Patters of climbing a starting section of the route among highly qualified climbers

The article presents the results of the research, which characterizes the influence of the time spent on climbing a starting section of the route on the final result in sport climbing completion. The author used the data obtained from the analysis of 483 starts of highly qualified sportsmen during important international competitions in lead climbing. Conducted studies revealed a correlation between the starting section time and the end result and determined the extent of its impact. In the general observation group, the correlation is low: r = - 0,21 ( p ≪ 0,001). It was established that the degree of correlation depends on the route length and the complexity level of the route starting section. On short routes the correlation coefficient drops to r = - 0,15 ( p = 0,066), on the medium and long ones it increases up to: r = - 0,36 ( p ≪ 0,001). On some routes the coefficient reached r = - 0,62. The research has determined an inverse relation, i.e. the less time is spent on the first eight movements, the higher is the likelihood of a better result. During the analysis, the equation of a linear relation was constructed, which allows to calculate the optimal time for the first eight movements. Estimated time included in a tactical plan and spent on climbing, with a high degree of probability ( p ≪ 0,001), will contribute to the efficiency improvement in sports performance during international competitions.