LAUSR

With the recent decision by the International Olympic Committee to include rock climbing in the 2020 Olympic Games, climbers and coaches are seeking information to enhance training methods and improve performance. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to evaluate climbing-specific fitness and establish percentile rankings among youth climbers; and (2) determine the relationship between fitness and climbing performance. Anthropometrics, fitness, and performance on three indoor bouldering problems ranging in difficulty from V0-V8 were assessed in 64 youth climbers (35 girls, 29 boys) aged 7-17 from the United States. Data are reported by age groups (7-11; 12-17 y) and gender. Percentile rankings of fitness scores were computed for girls and boys separately. Analysis of variance was used to compare fitness by age groups and by gender. Regression analysis evaluated the association between climbing performance and fitness. Fitness scores were generally higher among boys than girls, and older vs. younger climbers. Multivariable linear regression revealed that, after adjusting for age, gender, and anthropometrics, fitness variables explained 49% of the variance in performance. Climbing-specific fitness measures previously established on adults are associated with bouldering performance in youth climbers, and therefore may be useful for monitoring progress in training.