BURSTThe Pro Climbing League kicks off its first-ever event in London on Feb. 28, dropping into the scene just as anticipation builds for the World Climbing Series. Created by climbers, for climbers, the league brings together many of the planet’s strongest professional boulderers in a format that pits athletes directly against each other, literally side by side on identical boulders. Fast, clear, and exciting to watch, it’s framed as a competition that gives back to both athletes and the wider climbing community.
The debut event will take place at Magazine London in Greenwich, where 16 elite climbers, eight men and eight women, will battle it out. Fourteen athletes have been invited, with one men’s and one women’s spot to be decided at a qualifier held at Font Wandsworth in late January.
Each category will follow a straightforward three-round, knock-out format: qualifying, semis and finals. Climbers compete in pairs, racing to top boulders within a 4+ minute limit. In early rounds, victory goes to the athlete who tops the most problems and ties are decided first by who tops fastest, then by highest hold reached. Olympic champions Janja Garnbret and Toby Roberts are already confirmed, with more names to follow.
Epic TV recently travelled to Nijmegen in the Netherlands to witness the first test event of a new head-to-head competition format that could redefine how climbing competitions are run, watched, and experienced. Faster, more direct, and built with spectators in mind, this format puts climbers face-to-face in a way traditional competitions never have.
They go behind the scenes with the people driving this new movement in competition climbing, exploring the minds behind the format, the vision, and the ambition to challenge the status quo. With a full launch planned for February, this could be the beginning of something big.
Pro Climbing League
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