Paraclimbing

Paraclimbing is Sport Climbing for athletes with disabilities. Athletes are placed into a Sport Class based on their disability, to allow those with a disability of a similar nature to compete within the same category.

The IFSC has been hosting Paraclimbing competitions since 2006, when the first international event saw athletes from four National Federations compete in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The movement has grown in recent years, with a regular circuit being added to the IFSC calendar from 2010 and IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships taking place from July 2011. It has become tradition that the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships run alongside the IFSC Climbing World Championships, promoting athletes with a disability on the same stage as other athletes. Proud of the rapid growth of the Paraclimbing community, and of the increasing standard of competitions, the IFSC remains dedicated to developing and strengthening the competitions and support available to athletes.

In 2017, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) granted the IFSC the status of “Recognised International Federation”.

In October 2018, a plan was elaborated for developing the sport further. The plan was unanimously approved at the 2019 IFSC General Assembly in Tokyo, Japan, officially declaring the start of a new era for Paraclimbing and its vibrant, committed, and enthusiastic community.

Paraclimbing achievements

2020

A set of Paraclimbing Routesetting Guidelines were created and published by the IFSC Paraclimbing Committee.

Due to COVID-19 many Paraclimbing activities such as the Paraclimbing Classifier Course and first Classification under the lead of IPC experts were postponed, but the rework of the Classification rules and system according to the IPC Model Rules is ongoing.
2019

The Paraclimbing World Championships in Briançon, France, set new records, with 158 athletes (111 men and 47 women) representing 24 different countries participating in the event.

The IFSC General Assembly unanimously approved a Paraclimbing development plan in March 2019, with one step of the plan being to form a new Paraclimbing Committee.

A first Paraclimbing Routesetting Seminar was held in Sittard, the Netherlands, in November 2019.
2018

The Paraclimbing World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, had a new record participant number, with 126 athletes participating from 19 different countries.
2013 - 2017

Paraclimbing world cups, Paraclimbing Masters, and Paraclimbing World Championships were held, with the latter taking place every even year and including up to 72 athletes from 20 different countries.

The Paraclimbing Commission (disbanded in 2019) made various modifications to the Paraclimbing Rule and Event Format. The Classification system was expanded up to 10 theoretical categories for men and women to ensure a fair competition.

In 2017, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) granted the IFSC the status of “Recognised International Federation”.
2012

The Paraclimbing World Championships in Paris, France, saw 61 athletes from 20 different countries competing - almost doubling the number of athletes and country representation from the previous year.
2011

The first IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships took place in Arco, Italy, with 35 athletes representing 11 different countries.
2006

The first international Paraclimbing event was held in Ekaterinburg, Russia.