Smith's Ballpark is trading its infield dirt for climbing holds next week, as USA Climbing transforms the Salt Lake City baseball stadium into an international competition venue for the first time. From Friday through Sunday, the ballpark will host the final Boulder stop of the 2026 World Climbing Series, bringing elite climbers from around the world to compete on a wall that typically sees fly balls, not finger holds.
USA Climbing, the national governing body of competition climbing, is hosting the World Climbing Series Salt Lake City 2026 at Smith's Ballpark from Oct. 16 to 18, according to Gripped. The stop marks the season's final Boulder competition, as confirmed by USA Climbing, and it will be the first time an international climbing competition has been staged on the ballpark's infield, per the organization's own event page. Crews are converting the stadium into a one-of-a-kind climbing arena for the occasion, as Gripped describes it.
Olympians Set to Compete on Converted Infield
The event is expected to draw a strong field, including Paris 2024 Olympians Brooke Raboutou and Colin Duffy, alongside fellow competitor Annie Sanders, the Gripped report notes. Raboutou, who is from Boulder, Colorado, became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in sport climbing after taking silver in women's Boulder and Lead at the Paris Games, according to the same account. Duffy, a Broomfield, Colorado native, is a two-time Olympian who finished fourth in Paris, per visitsaltlake.com's rundown of the field.
As the KSL report on the event notes, the competition will also feature multiple Paris 2024 Olympians beyond just the headline names, with top U.S. National Team athletes squaring off against international competitors. According to Fox 13, the event will feature elite boulder competition with top U.S. and international athletes.
Rankings on the Line as Series Wraps Up
Beyond medals, the Salt Lake City stop carries real stakes for the 2026 World Climbing Series standings, with top world rankings on the line, according to Visit Salt Lake. Sanders enters the event currently ranked second in Boulder and first in Lead in the 2026 series rankings, the same source reports. The World Climbing Series overall spans 13 stops across 10 countries this year and covers the Boulder, Lead and Speed disciplines, according to Olympics.com.
Bouldering itself is a form of free climbing done without ropes or harnesses, with athletes scaling shorter routes above safety mats rather than roped walls, as explained in the seed report from KSL. The climbing wall set up for the event stands 14.76 feet, or 4.5 meters, tall, per that same report, and a climb is considered complete when an athlete controls the final hold at the top with both hands in a stable position, according to USA Climbing's competition standard as cited by KSL.
Salt Lake City Hosts the Final Boulder Event
Salt Lake City is set to host the final Boulder event of the 2026 World Climbing Series this fall.
Spectator tickets for the Smith's Ballpark showcase started at $15, with USA Climbing members having received presale access beginning July 31, according to the Gripped report. Qualification rounds for both men's and women's teams were slated for Friday, Oct. 16, with men competing Saturday, Oct. 17, and the women's competition wrapping up the tournament on Sunday, Oct. 18, per details in the KSL account of the schedule.
