Via Olympica: A Comprehensive View on the Origin and Development of Climbing Competitions

Abstract

Competition climbing was born in the years immediately after World War II in the former Soviet Union to revitalize the climbing community in this war-ravaged country. In a short time, it gained great popularity among climbers, and finding support from the authorities, it expanded the organizational structures and training system, becoming a sport discipline in the literal sense of the word. In the 1970s, the idea of competition based on rock climbing was introduced to the wider international community, initiating a process with its temporary culmination in the introduction of sport climbing to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. The title ‘via’ means ‘route’ which, in climbing slang, describes the line that the climber takes from the wall’s base to the crowning point, which is the top of the climbing wall or the belay/descent stance. Remaining in this symbolism, the debut of climbing to the most important sporting event in the world is the culmination of a particular process. Time will tell whether it is a ‘final stance’ (i.e. permanent presence in the Olympic programme) or just an episode in the relatively short but dynamic history of sport climbing.