Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy): A letter, signed by International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Secretary General Debra Gawrych, and sent to Nourrdine Bouchaal, Vice President of the Federation Royale Marocaine de Ski Sports de Montagne (FRMSSM), officially welcomed Morocco as a new Member Federation of the IFSC. IFSC Treasurer Pierre You also traveled to Morocco to personally congratulate on behalf of the entire IFSC Executive Board, and welcome the FRMSSM in the Climbing family. Morocco is the 96th Member Federation of the IFSC – the ninth in Africa along with Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. “I wish to congratulate the FRMSSM for their efforts in promoting our sport, and we look forward to our fruitful cooperation to develop Sport Climbing in Morocco,” IFSC Secretary General Debra Gawrych said in the letter. The decision will finally be ratified at the XIX IFSC General Assembly, taking place in Singapore from 31 March to 1 April 2023.

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy): The second edition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Climbing Summit took place at Nuvola Lavazza, in Torino, Italy, on 25 and 26 November 2022. The two-day event was opened by the Mayor of Torino, Stefano Lo Russo, who highlighted the link between the city and its mountain culture to the 35 National Federation delegates in attendance. IFSC President Marco Scolaris set the tone of the Summit in his opening speech, welcoming the first Sport Climbing Olympic gold medallist Janja Garnbret of Slovenia, Paraclimbing Committee Athletes’ Representative Lucia Capovilla of Italy, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Sean McColl of Canada, and former athlete Jérôme Meyer of France, for an athlete-first approach. Various topics were presented and discussed – including strategy, governance, events, media and development of Sport Climbing – to the attendees and the delegates joining online from around the world. Olympic champion Garnbret took part in a wide-ranging interview with Master of Ceremonies Peter Stafford, of MSM PR & Communications, a Swiss based communications agency, serving as a voice to inform the National Federations of the issues and thoughts of the current competitors. Garnbret also joined a panel that included IFSC Treasurer Pierre You to investigate the challenges, reputation, and risk that may be posed for the future of the organisation. In a split session, IFSC Vice Presidents Kobinata Toru and Wolfgang Wabel were joined by Athletes’ Commission Vice President Sean McColl, and by Founder and Managing Director of European Championships Management Paul Bristow, who looked back at Munich 2022 before looking forward to the next Olympic Games with Vincent Caussé, Paris 2024 Sport Manager for Sport Climbing. Bruno Cavrois and Samuel Bencteux from Warner Bros. Discovery showed the positive impact of the IFSC World Cup Series broadcasts before two interactive sessions focussed specifically on sharing experience, ideas and potential problems from the National Federations themselves. The delegates shared both positive and negatives aspects of the increased exposure and growth of Sport Climbing from their respective nations and territories, to enable a common knowledge ran throughout the separate organisations and lessons could be learned and implemented, no matter of geography or infrastructure. A final presentation by IFSC Research & Development Director Silvia Verdolini highlighted the many education programs put in place by the IFSC, followed by a closing address from IFSC President Marco Scolaris, Secretary General Debra Gawrych, and General Director Piero Rebaudengo.

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy): The second edition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Climbing Summit, taking place at Nuvola Lavazza on 25 and 26 November 2022.  The two-day event will allow National Federations’ delegates to hear and discuss various topics including strategy, governance, events, media and development from the world of Sport Climbing.  In the first Summit since Climbing’s debut at an Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020, there will be a particular focus on athletes as Olympic champion Janja Garnbret of Slovenia will take centre stage to share her experiences and talk about the topics she feels is affecting the world of Climbing at present. Canada’s Sean McColl, Vice President of the IFSC Athletes’ Commission, and Italy’s Lucia Capovilla, Athletes’ Representative of the IFSC Paraclimbing Committee, will also be involved in sessions throughout the two days to add further athletes’ perspective. There will be a look toward the Olympic future of the sport with a presentation from Vincent Caussé, Paris 2024 Sport Manager for Sport Climbing, and an update and review of the World Cup broadcasting from representatives of Warner Bros. Discovery. “We still regret that our community could not celebrate Climbing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in person, because of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19,” the IFSC President said. “Now, during these two days, we want to share feelings, emotions, concerns: that’s why we are here, Climbing Summit number two. I wish that, moving towards the summit together, we could shape the future of the sport which changed our lives, for many of us, for the better. Let’s dream higher.”

Sports Bulletin Report TORINO, Italy: The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has announced that it has formed a partnership with the World Academy of Sport (WAOS) for the provision of education and training services. As part of the new partnership, WAOS will assist the IFSC embark on the structuring of its education and training resources for the members initially commencing in the area of coaching. Resources will expand in the future for other key stakeholders of the IFSC including athletes, officials, and administrators. In order to develop these resources, the Censeo Platform will be used for the distribution of content and certification of stakeholders of the sport. Marco Scolaris, President of the IFSC, said: “We have cultivated projects to further develop the resources we offer to our members for years. To provide long-term opportunities for those looking to get into and make progress in our sport. Reflecting on what we have learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to identify what is important in our approach to development, education, and training. We look forward to working with WAoS whose experience in this area is invaluable.” Chris Solly, CEO of WAoS, adds: “It is very exciting to announce the IFSC as a new international sport partner for WAoS. For sports relatively new into the Olympic Programme such as the IFSC, it is essential that they develop the tools that provide opportunities in the long-term for their sports. We are thrilled to be working with them and ultimately helping them to achieve their vision for Sport Climbing.”

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Italy): The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has announced the IFSC Athletes’ Career Transition Programme, launching today with its first boot camp, and already confirmed for a second one. The Programme will comprise a series of interactive, virtual courses hosted by Gabriela Mueller Mendoza – a professional speaker, executive communication coach, author, and professional trainer with a Latin-Swiss style. Both active and retired athletes have been invited to participate. Courses will be free. The course will help the participants in gaining valuable experience in different areas and skills, such as self-awareness, networking and relationships, transfer of skills from sports into other fields, entrepreneurship and double professional paths, and more. “We are immensely proud to have launched the Programme,” said IFSC Research & Development Director Silvia Verdolini. “This is only one of many development projects we have been working on in the last few months, since the creation of the IFSC Research & Development Department. The Athletes’ Career Transition Programme, once again, puts our athletes at the top of our priority list. And it is fantastic to see how they have responded to the invitation, fully booking the first two boot camps in just a couple of hours.” The list of participants to the first boot camp includes Tokyo 2020 Olympians Petra Klingler of Switzerland and Alannah Yip of Canada, IFSC World Cup medallist Erik Noya Cardona of Spain, and IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup medallist Tim Schaffrina of Germany.

Sports Bulletin Report Morioka (Japan): An extremely action-packed day closed in Morioka, Iwate, Japan, where the final International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup event of the 2022 season is currently taking place.  After moving five climbers into the final round, Team Japan’s domination culminated in a triple medal. Narasaki Tomoa put the icing on the cake of a fantastic month of October, adding a World Cup gold to the three Asian Championships titles he won in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. “It’s been definitely a tough round, but I’m glad I have won the first-ever World Cup medal in this format,” said Narasaki. “To be honest, this morning I didn’t really feel like having two rounds on the same day, but I kept my focus and gave my best.” Scoring 84.3 points in the Boulder round, and 72.1 in the Lead one, Narasaki placed well ahead of his closest rival – Ogata Yoshiyuki – who signed the best performance on the Lead wall, but only solved one of the four Boulder problems. Ogata’s final score was 138.4. Despite being in the top position halfway through the final, thanks to a solid Boulder round where he flashed three boulders out of four, France’s Paul Jenft eventually concluded the final in fourth place, scoring 129.7 points. Yannick Flohé of Germany followed in fifth position with 128.5 points, while two more Japanese climbers – Homma Taisei and Kawamata Rei – respectively placed sixth with 117.5 points, and seventh with 109.5.

Sports Bulletin Report Morioka (Japan): The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 will come to a close this week as athletes compete for Boulder and Lead honours in Morioka, Iwate, Japan. In the third outing of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 format, 67 climbers from across the globe will fight it out for a chance to stand on the podium and take one of the final medals of the World Cup Series 2022. With the format first seen at the European Championships Munich 2022, and more recently at the Asian Championships in Seoul, South Korea, the climbers will accumulate points from both the Boulder and Lead disciplines to generate an overall score. Full details of the scoring can be found here. Fresh off the Boulder & Lead gold medal at the Asian Championships, Narasaki Tomoa of Japan will look to capitalise on a rich vein of form from the event in Seoul last week to push for a podium place. Joining Tomoa will be compatriot Ogata Yoshiyuki who claimed the Boulder World Cup 2022 title earlier in the year and Slovenia’s Luka Potocar who claimed the Lead series triumph. Taking the women’s Boulder & Lead title at the Asian Championships in her home country was South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun. Seo will be among the favourites with strong performances in both disciplines throughout the year. Another main contender will be USA’s Natalia Grossman. The American boasts the Boulder World Cup 2022 title and bronze from the Lead competition.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Jakarta 2022 came to an end tonight, with the Japanese and Slovenian national anthems playing aloud at the gates of downtown. In a men’s final partially conditioned by weather conditions, Yurikusa Ao of Japan finally claimed the first World Cup gold medal of his career – adding it to the silver he won at this year’s World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria. The 20-year-old from Saitama slipped halfway through the route and finished with 29. “I am very very happy,” said Yurikusa right after the men’s final. “I can’t believe it, I just want to say thank you to my family! “I liked the route, but humidity and rain made it a bit wet, but I still gave my best and it was enough to win gold. It’s cool to see the final part of the routes being shared, I felt like to lower and middle sections of our route were the most difficult, so I invested most of my energies there.” Also representing Japan, and taking silver with 28, 30-year-old Higuchi Masahiro followed his younger teammate, placing ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Halenke – who also finished with 28, but placed third and won bronze because of a lower ranking in the semi-final round. Two more Japanese climbers finished just outside of the podium: Nishida Hidemasa placed fourth with 27+, the same score as Yoshida Satone, fifth. First-time finalist Lee Dohyun of South Korea concluded in sixth place, also with 27+, sealing the Series with his best result ever. Luka Potocar of Slovenia placed seventh with 25+, and first-time World Cup participant Raviandi Ramadhan signed off from his international debut with a fantastic eighth position, scoring 22+ and winning the warmest applause from the crowd. By finishing seventh, Potocar was also able to secure the men’s Lead World Cup 2022, overtaking Homma Taisei of Japan – 12th in Jakarta. Potocar concluded the Series with 3,860 points, followed by Homma with 3,835. Jesse Grupper of the USA finished in third place with 3,812. Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Janja Garnbret of Slovenia climbed back at the top of the Lead World Cup podium in the final event of the season, winning her fifth gold medal out of seven events in the Lead discipline. Garnbret was the only athlete able to secure the top hold – which, along with the final part of the route, was shared by male and female athletes. Germany’s Hannah Meul and South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun both had a shot at besting Garnbret, having entered the final round with a higher seed, but none managed to reach the high point. Seo won silver, concluding with 40, while Meul missed out on the podium and finished fourth with 34+. “It feels amazing to be back on the highest step of the podium, the route didn’t feel too hard, and I feel sorry for Seo, who climbed amazingly the entire weekend,” declared Garnbret. “I really liked the idea of sharing the final part of the route with the men, I believe this is the very first time it happens in a World Cup.” The bronze medal went to another Slovenian Olympian – Mia Krampl – who concluded the round with 35+, and closed with her best World Cup result of the season. Laura Rogora of Italy finished fifth with 34+, the same score as Vita Lukan of Slovenia, who ranked sixth. Japan’s Nakagawa Ryu and Tanii Natsuki respectively placed seventh with 29+, and eighth with 19+. The women’s Lead World Cup 2022 ranking had been partially decided at the end of the World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain: Janja Garnbret finished in first place with 5,805 points – becoming the first athlete in the history of Climbing to win six Series title, one in Boulder and five in Lead. Seo followed in second position with 4,405 points, while Natalia Grossman of the USA placed third with 3,370, despite not competing in Jakarta. Medals and awards were presented by IFSC President Marco Scolaris, IFSC Secretary General Debra Gawrych, and Indonesian Climbing Federation (FPTI) President Yenny Wahid.

SPORTS BULLETIN Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Jakarta 2022 wrapped up the Speed 2022 season, as in the men’s event, 30-year-old Aspar Aspar secured the second World Cup gold medal of his career, four years after placing first in Wujiang, China, in October 2018, prevailing over his teammate Kiromal Katibin, and marking an impressive series of consistently fast times: 5.39 in the first round, 5.27 in the second, 5.31 in the semi-final, and 5.39 again in the gold medal race.  After taking a wild card in the opening round, Katibin won the closest race of the final against teammate, friend, and four-time World Cup gold medallist Veddriq Leonardo – 5.14 for Katibin, 5.15 for Leonardo. The world record holder, however, slipped in both of the following races, winning the semi-final thanks to a slip by Cao Long, and stopping the clock at 5.75 in his race against Aspar.  Cao completed the podium in third place, besting fellow compatriot Long Jinbao and pocketing his first World Cup medal ever.  Despite missing out on a medal on home turf, Leonardo claimed the IFSC Speed World Cup 2022 title with 4,455 points. Katibin placed second with 4,080, and Long took third place with 3,105.  Deng Lijuan of China ruled the women’s Speed final with an impressive crescendo of times: 7.05 in the first round, followed by 6.91, 6.69, and sealed with a fantastic 6.66 in the race for the gold medal against Poland’s Natalia Kalucka.  The bronze medal went to Aleksandra Kalucka, who took advantage of Di Niu’s fall in the bronze medal race and closed with 6.81 seconds.  On the podium of the women’s Speed World Cup 2022, Aleksandra Kalucka took first place with 4,680 points, followed by Emma Hunt of the USA, fifth in Jakarta and second in the yearly race with 3,950 points. Aleksandra twin sister, Natalia, finished in third position with 3,820 points.  MEDAL TABLE  China: 5 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes; Indonesia: 4 golds, two silvers, six bronzes; Poland: 4 golds, 4 silvers, 4 bronzes; USA: 1 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze; Spain: 1 silver, 1 bronze; Austria: 1 silver.

SPORTS BULLETIN Jakarta (Indonesia):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Lead and Speed World Cup 2022 season will come to a close in Jakarta, Indonesia, this weekend, with the final medals up for grabs across the two disciplines.  Over 180 athletes from all around the world will descend on the Southeast Asian Island to try and secure not only a podium spot, but an IFSC World Cup Series 2022 trophy in either Lead or Speed. Kiromal Katibin is the current world record holder with five seconds flat, and maybe a home crowd will be enough to push the Indonesian climber under that magic 5-second barrier. Although Katibin has been fast, Speed medals have been in short supply as those quick times have come from qualification rounds. One thing is for sure though: the full Speed event is a must see right from the start! Another home nation athlete to look out for in the men’s event is Veddriq Leonardo who is looking for a hat-trick of titles after wins in Seoul, South Korea, and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, earlier in the year. Veddriq also has gold from The World Games Birmingham 2022 in his list of achievements from this season. Both Katibin and Leonardo are in with a chance at winning the Speed World Cup 2022 title. On the women’s side of the competition, Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi has two bronze medals to her name in 2022, and like her compatriot Katibin, will be hoping a little home support will give her an edge to gain a few steps up the podium. It will be tough for the home nation athlete though, as Poland yet again bring a strong women’s Speed team headlined by the Kalucka sisters – Aleksandra and Natalia – who faced off in the gold medal race at the last World Cup event, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain. Aleksandra has the safety net of knowing the 2022 Speed title is sewn up with Natalia almost certainly earning herself a place on the Trophy podium. USA’s Emma Hunt splits the pair on the season standings in second helped by her bronze in Edinburgh behind the Kalucka sisters. Another American having a recent surge in Speed is young gun Samuel Watson who not only reached his first final in Edinburgh, but won it for the country’s first ever Speed gold. That came off the back of a Youth World Championships podium in Dallas, Texas, USA, with Watson keen to be taking advantage of the medal winning run in Jakarta. Watson is part of a well-rounded USA team which includes Hunt in Speed, Natalia Grossman in women’s Lead, and Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper who are in a rich vein of form in men’s Lead. Duffy made history in Innsbruck, Austria, securing gold in both Boulder and Lead at the same event, while teammate Grupper won gold in Briançon, France, and Edinburgh last time out. Both of the Americans are high in the Lead season standings which Japan’s Homma Taisei tops, just ahead of Slovenia’s Luka Potocar. In early September, the Koper World Cup event was headlined by Mori Ai of Japan returning to competition to stop Slovenian Janja Garnbret’s unbeaten streak in Lead for 2022. Mori again beat Garnbret in Edinburgh, but with the Japanese climber not competing the Olympic champion has to be seen as a favourite for gold. Mori will be hoping one of her Japanese teammates can pick up the baton for a medal push, a climber such as Tanii Natsuki who was just off the podium in Edinburgh where she finished fourth and who took a silver in Dallas, last August.