Climbing Works International Festival 2025 - Livestream

21st March

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The Climbing Works International Festival kicks off tomorrow morning, and there's a stacked schedule across the weekend!

SATURDAY 22ND MARCH

QUALIFIERS

Qualification begins tomorrow, and will follow the tried and tested format of 30 boulders, ranging from Font 5+ all the way up to Font 'Very Hard'. Competitors will compete either individually or as part of a team (for which there is a separate £1,000 prize!) with the top 20 male and female competitors qualifying for semi finals.

How hard can Font 'Very Hard' be?

During this fun and informal round, you'll have the chance to climb alongside top climbers from home and abroad, including Yoshiyuki Ogata, Mickael Mawem, Sohta Amagasa, Zoë Peetermans, Lucy Garlick, Max Milne, Dayan Akhtar, Jack MacDougall - and many more!

The setting team will be led by GB Head National Setter Max Ayrton, with Percy Bishton - Chief setter for the Boulder at Tokyo 2020 - also in the ranks, alongside a selection of national and international setters, including Cailean Harker, Matt Cousins, Euan McFadyen, Rob Napier, Jason Pickles, and Dom Gardner.

If it's silly-fun rather than competitive-fun you're looking for, the Rab Party Round - the 5-8pm session - is the ticket for you. In addition to the 30 qualifying boulders, you'll have a chance to climb on a series of 'strange/swingy/off-piste' climbs - think plungers, trampolines, and all sorts of other wonderful weirdness.

As always, fancy dress is encouraged, and in addition to a live DJ, pizza, and drinks, there's swag to be won courtesy of Rab.

Even more exciting is the 'Grand Prize' - worth over £1000 - comprising a one year membership to The Climbing Works, a coaching session, and £500 worth of Rab kit of your choice.

You have to enter the Rab Party Round (the 5-8pm slot on Saturday) in order to be in with a chance to win this prize, so get your tickets now!

SUNDAY 23RD MARCH

On Sunday, the action really ramps up, with both the semi-finals and the finals taking place in front of a live audience, as well as on Livestream.

Semi-finals begin at midday, and will showcase the top twenty male and female climbers from the qualifying rounds. The semis will follow a modified version of the IFSC rules, with four boulders on offer, and five minutes per boulder - full rules available here.

The six top scorers in the semi-finals will move through to the final - Live from 6pm - where another four fiendishly challenging boulders will await in order to decide the CWIF Champions for 2025!

Fingers crossed for more iconic CWIF scenes like this one!

If you can't make it, then we'll be hosting the livestreams for both Semi-Finals and Finals on this page, so you can watch all the action from the comfort of your home, accompanied by the insightful commentary of Olympian Molly Thompson-Smith and Team GB alumni Jon Partridge.

Watch the Livestream of the Semi-Finals below from 11:45.

Watch the Livestream of the CWIF 2025 Final below from 17:45.

Finally, if you missed out on spectator tickets, but want a bit more of an atmosphere than home-viewing provides, then head down to the Winter Gardens for the watch party! More details available here.

What else is on?

In addition to rubbing shoulders with top climbers on top boulders, there's the Scarpa Pro Shop, where you can get 20% off RRP, and get pro guidance from Scarpa staff and designers when looking for the perfect shoe. Moreover, there will be deals from E9, Friction Labs, Climbskin, Organic Climbing, Edelweiss, Grivel, and Climbers Against Cancer, as well as Climbing Works Pizza and a Pancake Bar available on both days!

Finally, if Sheffield is slightly too far for you to travel, there's the Mega Charity Raffle, open to all UK residents. Supporting Climbers Against Cancer and The Alzheimer's Society, tickets are just £2.50, and give you a chance of winning prize bundles from Organic Climbing, Rab, Beta Climbing Designs, and The Climbing Works - get your tickets here.