Kinematics
Climbing Efficiency: Time Management Strategies (Mckellar et al, 2023)
Key Take Aways
✅For slab and non slab routes, 0% of climbers successfully topped a route after 6 attempts.
✅For slab routes, climbers were more successful on attempt 2 and 3 suggesting learning needed
✅For non slab routes, topping a route was less than 10% after 3 attempts
✅For coordination moves, a high percentage of climbers were successful on attempt 2 and 3, suggesting learning had taken place on previous attempts before fatigue was a facto
Summary
What is TMS (time management strategies)? How does it relate to # of attempts?
TMS is defined as the approach climbers take in competition to successfully complete 1 or more segments of a climb within their allotted 240 seconds
IFSC boulder finals format includes 4 boulder routes, 6 competitors, each with 4 minutes to top a route
How should elite climbers interpret TMS data with regards to IFSC boulder finals?
Data was collected and analyzed from the 2019 IFSC boulder season (7 competetions) from 56 climbers (28 male and 28 female) participating in the finals.
All finals routes were categorized as:
➡️ Slab/ Slab Like: true slab and slightly overhung walls with large volumes
➡️ Non slab: overhung walls
➡️ Combined: elements of slab and non slab
The goldilocks zone: for certain boulder types, there seems to be a “just right” amount of attempts (not too many, not to few)
CItation
Mckellar BJ, Coates AM, Cohen JN, Burr JF. Time Management Strategies of Rock Climbers in World Cup Bouldering Finals. Journal of Human Kinetics 2023;86:165–174
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