Evolution of Comp Climbing for Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The IFSC Sport Department met in Torino, Italy, on Dec. 6 and 7, to discuss the evolution of Sport Climbing in the approach to the sport’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic debut. The following is a press release from Dec. 20.
IFSC President Marco Maria Scolaris welcomed key figures in the IFSC competition calendar with an update on the progression of the IFSC and the development of our sport. President Scolaris gave an overview of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) 2018 in Buenos Aires, where the first ever Olympic Sport Climbing medals were awarded, before handing over to Head of Olympic Coordination Jérôme Meyer for a full YOG debrief. Insight into preparations for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was then offered, ahead of the Olympic qualifying events in 2019.
Updates on changes to the Combined Format, which sees athletes compete across the three disciplines of Sport Climbing: Lead, Speed and Bouldering, were then presented. Led by Head of Olympic Coordination Jérôme Meyer, discussions focussed on how these changes, decided upon by the Executive Board in their meeting earlier this month, will be implemented in future competitions and in particular, the 2020 Games.
“As we approach Tokyo 2020 it is vital that Sport Climbing moves and grows with us, evolving for the better as we prepare to showcase our sport to a new and bigger audience than ever before,” states IFSC Vice-President Sport/Events Kobinata Toru, informing the Sport Department of the direction in which the IFSC wishes to take our sport moving forward.
Amendments to the Sport Climbing competition rules were then raised by member of the Rules Commission Tim Hatch, who reviewed the work of the Commission over the previous months alongside Director of the Rules Commission Francois Leonardon, selected Technical Delegates (TDs), Jury Presidents (JPs), athlete representatives and coaches.
Friday saw a continuation of the Sport Department meeting, beginning with an open debate led by IFSC Sport Director Silvia Verdolini into the roles of each commission, their mandates and composition.
“We wish to create a more efficient structure within the commissions and the SportDepartment as a whole. By bringing the technical commissions directors under one roof to discuss this matter, we can work together to find a solution and benefit the future of SportClimbing,” says Sport Director Silvia Verdolini.
As Sport Climbing is now identified as an Urban sport, the IFSC is working to establish an innovative and engaging format to showcase our sport in an Urban setting. Bouldering is set to be included in the upcoming ANOC Beach Games and FISE World Series events, so TDs Graeme Alderson and Fabrizio Minnino, Director of the Routesetter Commission Percy Bishton and Evgeniy Chernyshev, Director of the Event Commission, brought a range of format ideas to the table to potentially be implemented during these competitions.
The Sport Department rounded off the two-day meeting with an introduction to the 2019 Calendar from IFSC Event Officer Alessandro Di Cato, before a presentation of the Nominations of Officials moving into 2019.
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