A competitor in a rope climbing event, at Lyon's Part-Dieu shopping centre. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France.

Rope climbing is a sport in which competitors, usually men, attempt to climb up a suspended vertical rope using only their hands. Rope climbing is practiced regularly at the World Police and Fire Games, and is enjoying a resurgence in France, where competitions are held in shopping centres. The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG are a biennial athletic event open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Also, enthusiasts in the Czech Republic resurrected the sport in 1993, and hold local and national competitions. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia,

History and description of the event

This was an Olympic Gymnastic event at one time, but was removed from that venue after the 1932 Games. In the United States, competitive climbing on both 20 ft and 25 ft, 1. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 5 inch diameter natural fiber ropes was sanctioned by both the AAU and the NCAA until the early 1960s, when these organizations dropped the events. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations As a result, intercollegiate competition in the USA disappeared at this time. In Olympic Games held in the USA, competitors climbed a 25 ft (7. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 62m) rope, but when post-1896 Games were held in Europe, an 8m (26. 3 ft) rope was used. In almost all contests, athletes climbed for speed, starting from a seated position on the floor and using only the hands and arms. Kicking the legs in a kind of "stride" was normally permitted. However, at the 1896 Olympic Games, competitors were ranked by both time and style (holding an L-position) on a rope so long (15 meters) that some climbers did not reach the top and were therefore excluded. The men's rope climbing was one of eight Gymnastics events on the Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme In all succeeding Olympics through the 1932 Games, competitors were judged strictly by time of ascent on a shorter rope.

At the top of the climb, there was a circular "tambourine" with lampblack on its undersurface, which the climber touched. Several timers with stop watches timed the climb, and an acceptable official time was then agreed upon. Before the event expired in America, an electronic means of timing the climb was developed, but this was insufficient reason to continue an activity conducted at gymnastic meets that many artistic gymnasts thought should have been relegated to the track & field arena. The world record for the 20' climb was 2. 8 seconds, first achieved by the American Don Perry in the 1950s.

The modern version of the sport incorporates an electronic timing device.

See also

• Gymnastics

External links

• History & Description of The Rope Climb
• The Benefits of Climbing Rope