Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to arrest a fall; it can also involve climbing short distances with a crash pad underneath as protection. This is in contrast to traditional climbing where climbers must place removable protection as they climb. Sport climbing usually involves lead climbing and toproping techniques, but free solo and deep-water solo (i.e. no protection) climbing on sport routes is also sometimes possible. Since sport climbing routes do not need to follow traditional climbing route lines where protection can be placed into natural features (e.g. cracks), they tend to follow more direct lines up crags. This aspect, in addition to the lack of any need to install protection during the climb (e.g. the sport climber just clips into pre-installed bolts along the climb), results in different styles of climbing between sport rock climbing and traditional rock climbing. Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, (also called competition lead climbing], having been previously tested at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. History Basics On a sport climbing route, pre-placed bolts follow a 'line' up a rock face. Sport climbs can vary in length from a few metres to a full rope length for multi-pitch climbs. The climbs might be equipped with just a few bolts or many. Sport climbing can be undertaken with relatively little equipment. Equipment used in sport climbing includes: A dynamic rope Quickdraws A belay device Climbing harnesses for belayer and climber Climbing shoes and chalk bag are normally used, although not technically necessary A climbing helmet is sometimes used, especially if the route is vertical or a slab To lead a sport climb means to ascend a route with a rope tied to the climber's harness, and with the loose end of the rope handled by a belayer. As each bolt is reached along the route, the climber attaches a quickdraw to the bolt, and then clips the rope through the hanging end of the quickdraw. This bolt is now protecting the climber in the event of a fall. At the top of sport routes, there is typically a two-bolt anchor that can be used to return the climber to the ground or