Islamabad (Sports Desk):The IFSC Youth World Championships 2025 began in Helsinki with the U19 Boulder qualification at the Helsingin Kiipeilykeskus – one of two that will play host in the Finnish capital city.
Over 600 athletes - 340 male and 279 female – are registered to compete across the three core disciplines – Boulder, Lead and Speed, and across two age groups – U19 and U17. The event will be the first edition featuring competitors divided into two age categories instead of the previous three (U16, U18 and U20).
After traveling from the USA to South Korea and China in the span of three years, the Youth World Championships is back in Europe for its 2025 edition from 28 July to 3 August.
Split between two venues, the KiipeilyAreena Ristikko will host Lead and Speed later in the week and Helsingin Kiipeilykeskus currently hosting the Boulder discipline with semi-finals and finals for all disciplines free to watch live, and replay, on the IFSC YouTube channel.
The ten planned live streams will feature IFSC World Cup commentator Matt Groom who will be joined by competitors, sponsors, coaches and other climbing figures from the Youth World Championships.
Xanthe Saunders from New Zealand will compete in the Lead discipline in Helsinki, and before the event said: “I’m really excited but really nervous as well. This is my first Youth Worlds. I expect it to be really hard but I am just here to have fun and get the experience.
