Olympic Climbing at Alta
Alta Climbing will be the first climbing gym in Arizona to feature an Olympic sized 15-meter competition Speed Wall.
Olympic Climbing Debut
Sport climbing is going to be making its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It will be a four-day event, with 20 men and 20 women competing. Three areas will be featured:
Lead Climbing
In Lead Climbing, climbers climb a 40-60 foot wall as high as they can within a specified time limit.
Speed Climbing
In Speed Climbing, two climbers compete to reach the top of a 15+ meter (approx. 50+foot) wall first, without falling.
Bouldering
In Bouldering, climbers complete multiple short climb routes in a set amount of time per climb.
While most athletes specialize in one particular area (i.e., lead climbing or speed climbing or bouldering), those who make it to qualifying rounds during the Olympics will compete consecutively in all three areas in the finals.

Margo Hayes, a member of USA Climbing’s 2019 Overall National Team, competes in bouldering semi-finals at the 2018 IFSC World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
Kevin Corrigan