page_title: Lead climbing
section_title: Competition
hierarchical_section_title: Lead climbing / Competition
caption_attribution_description: English: Climbing World Championships 2018 Lead Final Kotake
context_page_description: Lead climbing is a climbing style, predominantly used in rock climbing. In a roped party one climber has to take the lead while the other climbers follow. The lead climber wears a harness attached to a climbing rope, which in turn is connected to the other climbers below the lead climber. While ascending the route, the lead climber periodically connects the rope to protection equipment for safety in the event of a fall. This protection can consist of permanent bolts, to which the climber clips quickdraws, or removable protection such as nuts and cams. One of the climbers below the lead climber acts as a belayer. The belayer gives out rope while the lead climber ascends and also stops the rope when the lead climber falls or wants to rest.
  A different style than lead climbing is top-roping. Here the rope is preattached to an anchor at the top of a climbing route before the climber starts their ascent. Lead climbing as a discipline of sport climbing would have debuted at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
context_section_description: Lead climbing is a popular discipline in competition climbing together with bouldering and speed climbing. The setup usually mirrors the outdoor sport climbing variant. An artificial climbing wall is prepared with a complex route made up of geometry and climbing holds. Bolts with preattached quickdraws serve as protection. The competitors are expected to free climb, in other words they cannot use the protection to make progress or hang in the rope to rest.
  Performance is determined by the highest hold reached and whether or not that hold was "controlled", meaning the climber achieved a stable position on that hold, or "used", meaning the climber used the hold to make a controlled climbing movement in the interest of progressing along the route.
  Lead competitions usually consist of three rounds: qualifications, semifinals, and finals.
  As a discipline of sport climbing it will debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It has also been confirmed to be part of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
caption: Lead climber Mei Kotake about to clip a quickdraw. Final round of the 2018 World Championships.
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