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USA Climbing is the official governing body of climbing competitions in the United States, overseeing competition climbing in three disciplines: bouldering, sport climbing, and speed. It is recognized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing.
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Competition Structure
Climbing competitions are divided into three seasons—the Bouldering Season which consists solely of bouldering competitions and the Sport & Speed Climbing Season which consists of sport climbing and speed competitions. Collegiate competitors may also compete in the Collegiate Season.
Open
Anyone 16 and older may choose to compete at open Nationals. There are no Regional or Divisional competitions for open competitors. The winners in each gender/event at open Nationals are considered the National Champions of the United States. *The only caveat is that a foreign national cannot be the National Champion of the USA. If a foreign national wins any gender/event the next highest placed citizen of the USA in that gender/event is the National Champion.
Youth
Youth climbers are subdivided into the Youth D (born in 2005 or later), Youth C (born in 2003-2004), Youth B (born in 2001-2002), Youth A (born in 1999-2000), and Junior (born in 1997-1998) age groups. Youth compete in the Bouldering Season in the fall/winter and the Sport & Speed Season in the spring/summer.
The US is subdivided into 8 Divisions and 16 Regions. Anyone may compete in local competitions. USA Climbing members, who have attended at least two local competitions, may compete at Regionals. The top 10 competitors in each gender/category at Regionals receive an invitation to Divisionals. The top 6 competitors in each gender/category at Divisionals receive an invitation to Nationals. The top four climbers in each gender/category/event at Nationals are considered U.S. Youth Team, and Youth B and up are given the opportunity to compete at the Youth PanAmerican and World Championships.
Collegiate
Provides access for undergraduate or graduate students that are currently enrolled at a college or university to compete in bouldering, sport and speed climbing.
Adaptive
Adaptive provides access for athletes with physical disabilities to compete in both bouldering and sport climbing.
Categories included in Adaptive are open to those with physical disabilities:
Speed Climbing
Open, Junior and Youth A and B compete on either 10 or 15 meter walls designed by the International Federation of Sport Climbing. Until 2014, speed climbing at Nationals was held on 10 meter walls. For the first time at the 2015 Youth Nationals Championships, speed climbing was held on a 15-meter wall like almost all International Federation of Sport Climbing competitions.
Youth C and D typically compete on a 10-meter "jug haul", which means no specific holds are used and there is no set placement of the holds. The number, size and placement of holds varies from competition to competition.
U.S. Records
The records for Youth C and D are not meaningful since the routes are different at every competition.
Collegiate National Championships
Results information for many of the years is sparse. Prior to 2013 the CCS National Championships had a combined sport climbing and bouldering competition. From 2013 onward there is a separate sport climbing and bouldering competition. The speed climbing is not held on the standard speed course and therefore official times are not kept. So far the major qualifications for competing in the collegiate nationals are: you must be a student at a 4-year university, you must compete in one local competition, and you must compete in one regional competition.