ABS began as a fun local comp circuit. In 1998 the Midwest Bouldering Tour traveled through Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio with 11 stops. After getting calls from neighboring states the MBT expanded into the Eastern Bouldering Series with 60 events east of the Mississippi. These early programs were clearly onto something, and in the 3rd year the American Bouldering Series was born.

The first ABS events were held in October 2000 and the first nation-wide season had 88 competitions. Since becoming a National Organization and merging with USA Climbing in 2004, the two have formed the largest comp climbing organization in US history.

USA Climbing is the umbrella organization under which the American Bouldering Series, the Sport Climbing Series, and USAC Exhibitions operate. In addition, USA Climbing is the national governing body of competition climbing in the United States. We promote three competition disciplines: bouldering, sport and speed climbing. The bouldering discipline is represented by the American Bouldering Series (ABS). Likewise, the sport and speed climbing disciplines are represented by the Sport Climbing Series (SCS).

USA Climbing receives sanctioning and is recognized by: The International Federation for Sport Climbing (IFSC - formerly known as the International Council for Competition Climbing or the ICC), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).