sequence, such as a demonstration, but without prior practice or attempts. In a flash round team officials may give information about the routes.

Redpoint

Successfully completing a route after previous failed attempts.

Beta

Information or advice about how to complete a specific route or move.

Crux

The hardest single move or section of a route.

After-work

An attempt made with first-hand knowledge of the climbing sequence, from pre-practice or earlier attempts on the route or boulder. Climbers commonly call a completed after-work attempt a redpoint.

See also: Route, Boulder, Attempt, Redpoint

Climbing time

The maximum time allowed for a climber's attempts, or the actual elapsed time of an attempt. A lead attempt's allowed time should not exceed 6 minutes, and boulder time may be measured from the start of the round, from a signal for each boulder, or from the start of the climber's attempts on it.

World championship and series event formats

Boulder event format

Three rounds: a qualification of five boulders for up to 60 climbers, a semi-final of four boulders for 24 and a final of four boulders for eight. Each round runs as rotations, five minutes a boulder in the first two rounds and four minutes at most in the final.

Boulder tie-break

Climbers level on points are separated first by count-back to their ranking in the previous round, then by fewer attempts on the boulders they topped, then by fewer attempts to reach their zones.

Also called: count-back
See also: Boulder score, Count-back

Rotation

The fixed period in which each climber attempts one boulder before moving to the next. A climber may make several attempts in the period, each on the whole boulder. There is a 15-second gap between rotations.

Also called: rotation period
See also: Boulder event format, Attempt

Lead event format

Three rounds: a qualification on two routes for up to 80 climbers, a semi-final on one route for 24 and a final on one route for eight. Qualification routes are climbed flash and the later rounds on-sight, with six minutes of climbing time on each route.

See also: Lead climbing, Flash, Onsight, Quota

Qualification points

The figure that ranks a lead qualification round. A climber's ranking on each route is multiplied together and the root taken (the geometric mean), so a lower figure is better. Tied climbers share a fractional ranking on a route.

Also called: QP
See also: Lead event format

The ruleHow is a lead qualification round ranked across two routes?

Lead tie-break

In a lead semi-final or final, climbers with the same result are separated by count-back to the previous round. A tie for a medal that remains is broken by climbing time, the lower time being better.

Also called: count-back
See also: Lead result, Count-back, Climbing time

Count-back

Breaking a tie in one round by using the climbers' ranking in the round before. It is not used when the earlier round was climbed in two starting groups.

Also called: countback
See also: Boulder tie-break, Lead tie-break

Speed event format

Two rounds. In qualification each climber races once on each lane and is ranked on the best time. The fastest 4, 8 or 16 (32 in the four-lane form) go into a final run as a knockout bracket.

Speed 2 and Speed 4

The two forms of a speed event. In Speed 2 two climbers race side by side and the winner goes through. In Speed 4 four climbers race on four lanes and the fastest two go through.

Official time

A speed time as published. Times are measured to a thousandth of a second and the official time is rounded down to a hundredth. The thousandths may be used to separate a tie during a competition.

Quota

The number of climbers who go through to the next round. Climbers tied in the last qualifying place all go through. When a qualification is climbed in two starting groups, the quota is split equally between the groups.

Starting group

One of two halves into which a large qualification field may be divided, of about equal number and strength, each climbing its own routes or boulders of similar difficulty.

Seeding

The order of the entered climbers by World Ranking on the day before the competition starts, used to build starting orders and starting groups.

Also called: event seeding
See also: Starting order, Starting group

Series ranking

A climber's overall place across the events of the World Climbing Series in one discipline, by total ranking points. A tie for first is broken by the climbers' record against each other, then by who has more first places, then more second places and so on.

Also called: overall ranking
See also: National team ranking

National team ranking

The ranking of national federations. In individual disciplines it adds the points of each federation's three best men and three best women at each event.

Movement terms

Dyno

A dynamic jumping move where the climber briefly leaves the wall entirely to reach a distant hold.

Heel hook

Using the heel of the foot to grip a hold, often to pull the body toward the wall rather than push.

Mantling

Pushing down on a hold to lift the body up and over it, similar to climbing out of a pool.

Flagging

Extending a leg out to the side without holding onto anything, used purely for balance.

Crimp

A small, shallow hold gripped mainly with the fingertips.

Sloper

A rounded hold with no clear edge, relying on friction and open hand grip rather than a firm grasp.

All Sport climbing words