olympic sport climbing rather competitive

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davisrice4
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by davisrice4 »

nunns wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 4:10 pm
Been_Jammin wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:16 pm I like the all around. Why not see who is the best combined... it also forces climbers out of their normal style/niche.

But, I hope future games add individual events for the three disciplines also.
It would make sense to have a format like gymnastics, with an all-around winner and individual event winners.
There is also somewhat of a precedent for a format like that in track (the decathlon + IE's), and in swimming (the individual medleys + the separate stroke events).
I'm with 12'ers; the speed climbing should be a little more challenging. As it is now it's almost like climbing a ladder.

Sean Nunn
Surprisingly, the sport climbing route is about 5.10 for a gym grade. Route can be pretty tough, those athletes are pretty dialed. Alot of gyms in the front range have the 10m version of it with an auto belay, can be a fun cardio climbing exercise.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by justiner »

I think it’s worth mentioning that until recently, USA Climbing was still holding bake sales to help fund themselves.

Sport climbing as a thing is centered in Europe. There’s about a 1,000x more quality routes there than in the States and by and large the hardest routes are harder.

Speed Climbing is absolutely huge in some parts of the World, but not the US. Bouldering, I feel we hold our own but the absolute focus on perfection that a country like Japan has is lacking as a culture here.

The combined format is super dumb. Here’s an idea- add psicobloc- it makes speed climbing interesting, you get to see people go up a hardish sport route without a rope and we already got all these diving pools to use! And it’s fun to watch.

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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by GK83 »

speed looks boring because the athletes are so good, this is one of those sports that needs an "average athletic person" shown as a comparison for people who aren't deep into it to realize just how fast it is... the interval between first and last in qualifiers was just over 2 seconds, which is an eternity when the fastest was 5.4 seconds, I'd bet that the people complaining that it looks too easy couldn't put down a 30 second lap...
I'm pretty surprised the US is doing as well as it is until essentially this year we were lucky to get a podium or two in a year at the World Cup...as said above it's tough to compete with well-funded teams with team doctors and multiple coaches when you are funding the whole thing with bake sales...
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by I Man »

I will never understand climbing as a competitive sport, though I also don't really enjoy sport climbing or bouldering.

Olympic climbing sounds about as far away from the reasons I got into climbing as you can get.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by timisimaginary »

I Man wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 11:42 am I will never understand climbing as a competitive sport, though I also don't really enjoy sport climbing or bouldering.

Olympic climbing sounds about as far away from the reasons I got into climbing as you can get.
i feel exactly the same way about Olympic racewalking.

at the very least, it should be renamed Olympic sashaying.
"The decay and disintegration of this culture is astonishingly amusing if you're emotionally detached from it." - George Carlin
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by 12ersRule »

timisimaginary wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:24 pm
I Man wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 11:42 am I will never understand climbing as a competitive sport, though I also don't really enjoy sport climbing or bouldering.

Olympic climbing sounds about as far away from the reasons I got into climbing as you can get.
i feel exactly the same way about Olympic racewalking.

at the very least, it should be renamed Olympic sashaying.
It pisses me off that they walk faster than I run. Way faster, actually.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by TomPierce »

I've seen a few segments of the Olympic climbing. Bouldering was meh, speed climbing silly stupid (not that I could do it anywhere near as fast, time me with a sand-filled hourglass...) but I enjoyed watching the lead climbing. I like sport climbing in limited doses. Just me.

-Tom
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by FireOnTheMountain »

TomPierce wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:53 pmI like sport climbing in limited doses. Just me.
Tom, dawg. I'm all for the crusty trad dad climbing ways, but man, sport is how ya get real strong dude!

Nothing ups your technique and strength like not being scared shitless over super thin gear all the damn time. There's def time and place for that, but clipping bolts is how you train properly for those type of routes and outings, imo at least but this is quite a tangent I've gone out on.

I think the "lead" climbing as they call it :lol: is enjoyable to watch and again not to keep riding 12ers coattails, but he's totally right. You can't fully grasp how hard the movement in bouldering is especially when the stupid camera person focuses on their upper half the entire time.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by Monster5 »

FireOnTheMountain wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 3:25 pm ...especially when the stupid camera person focuses on their upper half the entire time.
Sounds like you've a lot in common with that camera person.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by FireOnTheMountain »

Monster5 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 3:38 pmSounds like you've a lot in common with that camera person.
Hm, I'd say I'm more in the look at your own shoes as an engineer boat.
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Re: olympic sport climbing rather competitive

Post by TomPierce »

FireOnTheMountain wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 3:25 pm
TomPierce wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:53 pmI like sport climbing in limited doses. Just me.
Tom, dawg. I'm all for the crusty trad dad climbing ways, but man, sport is how ya get real strong dude!

Nothing ups your technique and strength like not being scared shitless over super thin gear all the damn time. There's def time and place for that, but clipping bolts is how you train properly for those type of routes and outings, imo at least but this is quite a tangent I've gone out on.

I think the "lead" climbing as they call it :lol: is enjoyable to watch and again not to keep riding 12ers coattails, but he's totally right. You can't fully grasp how hard the movement in bouldering is especially when the stupid camera person focuses on their upper half the entire time.
Oh I fully agree that sport is for sure the way to go to get stronger, i.e. build finger strength, etc. I like it, it's actually pretty relaxing to me, no real worries about routefinding or worrying about gear pulling, etc. Clip & go! But I think it has a pretty narrow focus, maybe a bit too much on strength? It's pretty much 100% face climbing, while much of alpine & peak climbing has cracks, lots of them. And not much in the way of gear placement practice, duh, obviously. Which is fine, it's also part of the appeal, but I recall climbing once with a guy who'd focused for some time on sport to build strength. He was really good, way better than me, onsighting .12+'s, etc. But on a trad route he became literally frozen in place on .10's, just couldn't get past not having a shiny bolt 5 feet away. That anecdote aside, for me the biggest issue is/was boredom. I've belatedly figured out that what winds my climbing clock is the mental challenge, e.g. going to some remote place to figure out not only the access but the route itself. It's a mental puzzle, at least for me. I'd rather go to some obscure nubbin and puzzle out a <5.7 cracky thrashfest on rotten rock than chase progressively higher numbers on sport routes. I did that for a few years long ago but just lost interest. Hard to get jazzed about the 10,000th ascent of the 12 bolt masterpiece Chrome Plated Psycho Killer :lol: . I for sure like sport, but not as a steady diet. Just me.

-Tom
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