The research base for rock climbing has expanded substantially in the past 3 decades as worldwide interest in the sport has grown. An important trigger for the increasing research attention has been the transition of the sport to a competitive as well as recreational activity and the potential inclusion of sport climbing in the Olympic schedule. The International Rock Climbing Research Association (IRCRA) was formed in 2011 to bring together climbers, coaches and researchers to share knowledge and promote collaboration. This position statement was developed during and after the 2 nd IRCRA Congress which was held in Pontresina, in September 2014. The aim of the position statement is to bring greater uniformity to the descriptive and statistical methods used in reporting rock climbing research findings. To date there is a wide variation in the information provided by researchers regarding the climbers' characteristics and also in the approaches employed to convert from climbing grading scales to a numeric scale suitable for statistical analysis. Our paper presents details of recommended standards of reporting that should be used for reporting climber characteristics and provides a universal scale for the conversion of climbing grades to a number system for statistical analysis.

Including wrist and finger interactions in this hand model provided new quantification of muscle load sharing, cocontraction level, and biomechanics of the hand. Such information could complete future investigations concerning handle ergonomics or pathomechanisms of hand musculoskeletal disorders.

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The aim of this study was to characterize forearm muscle fatigue identified by the decrease in electromyogram median frequency and/or fingertip force during intermittent exercise. Nine elite climbers (international competitive level, USA 5.14a on sight) and ten non-climbers were instructed to maintain a fingertip force of 80% of their maximal voluntary contraction force on a dynamometer mimicking a rock climbing grip during a 5 s effort/5 s rest cycle for 36 repetitions (i.e. 6 min of exercise). Elite climbers lasted twice as long as non-climbers (climbers: 3 min; non-climbers: 1 min 30 s) before the force could no longer be maintained (i.e. the failure point). After this moment, fingertip force decreased and stabilized until the end of the exercise around 50% maximum voluntary contraction force in non-climbers and 63% in elite climbers. Electromyogram median frequency showed a greater decrease in non-climbers than in elite climbers before the failure point. No change in median frequency was observed after the failure point in elite climbers or in non-climbers. These results confirm that elite climbers are better adapted than non-climbers for performing the intermittent fingertip effort before the failure point. After this point, the better fingertip force of elite climbers suggests different forearm muscle properties, while the electromyography results do not provide any indication about the fatigue process.