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Urban Climb Blackburn hosts the 2026 Australian Speed Climbing National Championships on 7 November, and Gravity Worx the Victorian State Speed Titles on 21 November. Here's what speed climbing is, who races, and how to enter or watch.
Melbourne hosts two speed climbing championships in November 2026. Sport Climbing Australia's 2026 Australian Speed Climbing National Championships are at Urban Climb Blackburn on Saturday 7 November, and Sport Climbing Victoria's 2026 Vic State Speed Titles follow at Gravity Worx in Pascoe Vale on Saturday 21 November. Both are on Sport Climbing Australia's events calendar, and both have youth, open, masters and inclusive categories.
Speed is the sprint of competition climbing. Two climbers race side by side up a 15-metre wall that overhangs by 5 degrees, on a standard route: since 2007 the holds and their order have been the same on every competition wall. Climbers are protected by an auto-belay from the top, the clock stops when they hit the switch at the top, and times are shown to hundredths of a second. Leaving the ground within a tenth of a second of the start signal is a false start (Wikipedia). In the final rounds racers go head to head, and the first to hit the finish pad wins, according to World Climbing, the international federation formerly known as the IFSC.
Speed was one of three disciplines in a combined event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and became a medal event of its own at Paris 2024, where Sam Watson of the USA set an Olympic record of 4.74 seconds and Poland's Aleksandra Mirosław one of 6.06 seconds.
Urban Climb's centre at Unit 5/15–33 Alfred Street, Blackburn, in Melbourne's east, opened in 2022 as the chain's home of rope climbing in Victoria, with walls up to 17 metres and an Olympic-style speed wall. Sport Climbing Australia's information pack (version 1, updated 31 August 2026) gives a provisional timetable: check-in from 9:30 to 10am, two official practice runs per athlete on each lane from 10:45am, a qualification round for all athletes together at 11:30am, and finals by age division from midday, with podiums as each division finishes. The event runs under World Climbing's speed format, and the timetable may change with the number of entries.
The divisions are Masters (born 1986 or earlier), Open (born 2009 or earlier), U19 (born 2008 or 2009) and U17 (born 2010 or 2011), each with male, female and inclusive categories. The inclusive category is non-gendered and welcomes LGBTQIA+, non-binary and gender-diverse athletes and anyone more comfortable competing in it. Climbers born in 2012 or 2013 can ask for an invitational U15 place if they already train under supervision on a full World Cup speed wall, sending video and training times to the event manager.
From 2pm to 4pm, Myriam Glez, the federation's GM Performance and national team speed coach, runs a free clinic on speed training, planning and technique for the Australian athletes competing. Sport Climbing Australia is building a speed national team programme for 2027, for open and youth climbers, and invited athletes and families to a forum with Glez on 9 October about its structure and selection policies.
To enter the nationals:
Gravity Worx, an independent gym on Sussex Street in Pascoe Vale, in Melbourne's north, opened in December 2016 as a lead and speed climbing centre, and its 15-metre speed wall is built to the international specification. Sport Climbing Victoria's info pack (updated 12 October 2026) sets an evening programme: the walls and warm-up area open at 3pm, athletes register between 4:30 and 4:45pm, the briefing is at 5pm, and practice runs and qualifiers start at 5:15pm. Finals begin at 6pm for U17, U19, Open, Masters men and Inclusive 15+, and at 6:15pm for U11, U13, U15, Inclusive under-15 and Masters women, with all podiums at 6:45pm.
Open A, Masters men (40+), Masters women A, U19, U17 and Inclusive 15+ race on the red speed route; Open B, Masters women B, Inclusive under-15, U15, U13 and U11 race on the blue route. Age groups go by the age a climber turns in 2026, to match the nationals. Climbers under 15 race under a modified false-start rule: no sound or light marks a false start, and the climber is told after the race, when it counts as a fall.
This year every category is social: Sport Climbing Victoria says the titles are not a pathway to state team selection for the nationals. It plans three speed competitions in 2027, with selection based on one or more of them, and it already runs a speed series whose second 2026 round was held at Gravity Worx in March. Entry is $55 for a category, or $65 with a second one, through the event page, and entries close at 11:59pm on Friday 13 November. The rest of the gym, including the bouldering and roped areas, stays open to the public for at least part of the event.
Spectators are welcome at both events. At Blackburn they must stay outside the marked competition area, and if space has to be restricted, volunteers get priority. At Gravity Worx, Sport Climbing Victoria encourages spectators to volunteer, since helpers get the best views, and its volunteer coordinator tries to let them watch their own family race. Both events need volunteers, from judges and timers to marshals and data entry, and newcomers to climbing are welcome; volunteers need a Working With Children Check, and Sport Climbing Victoria also asks for a child safety certificate. Official photographers cover both events, and family members may photograph only their own children, from the spectator area.
Both host gyms are open to casual climbers outside competition hours. An adult day pass costs $26 at Urban Climb Blackburn (a first visit is $31, followed by two free weeks) and $25 at Gravity Worx, with harness and shoe hire extra. For more places to climb, see our Melbourne and Victoria pages.
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