The GB Climbing Team is getting stronger and stronger, with lots of talented climbers coming up through the ranks.
The GB Climbing Team is made up of the Senior Team, the Junior Team, the Ice Climbing Team, the Ski Mountaineering Team and Paraclimbing Team.
GB Team Selection
The GB Climbing Teams are selected annually and the selection is based on a number of factors primarily centred around competition results from both national and international events. A full version of the GB Climbing selection criteria can be viewed here.
GB Paraclimbing Team
The GB Paraclimbing Team packed in amazing results at the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships 2021 in Moscow, Russia, with six medals including two World Champions.
Read up on their achievements here: GB win six medals at Paraclimbing World Champs 2021
GB Ice Climbing Team
Emma Powell competing in Saas Fee. Credit Stuart Rose
Competitive ice climbing comes under the banner of the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation).
Ice climbing has an exciting future and was part of the cultural programme at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia 2014 with a view to be included in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.
Sport Climbing World Cups and Championships
Will Bosi competing at the 2021 World Championships in Moscow. Photo: Jan Virt / IFSC
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) runs international competitions in the disciplines of lead, speed and bouldering. The GB Climbing Team currently competes internationally in lead and bouldering and occasionally in speed climbing (but we don't have an official speed team currently).
The IFSC World Cup series takes place annually and the IFSC World Championships take place every two years.
Watch international climbing competitions LIVE
There is live streaming of the semi-finals and finals of all senior IFSC World Cup events. TV quality highlights are available for media use shortly after each event.
Sport Climbing at the Olympics
In the summer of 2021 in Tokyo, climbing finally reached the heights of becoming an Olympic sport for the first time. Olympian climbers at Tokyo competed in the combined event which put together the three disciplines: lead, boulder and speed climbing. Among them was British and two-time bouldering World Champion Shauna Coxsey. Looking ahead to Paris 2024, and beyond, speed climbing will be a sport of its own, separated from lead and speed.
How we got there:
In 2013, the BMC supported the IFSC’s bid for Sport Climbing to be part of the 2020 Olympics. Sport Climbing was successfully chosen from amongst a shortlist of eight sports considered for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics.
Meanwhile the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) is preparing to launch a bid for Ice Climbing to enter the 2022 Winter Olympics once the IOC criteria for adding new winter sports is finalised. This follows its inclusion in the cultural programme at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia 2014.
Supporting the GB Climbing Team
The BMC provides administrative support and financial help to the team, but team members have to raise money toward the cost of competing internationally for the GB Team. If you are interested in opportunities to sponsor the team or our national climbing competitions please contact zoe@thebmc.co.uk
Find out more:
Keep up with the GB climbing teams on Facebook
Follow the team on twitter @GB_Climbing Tweeting about the teams? Please use: #paraclimbing #gbclimbing
Keep up with the GB ice climbing team on Facebook and Twitter
Competition Climbing Performance Group (CCPG)
GB Climbing is an internal department of the BMC, and is designated with looking after and giving future direction to all things connected with Competition Climbing. The Competition Climbing Performance Group (CCPG) heads up GB Climbing and is formed of a group of experts who work with, advise and plan the future of GB Climbing.
Keep up to date with the work of the CCPG here: https://thebmc.co.uk/articles/tag/ccpg