Sport Climbing and the European Championships
Munich's 2022 European Championships will include Sport Climbing with events for each of the individual disciplines, a departure from Tokyo Olympic format
On June 20, The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) announced Sport Climbing’s inclusion in the Munich 2022 European Championships. The event is set to feature around 400 male and female athletes competing in Lead, Speed, Boulder, and Combined disciplines. There will be eight medal events for climbing.
The Championships’ layout is a departure from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic format where Sport Climbing is defined by the combination of Lead, Speed, and Boulder. This is significant as it may indicate the trend toward isolated disciplines on the international stage. This would offer opportunities for specialist athletes to compete at a high level without having to train for other disciplines.
Sport Climbing, in addition to Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, and Table Tennis, will join Athletics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing, and Triathlon after the success of the inaugural multi-sport European Championships in 2018. The event is set to take place in the Munich Olympic Park and will serve as a symbol for sustainability. 2022 will mark the 50th anniversary of 1972 Munich Summer Olympics.
The European Championships are set to take place between August 11 and 21 and will feature 4,400 athletes from 50 countries competing for a total of 158 medal events. This 11-day celebration of world class sport is designed to bring together existing individual continental championships into one coordinated event staged every four years.
The IFSC’s inclusion in this event is important for Sport Climbing. IFSC President Marco Scolaris said, “In these difficult times, we are proud to be welcome in a great event like the European Championships 2022. Looking forward to our event in Munich is a sign of recognition of the IFSC and of the work we have done over the years. This achievement encourages the IFSC to continue on its project of reorganisation of its Councils, for the development of the sport. After the inclusion in the Asian Games in 2018, now also in Europe we are moving to another level.”
As the IFSC continues to be a part of these large sporting events, Sport Climbing will appear more frequently in the public eye. For athletes, this is significant as it could indicate a trend toward greater athletic support. A television audience of more than 1.4 billion watched the first edition of the European Championships via EBU Member broadcasters and partners in 44 territories across Europe and worldwide.
Featured photo of Munich Olympic Park.
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