The 2024-2025 Youth Series is fast approaching, and we want to address key questions in advance to prevent any potential confusion.
Rules Update
The 2024-2025 Youth Series will follow the 2024 IFSC Rules. Why? The IFSC publishes its annual rule updates in January, which falls in the middle of our Canadian domestic season. Since many coaches and athletes participate in the Senior Series under one set of rules, switching to a different rule set for the Youth Series would create unnecessary confusion. This approach has been our standard practice for many years.
However, the IFSC has introduced significant changes in its 2025 Rules, and one particular update meaningfully enhances the athlete experience. As a result, we have chosen to adopt this specific rule for the upcoming Youth Series:
National Quota Adjustments for Semifinals and Finals
- Boulder:
- 24 athletes (instead of 20) will advance to semifinals.
- 8 athletes (instead of 6) will advance to finals.
- Lead:
- 24 athletes (previously 26) will advance to semifinals.
- 8 athletes (same as previous) will advance to finals.
These quotas will not be impacted by the total number of registrations—they will serve as the default capacity for semifinals and finals. If foreign nationals participate, adjustments will be made to ensure that 24 Canadian athletes move to semifinals and 8 Canadian athletes qualify for finals.
*For Regional Events, however, there will be no Semi-Finals, and the Final quotas will be calculated as follows:
For all other rules, we will continue to apply the 2024 IFSC Rules alongside the 2024-2025 CEC Rule Amendments. Please note that the 2025 IFSC Rules will be implemented in the 2025 NACS Series and the 2025-2026 CEC Season. For Rules Resources, please consult the CEC website: https://climbingcanada.ca/competition-rules/
Boulder Flash Format
The IFSC Boulder Flash Format (6 problems) will once again be used in the qualification round this season. This format offers several advantages, particularly when managing a large number of participants. It removes the need to spend time in isolation and provides athletes with more climbing opportunities, enhancing their overall competition experience.
However, we recognize that this format presents some challenges—particularly regarding coaching. Questions often arise, such as: When is it permissible to communicate with an athlete? Can I provide beta while they are climbing?
To clarify these points, let’s first establish some key principles:
- This is an hybrid format – Athletes are not in isolation during qualifications, except when in their climbing rotation (4min ON).
- Coaching plays a vital role in an athlete’s development, especially in training. However, competition is where athletes must demonstrate their ability to perform independently.
- CEC judges are volunteers. Their role is to facilitate the competition flow and judge each boulder problem—not to monitor the crowd or enforce coaching restrictions.
With these principles in mind, the CEC Technical Committee has established the following guidelines:
- Athletes may interact with anyone at any time—EXCEPT during their climbing rotation (4min on).
- Athletes will only be allowed to interact with their coach while in the Transit Zone (see below)
- Once an athlete starts their climbing rotation, they must perform without external communication.
- Absolutely NO coaching will be allowed during the climbing rotation (4min on)
- The CEC Officials (Jury President, Head Judge) can issue yellow and/or red cards to athletes or coaches who do not follow these guidelines
We ask that coaches, parents, and spectators respect this directive and refrain from providing verbal or non-verbal cues while an athlete is in their climbing rotation. This ensures the integrity of the competition.
In rounds that include an isolation phase (e.g., semifinals and finals), NO communication — verbal or non-verbal — is permitted once the athlete enters isolation.
Transit Zone
In order to facilitate the competition flow, we will be using Transit Zones for all rounds of Regionals and Nationals. On-Deck Chairs and Rest Chairs will be located in the Transit Zone, rather than in front of the competition wall. At the end of the climbing rotation (4 or 5 min ON pending on the round), athletes will have 15 seconds to leave the competition zone and make their way back to the Transit Zone. At the end of the 15sec transition, the next set of athletes will leave the Transit Zone to make their way to their next problem.
For the Qualification Flash Format, athletes are allowed to interact with their coaches ONLY while in the Transit Zone. However, for Semis and Finals rounds, no interaction will be allowed.
In Conclusion
Should you have any questions regarding the Rules, please contact the CEC Technical Committee at officiating@climbingcanada.ca. Athletes and Coaches are encouraged to read and understand the rules before attending a CEC event.
The CEC Technical Committee
