IFSC Releases Catalogue T20: The Official Holds, Macros & Volumes for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

The IFSC is thrilled to announce the release of the IFSC Catalogue T20: Official Holds, Macros and Volumes for Sport Climbing Events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Catalogue T20).

With the Games being just around the corner, Catalogue T20 contains a full list of the holds, macros and volumes selected for the following purposes/events at the Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo, Japan, where the Tokyo 2020 Sport Climbing events are set to take place:

• Test Event (March 2020)
• Athletes’ Official Training Sessions (July – August 2020)
• Warm Up and Sport Initiation Walls (July – August 2020)
• Main competition walls for Lead & Bouldering (August 2020)

A wide range of Holds, Macros and Volumes is necessary for fair and versatile routesetting in the field of play. Due to their importance on Sport Climbing’s impartiality and quality, the IFSC created the Official Sport Equipment Catalogue in 2019 with the aim of making the field of play fairer across international Sport Climbing events. Interested brands from the 2019 Catalogue were then invited in an open call to apply for the Catalogue T20.  

To ensure that brands received an equal chance of selection for Catalogue T20, the IFSC Executive Board appointed a routesetter advisor whose professional criteria includes strong analytical skills, a long history of collaboration with IFSC and no business association with any brand of holds. The IFSC received a total 15 applications, and evaluated more than 5,000 shapes. The selection process was based on: 

• Objective criteria (45%)

• Quality of the product: Durability, materials
• Production location 
• Innovation: Preferred brands with history of innovation and development
• Design and shape: Variety of models and shapes, and/or modular solutions

• Event-specific criteria (45%)
  Creation of a full set of holds, macros, volumes meant for the highest quality competitions which:

• Should have a large variety of shapes allowing versatile routesetting
• Should make sense in its entirety
• Should be fit for the highest-level of competition climbing
• Should encompass both Lead and Bouldering competitions 
• Should fit the specific profiles of the Tokyo 2020 walls 
• Should match the Tokyo 2020 look of the Games
• Should be used for training and other competitions 

• Brand’s distribution channels (ability to ship to most IFSC Member Federations) (5%)
• Brand’s competition experience (5%)

All brands included in Catalogue T20 are IFSC Authorised Holds, Macros, and Volumes Producers of the Official Sport Equipment Catalogue 2019. 

Furthermore, working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) on the preparation and organisation of sport equipment for the Tokyo 2020 Games, the IFSC will ensure that only holds, macros and volumes featured in Catalogue T20 are used at the above events. Subsequently, IFSC routesetters will create athletes' field of play by selecting amongst items listed in Catalogue T20, so as to guarantee the highest quality of the Sport Climbing competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. 

With the release of Catalogue T20 several months ahead of the Games, athletes and National Federations are thus offered the opportunity to train on the exact equipment to be used in the Tokyo 2020 Sport Climbing events. As such, the same conditions are guaranteed for all athletes, promoting fairness within the competition. 

“We want all of our athletes competing in the Games to share the exact same experience, which is why the IFSC is excited to release the Catalogue T20 ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, giving our athletes the chance to see, touch and train on the holds in advance. Making such an opportunity available in advance the Games is highly important in the perspective of sport equity. The IFSC would like to thank all participating brands for their commitment and contribution to Sport Climbing’s journey to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” says IFSC Sport Director Silvia Verdolini. 

Catalogue T20 can be downloaded here. For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..