Background & Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether the level of focus affects a person’s ability to overcome the fear of falling during leading in competition climbing. Matherial and Method: The subjects were members of the Polish competition climbing national team. The sample consisted of 30 climbers aged between 16 and 52 years. The study was conducted on the Eiger artificial climbing wall in Wrocław. The test methods used were Brickenkamp’s d2 Test of Attention and the authors’ original Scale of Fear of Falling Assessment. Results: An analysis of the data obtained demonstrated that the majority of men (66%) and women (66%) scored positively. At the same time, a minority (33%) of men scored above average on the d2 test and the same tendency was observed in women (25%). Across the whole group studied this results in 30% of persons who successfully dealt with fear and, simultaneously, demonstrated a high level of focus. Conclusions: It has been shown that there is no significant link between the level of focus and the ability to overcome the fear of falling during leading in competition climbing. The level of focus demonstrated may be directly related to how well a climber copes while tackling difficult routes, but it has no direct effect on overcoming his or her fear of falling.

sport psychology; focus; fear; competition climbing

Booth J, Marino F, Hill C, Gwinn T. Energy cost of sport rock climbing in elite performers. British Journal of Sports Medicine 1999; 33: 14-18.

Cox RH, Martens MP, Russell WD. Measuring anxiety in athletics: The revised competitive state anxiety. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 2003; 25: 519-533.

Janot JM, Steffen JP, Porcari JP, Maher MA. Heart rate response and perceived exertion for beginner and recreational sport climbers during indoor climbing. Journal of Exercise Physiology 2000; 3 (1): 1-7.

Draper N, Jones GA, Fryer S, Hodgson CI, Blackwell G. Effect of an On-Sight Lead on the Physiological and Psychological Responses to Rock Climbing. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 2008; 7 (4): 492-498.

Mermier CM, Janot JM, Parker DL, Swan JG. Physiological and anthropometric determinants of competition climbing performance. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2000; 34: 359-366.

Mermier CM, Rodbergs RA, McMinn SM, Heyward VH. Energy expenditure and physiological responses during indoor rock climbing. British Journal of Sports Medicine 1997; 31: 224-228.

Llewellyn DJ, Sanchez X. Individual differences and risk taking in rock climbing. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2008; 99: 413-426.

Llewellyn DJ, Sanchez X, Ashghar A, Jones G. Self-efficacy, risk taking and performance in rock climbing. Personality and Individual Differences 2008; 445: 75-81.

Bartholomew JB, Linder DE. State anxiety following resistance exercise: the role of gender and exercise intensity. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 1998; 21: 205-219.

Hanton S, Thomas O, Maynard I. Competitive anxiety response in the week leading up to competition: The role of intensity, direction and frequency. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2004; 5: 169-181.

Hanin YL. Emotions and athletic performance: Individual Jones of optimal functioning model. European Yearbook of Sport Psychology 1997; 1: 29-72.

Robazza C, Pellizzari M, Bertollo M, Hanin YL. Functional impact of emotions on athletic performance: Comparing the IZOF model and the directional perception approach. Journal of Sports Sciences 2008; 26 (10): 1033-1047.

Collins DV, Jones B, Fairweather M, Dilan S, Priestley N. Examining anxiety associated changes in movement patterns. International Journal of Sport Psychology 2001; 32: 223-242.

Haase AM, Prapavessis H, Owens RG. Perfectionism, social physique anxiety and disordered eating: a comparison of male and female elite athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2002; 3: 209-222.

Schefke T, Gronek P. Improving Attentional Processes in Sport: Defining Attention, Attentional Skills and Attention Types. Studies in Physical Culture And Tourism 2010; 4 (17): 11-26.

Huttermann S, Memmert D, Simons DJ. The size and shape of the attentional spotlight varies with differences in sports expertise. The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 2014; 20 (2): 147-157.

Zwierko T, Florkiewicz B. The ability to maintain attention during visuomotor task performance in handball players and non-athletes. Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine 2014; 7 (3): 99-106.

Brickenkamp R. Test d2-R. Warsaw: Pracownia Testów Psychologicznych, 2003.

Billat V, Palleja P, Charlaix T, Rizzardo P, Janel N. Energy specificity of rock climbing and aerobic capacity in competitive sport rock climbers. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 1995; 335: 20-24.

Draper N, Bird E, Coleman I, Hodgson C. Effects of active recovery on lactate focus, heart rate and RPE in climbing. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 2006; 5: 97-105.

Draper N, Brent S, Hale B, Coleman I. The influence of sampling site and assay method on lactate focus in response to rock climbing. European Journal of Applied Physiology 2006; 98: 363-372.

Hardy L, Hutchinson A. Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: A test of processing efficiency theory. Anxiety, Stress and Coping 2007; 20 (2): 147-161.

Mullen R, Hardy L. State anxiety and motor performance: Testing the conscious processing hypothesis. Journal of Sport Sciences 2000; 18: 785-799.

Murray NP, Janelle CM. Anxiety and performance: A visual search examination of the processes efficiency theory. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 2003; 25: 171-187.

Shawn Y, Peh J, Yi C, Keith D. Review: Focus of attention and its impact on movement behaviour. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 2011; 14: 70-78.

Wulf G, McNevin NH, Fuchs T, Ritter F, Toole T. Attentional focus in complex skill learning. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 2000; 71 (3): 229-239.

Burnet J, Sabiston CM. Social physique anxiety and physical activity: A self-determination theory perspective. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2009; 10: 329-335.

Janelle CM. Anxiety, arousal and visual attention: A mechanistic account of performance variability. Journal of Sport Sciences 2002; 20: 237-251.

Wulf G, Shea C, Park JH. Attention and motor performance: preferences for and advantages of an external focus. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 2001; 72 (4): 335-444.

Wulf G, Tollner T, Shea C. Attentional Focus Effects as a Function of Task Difficulty. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 1996; 78 (3): 7257-7264.

Baghurst T, Thierry G, Holder T. Evidence for a Relationship Between Attentional Styles and Effective Cognitive Strategies During Performance. Athletic Insight – The Online Journal of Sport Psychology 2004; 6 (1): 78-92.

Lutz A, Slagter HA, Dunne JD, Davidson RJ. Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2008; 12 (4): 163-169.

Draper N, Hodgson CI, McMorris T, Jones GA, Fryer S, Coleman I. Perceived anxiety and plasma cortisol focus following rock climbing with differing safety-rope protocols. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2008; 33: 14-18.