Ahead of this weekend’s Speed National Championships, we are pleased to announce updates to the Speed Minimum Performance Times and Speed Canadian Records. These updates will take effect immediately, with a deeper review of the Speed Program planned in 2025 for potential updates in 2026.
Speed Minimum Qualifying Times
We apologize for the previously incorrect Speed Minimum Times for 2025. After consulting with our High Performance leadership, these times have now been accurately updated. Please find the revised criteria and clarifications below. Thank you for your understanding—we look forward to seeing your performances in the 2025 season!
Youth National Team: Speed Qualifying Times
For the Youth National Team, the Speed Minimum Times are determined using the top 16 Speed times from the previous Youth World Championships (in this case, 2024), with an age- and gender-specific buffer applied to each competitive division.
This buffer is designed to individualize the qualification process, ensuring a balance between performance standards and participation opportunities. It is loosely based on a comparative analysis of current Canadian age- and gender-specific Speed times relative to those from the previous Youth World Championships.
To further refine this approach, a comprehensive data analysis will be conducted in the coming months to improve the accuracy of time buffer calculations, which will be implemented for the 2026 season.
More details on the Youth National Team Qualification process can be found here: IFSC Youth World Championships – Climbing Escalade Canada
Senior National Team: Speed Qualifying Times
As a reminder, the Speed Qualifying Times for the National Teams have been posted in the National Team Policy. These times are determined annually based on the following criteria:
- Elite Squad: Minimum times to place in the top 40% of the field (2025 = 5.55 sec (men) or 7.68 sec (women)
- Performance Squad: Minimum times to place in the top 50% of the field (2025 = 5.76 sec (men) or 8.224 sec (women)
- Development Squad: Times will be set by adding an extra 0.5s to the slowest times in the top 50% of the field (2025 = 6.26 sec (men) or 8.724 sec (women)
Speed Canadian Records
The High Performance Leadership team is developing a more comprehensive policy for Canadian Speed Records. This policy will help ensure consistency, accuracy, and legitimacy in recognizing Canadian Speed Records. More details will be provided as the policy is finalized.
The key principles of this policy will be as follows:
- NEW – Age Category Eligibility – Records are determined based on an athlete’s eligibility for an age category at the time of the performance, rather than the competition category (e.g., a Youth A athlete can set a Youth A record in a Senior competition, and vice versa).
- Citizenship Requirement – The athlete must be a Canadian citizen.
- Approved Speed Wall – The record attempt must take place on a speed wall approved by an appointed representative from CEC, a National Federation, or the International Federation.
- Eligible Competitions – The time must be recorded in one of the following sanctioned events:
- Olympic or Pan American Games
- IFSC-sanctioned competitions
- Continental-sanctioned competitions (Pan Am, NACS, etc.)
- CEC-sanctioned events (High Performance Competition, National Championships, Regional Championships) or equivalent (e.g., USAC Nationals)
- Select World and Major Events (World Games, Beach Games, etc.)
To align with this new policy, we have retrospectively adjusted all records dating back to 2013, applying the updated age category framework. Please review the data here.
If you identify any discrepancies, or should you have any questions on this announcement, please contact our High Performance Director at kraig@climbingcanada.ca.
