Gracie Martin speaks to industry professionals to find out what's hot and what's next in the world of route setting...

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Route setting is undeniably one of the most essential elements of the climbing industry, but where do concepts for holds and climbs come from? With the ever-evolving capabilities of athletes, an increased appetite for quality setting from commercial walls and endless creativity from shapers, I wanted to try and understand how the development of setting trends occur. Where can we expect to see route setting go next?

Firstly, let's take the opportunity to look back and get up to speed on where route setting has taken us so far.

Over the past 30+ years we have seen crazy developments in both the competitive and commercial side of indoor climbing. But to really analyse this and where route setting might be going in the future, it's time to bring in some industry experts.

Remi Samyn

Frenchman Remi has had a passion for route setting since he was 17 and has now set for over 26 international events. He has become a prolific name in the industry and most recently chiefed the bouldering element of the IFSC Bern World Championships this summer.

Olga Niemiec

Born in Krakow, Poland, Olga started route setting in 2018 and has climbed the ranks in the industry to become an IFSC route setter. Also a mother to two young children, she splits her time between her children, training and work.

Alexander Lemel

Known for his influence on the UK route setting scene, Alexander has been involved in both the commercial and competitive side of the industry for a number of years. His most recent endeavour is founding The Movement, an initiative which offers continual professional development for route setters.

I wanted to get to know a bit more about them and their thoughts on where route setting might go next.

How did you first start route setting?

RS: When I was 15, I was a competitor and route setting was a necessity in order to be able to carry out my training.

ON: I have been taking part in national competitions since I was a child. I have always been intrigued by the work of route setters. Once, I couldn't attend the largest competition in Poland, involving international competitors and the best Polish routesetters, including two IFSC route setters: Adam Pustelnik and Tomasz Oleksy. I knew I wouldn't be able to participate in the whole event (because I was going on holiday on the day of finals) but I wanted to take part anyway. Then the idea occurred to me that maybe I could try taking part "on the other side." This was my first time working as a route setter. I immediately fell in love with it, experiencing feelings familiar to competitors: pressure, responsibility and emotions such as joy, disappointment and excitement. All so different from the emotions which I feel as an athlete, but somehow similar.

AL: I first started setting around 15 years ago. I quit my job to work at Mile End, just to be in the environment of climbing and the community as much as possible. I quickly became enamoured with holds and what the route setters were doing so it wasn't long before I was given an opportunity to become involved and that's where my journey with route setting began.

You are at the forefront of route setting. Who in the industry do you think has the most influence over the next hold trend? Shapers? Setters? Athletes?

RS: Shapers and route setters definitely have the most influence and are at the origins of new products on the market. Very often it's the same people: a lot of route setters are also shapers. The athletes bring the route setters' ideas to life.

ON: I think that the shapers still have the biggest influence. They are also most often route setters. They know best what we are "missing" and what we would like to improve during the route setting progress. My favourite hold companies employ the best route setters as shapers.

AL: Well it could be all three of the above in different measures. I think it's a trickle down effect — the holds are shaped, we see them debuted in competitions and events, then we start to see them appear in commercial gyms. Although without a doubt we have a huge push of direction from the shapers and affiliated setters, without commercial gyms buying them they would struggle to become trends. So, we could also say the commercial environment and the impact of social media also plays a part in which holds trend more than others.

Route setters face a lot of pressure at events, being responsible for a fair, effective competition for athletes and a good show for spectators. They are the ones who ultimately decide how to challenge the athletes and they are the first to be blamed if the competition doesn't go to plan. Given the amount of responsibility, do you think setters receive the necessary support?

RS: It's a huge responsibility and we must not forget that without route setters, there simply isn't any climbing competition. Our working conditions have improved over the last 10 years and we have to admit that we are much better supported than in the past. Even so, it's important to continue to improve all of this (equipment, conditions, salary, etc.) because it's still a very precarious profession.

ON: We have guidelines from the IFSC and we try our best to follow them. We offer a wide range of styles and an appropriate number of tops. Boulders that are too difficult or too easy are not preferred. Of course, it's not easy to prepare a perfect competition. The pressure on us is still enormous. The level of the athletes is really high and it is very difficult to split them. Our goal is to ensure fairness and find the best athlete of the event.

AL: I think the answer to this is different for different setters as their experience will differ depending on who the body is for that region, as some are more supported than others. Ultimately I think the bottom line is no — they don't receive enough support. But, the answer to this question is complex and needs to be understood. The support needs to come in a few different forms including physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, professional development and support - all things that are currently not on the table for the majority of setters. All of these things are necessary for setters to maintain a healthy and sustainable working environment and work/life balance.

Do you think route setter development is something we should consider putting more time into given the weight of responsibility setters have?

RS: There is a real lack of teaching/initial education in this area. For the most part we train on the job, accumulating experience, but this is not enough to meet the ever-increasing expectations for route setting.

ON: Of course. I think experience is the most important ingredient. Each completed competition increases our development. Each prepared event is a lesson for the future. It is important that new route setters gain experience among people who have been working in this profession for a long time. Additionally, working with athletes allows us to develop ourselves personally. Preparing simulation or training competitions is "safe"and allows us to develop our imagination. The amount of responsibility is sometimes overwhelming. We the route setters, just like the organisers, athletes and coaches, want excellent competitions. However, not everything depends on us. Sometimes factors such as weather, humidity and temperature come into play. We have no influence on it, we try to predict it, but no one is perfect. We do our best to make the competition a success.

AL: Definitely! Currently most development happens on the job. This works up until a point, but is dependent on who is chiefing/mentoring and how much time they have to put into that person.

Also, this way of gaining experience can be a long one as you have to balance delivering a product at the same time, so everyone's pathway through professional development looks different. Considering route setters are delivering the main product a climbing wall offers, we should be seeing more investment in lasting development and wellbeing, investing in setters and giving time and space for them to develop concepts and ideas and the space to see what works and what doesn't. This is the space where people grow the most and these experiences and growth translate directly back to the gym and customers' experience overall.

There have been many developments in setting throughout the years, which do you think has been the most important so far? Why?

RS: When it comes to materials, by far the two biggest revolutions I've seen since I've been set are wooden volumes and dual texture. From a more general point of view, what's crazy is that being a route setter today is a profession. It seemed impossible to imagine 15-20 years ago.

ON: The overall development is great. Once there used to be just static movements. Now, coordination problems must involve at least three dynamic movements simultaneously. We are constantly looking for new moves or new combinations. For me, the most interesting are risky moves, when we are not looking for the difficulty itself, but want to challenge athletes to find a boulder solution. We give them many opportunities, all with the same difficulties, but each of them requires different skills.

AL: The shape and size of holds has changed dramatically, which has had a huge impact on the types of movement we can create and in turn offer the climber, whether in a competition or commercial environment. I think we are about to see a shift in terms of route setting development with the availability of education and workshops. These workshops enable people to invest in themselves and their own pathway and really see a progression in their skills and attitude on the mats, something that's not always easy to see when you're setting day in and day out. Bringing setters together in these environments also does wonders for renewing motivation and psyche — another critical factor we face on a day to day basis as setters.

We saw the introduction of no-tex holds at the Bern World Championships. What are your thoughts on no-tex and is this the next trend?

RS: There's a good chance that this will be the trend for some time, but the use of no-tex is still very limited. It's a touch of originality and surprise that can be introduced from time to time. Climbing on it all the time wouldn't make sense and would be very reductive. I really enjoyed playing with no-tex, particularly at the World Championships. In the end, it's a challenge for the athletes but also for us, the route setters, and I like the challenge.

ON: I like variety and this new idea from Flathold is great and it's something fresh. I hope that this is not just a new trend and that it's a small part of a bigger change. We need diversity and Flathold provided it for us.

AL: I think they were part of a very memorable moment in our sport and in a way it summarises route setting — taking a risk with something and pushing creative boundaries and leaving it in the hands of the athletes to interpret. We are already there with dual texture so I suppose full no-texture isn't that far away (it is already available) but will only suit a very specific environment — competitions, training camps etc... but regardless it's a super cool tool for route setters to be able to use and experiment with on concept moves etc.

What are we going to be seeing that's new at the Paris Olympics next year?

RS: The real challenge will be the scenario of the competition: how will that play out? Nobody knows, and that's where the suspense comes in. As far as the equipment and regulations are concerned, everything has been locked-in for about a year. There will be no changes to the format, and no new holds at the Olympics, in the interests of sporting fairness.

ON: I hope it will be a great event with the participation of the best competitors. I think the route setters will be under a lot of pressure once again, but I believe they will put on a great show for us.

AL: I think this will show through the athletes performing and ultimately their outcomes. There are too many variables to predict but this is the game! We may see a new move we haven't seen before, we may not... however this would be a risky move on the biggest stage, but if there was ever a time to take that risk....Setters play with risk on a daily basis so who knows what will happen. One thing is for sure is the setters and athletes will put on an incredible show, and I can't wait to watch!

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Hold manufacturers are also responsible for what goes onto the wall — and more specifically, for what materials the holds are made from. One of the most pressing topics in the industry is the sustainability of plastic holds, so I wanted to get a perspective from some industry leaders focusing on this area.

"We recognise the problem of polished and damaged holds and have been offering a refurbishing service for the last couple of years," Alex Waterhouse, founder of Contact Holds, said. "Not only is this a cheaper alternative to buying new holds, it also keeps them out of landfill!"

Meanwhile, Lock Holds are "producing viable alternatives to fibreglass and PU in the form of hardwood macros by using jointed tulipwood, which is the fastest-growing hardwood species found in Northern America and Europe," founder Henry Kinman said. 

The development of the sport is exciting and will always be evolving as people inevitably want to have new things to climb on. This discussion gives us just a small insight into what might be coming next. As a climber, what would you want to see going up at your local wall?