The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is the international governing body for the sport of competition climbing, which consists of the disciplines lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing.
The IFSC describes itself as "the international federation responsible for all aspects of international competition climbing and is the final authority for all matters concerning international competition climbing".[1] It describes itself as responsible for all technical aspects of the sport of competition climbing, for the approval of all member federations and their respective competitions, and of approving the calendar and schedule of events held during the year.[1] The IFSC is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.[1]
The IFSC was founded in Frankfurt on 27 January 2007 by 57 member federations as a continuation of the International Council for Competition Climbing, which had been in existence from 1997 to 2007 under the governance of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA).[2][3] Later that year, the IFSC was granted provisional recognition by the IOC, and consisted of 80 member federations.[3] On 10 February 2010, the IOC granted the IFSC formal recognition, and on the 4 July 2011, the IOC added climbing to a shortlist of potential new sports for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was confirmed in 2016.[3]
Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IFSC suspended the Russian and Belarusian federations and canceled all events in Russia in 2022.[4]
The major competitions organized by the IFSC are:
The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of competitions held annually. The athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering, and speed. The number of competitions and venues vary from year to year.[5] The first World Cup was held under the auspices of UIAA in 1989,[2] World Cups were held under the auspices of IFSC from 2007.
The IFSC Climbing World Championship is a competition held biennially. This event determines the male and female world champions in the three disciplines of sport climbing lead, bouldering and speed as well as in para-climbing.[6]
The IFSC World Youth Championship is a competition held annually. This event determines the male and female world youth champions in three disciplines: lead, speed, and bouldering. For each discipline, the athletes are grouped in three age groups: Youth B, Youth A and Juniors.[7]
The IFSC European Championship is a competition held biennially in years when World Championships are not held. This event determines the male and female European champions in the three disciplines of sport climbing lead, bouldering, and speed.
The IFSC European Youth Cup is a series of competitions held annually. Athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, speed, and bouldering and are grouped into three age groups: Youth B, Youth A, and Juniors.
In the following tables are listed the members of the national federations:[8][9]