Word on the street is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering three separate sport climbing disciplines for future games, meaning we could soon get to see medals for bouldering on its own! (as it should be)

To make this happen, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has been tasked with making competition bouldering more attractive and understandable for spectators. In 2024 the IFSC launched a Working Group composed by one representative of each Sport & Technical Commissions (Events, Rules, Judges, Setters, Coaches) + athletes’ representative and media/marketing consultant.

The format for IFSC bouldering events in 2025 will test out a few changes:

• 8 finalists using a group of 4 overlap rotation

• points awarded for each zone (10 points) OR top (25 points)

• tie break using “falls” (before reaching top)

Why 8 finalists?

• more athletes in finals means more spectators have the chance to cheer on their favourite competitors

• slightly increasing the number of competitors on the wall in a round minimizes “dead time” without being too hectic to watch

• key moments, such as the “last 4 athletes” will still happen with only one male and one female on the wall

If you watched the Paris Olympics, you may remember seeing this rotation in action. The 8th ranked competitor comes out first on problem 1, followed by rank 7, 6, 5. When the 4th ranked competitor comes out to problem 1 the 8th ranked competitor starts on problem 2. Meaning there are now 2 men or 2 women on the wall (rank 4 on problem 1 and rank 8 on problem 2). They are followed by rank 3 and rank 7, then 2 and 6, then 1 and 5 etc. When the 4th ranked competitor comes out to problem 2, everyone has finished problem 1 and the 8th ranked competitor starts problem 3. When the 4th ranked competitor comes out for the last problem, everyone has finished problem 3 and spectators can focus all their attention on the top ranked competitors (1 man or 1 woman at a time) on the final problem.

An added bonus for the athletes when using this format is the shortened time between climbs. A six competitor final with everyone doing each problem before moving to the next means 20 minutes+ between problems (making it more difficult for athletes to stay warm and increasing the chance of injury). The new format reduces the time between climbs to 12 minutes+ which is a good amount for rest without being too long.

Why points?

A competitor flashes problem 1 (no falls), gets zone on P2 on their 3rd attempt, flashes zone on P3 then tops on their 4th attempt (3 falls before top), then gets zone on P4 in 2 attempts followed by a top on their 3rd attempt (2 falls before top).

Score: 3T4/8A7 (using old method) or 84.5 points (using new method)

• 84.5 points is easier to explain to a broader audience than 3T4/8A7

• points are easier to track and compare one competitor to another

• points offer more flexibility in determining which athletes perform better and should be ranked higher. Example:

  • 3 zones (30 points) will now rank higher than a single top (25 points)

  • 4 zones (40 points) will rank higher than 1 top and 1 zone (35 points)

Points will help setters more effectively test additional techniques & levels of strength on each problem by making the zone more relevant, as opposed to mainly using zone as an “additional” tie-break. Making the zone valuable also helps encourage competitors to “get back on the wall” rather than stopping early if a top is not achievable.

Why falls, instead of attempts?

One of the goals of the Working Group appears to be to define a “perfect round”. Using points, a perfect round with 4 problems can be defined simply as 100 points.

Deducting points only when a competitor falls means 25 points can be awarded for a flash (competitor tops a problem on the 1st “attempt”). They will only lose points if they “fall” before reaching the top. A top on the 3rd attempt means they fell twice and will have 0.2 points deducted (24.8 points).

After running simulations, the group also concluded any increase in ties resulting from removing the measurement of attempts to zone would be statistically insignificant.

Why Bloc Buster?

Our goal is to make Bloc Buster an exciting event for spectators to watch, and a rewarding event for athletes to participate in. Top athletes in Canada and the US come to compete in our Open category. Some will be competing at IFSC boulder events using this new format as early as April 2025. This will be a great chance for some of Canada’s athletes to experience the new format before hitting the world stage.

Bloc Buster will be slightly different than what you will see this year at IFSC boulder events. For example, we will run finals with men & women climbing at the same time with 2 or 4 competitors (men AND women) on the wall at time. IFSC events typically run men and women’s finals separately, meaning there will be 1 or 2 competitors (men OR women) on the wall at a time.

Also Bloc Buster will use four-plus (4+) minutes for finals to add more excitement for athletes and spectators. If a competitor is on the wall when their time runs out, they can finish their last attempt. IFSC uses 4 minutes flat and calls athletes down when the bell goes in order to keep a stricter schedule for TV coverage.