The IFSC World Cup will see a new scoring system in place for the Boulder discipline when action returns for the 2025 Series.
Key changes to the rules include more semi-final and finalists competing and an easier to follow numerical scoring system.
SEMI-FINALISTS AND FINALISTS
Boulder will now align with the Lead discipline with 24 semi-final places available, and eight for the final round. The expanded number of finals places is also thought to help increase the probability of more nations claiming finals appearances.
The Lead World Cup Series 2025 will also be the first time that 24 climbers will contest the semi-final, a rule change that was brought in at the start of 2025 for continuity between the two disciplines. The previous number of Lead semi-finalists was 26.
With eight finalists now in Boulder, the running order also changes with multiple climbers on the mats at the same time – excluding the first and last rotation when one climber will feature. This is foreseen to help ensure viewers see continuous climbing with climbers on the wall while others may take some rest or route reading time on the mat.
POINT-BASED SYSTEM
The other significant change in Boulder will be a point-based system, similar to the Paris 2024 Boulder & Lead scoring format.
A points tally will comprise of 25 points for a Top and 10 points for the single zone on each boulder, with 0.1 points deducted for every unsuccessful attempt. As an example, a climber may score 25 points for a flash, but 24.9 points for finishing the boulder on their second attempt.
This change in scoring is intended to make following the progress of climbers and the positions on the leaderboard much easier – for climbers, and for newcomers to the sport.
All changes are a result of years of SWOT analysis which began in 2022. After this, a proposal by representatives from five Technical Commissions, the Media & Marketing Commission and athletes was put forward and approved by the IFSC Executive Board.
The first event in the IFSC World Cup Series 2025 will be the opening event of the season in Keqiao, China from 18 to 20 April. The full IFSC World Cup Series 2025 calendar can be found here.
News and updates about all IFSC events will be available on the IFSC website on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.
