IFSC Quebec Meeting and Olympic Format Announced
Hosted by Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) and the Fédération Québécoise de Montagne et d’Escalade (FQME), this year’s meeting brought together about 100 delegates representing 44 National Federations to prepare for 2017 and discuss key topics for our sport.
National Federations benefitted from a new series of specially designed workshops : Kobinata Toru of the Japanese Mountaineering Association (JMA), Vincent Caussé, Competition Director of the Fédération Francaise de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FFME) and Kynan Waggoner, CEO of USA Climbing introduced diverse perspectives on organising international events; Guylaine Demers, professor at the Department of Physical Education of Laval University, discussed equity issues in sports the following day alongside Maaike Romijn, Board member of the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (NKBV); and Jean Laurent Bourquin, a Sport Executive who worked in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 17 years, concluded the series with a workshop on opportunities coming from Olympics inclusion.
During the press conference following the Plenary Assembly on Saturday, initial information was announced on the Olympic Format for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018. “The Olympic Format is the outcome of a long process inside the IFSC and outside with the International Olympic Committee various components,” said IFSC Sport Director Jérôme Meyer. “We are looking forward to the next steps of this process and our continued collaboration with the IOC. We know that both Olympic Games will be unforgettable moments for our sport.”
Also announced in Quebec were the upcoming IFSC events in Canada. Both the PanAmerican Youth Championships 2017 in Montreal and the IFSC Youth World Championships 2018 in Central Saanich were approved during the Plenary Assembly. “Competitive Sport Climbing is growing in Canada, and the CEC and FQME have both played extensive roles in this development,” said Maria Izquierdo, president of the CEC and IFSC PanAmerican Council. “The future is bright, and we are thrilled for these events and to keep working closely with our provincial federations.”
Voting for the PanAmerican and European Council Board s and the IFSC Executive Board also took place this year . For the next four -year term, Mr. Toru will be replacing Helmut Knabl (AUT) as IFSC vice –resident Sport/Events (JPN): “It is a great honour, and I feel much responsibility for the future of this sport as well. I would like to do my best.” The complete list of IFSC Executive Board members can be found here on the IFSC website. “During the past four years, we have served the world’s best Sport Climbing athletes, actively promoted universal values, hosted spectacular events around the globe, and even reached the Olympics. We are excited for what these next four years will hold for our sport, in Canada, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and beyond,” conclude d Marco Scolaris, president of the IFSC.
Sport Climbing Olympic Format
INTRODUCTION: The Olympic Format described below is the outcome of a long process inside the IFSC and outside with the International Olympic Committee various components.
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES 2018 (YOG) AND OLYMPIC GAMES 2020 (OG) FORMAT: Sport Climbing has been included in the programme of both Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games. One medal for men and one medal for women will be awarded to the Combined event winners. Under the IFSC Rules, the Combined is an aggregation (addition of places) of the Athletes’ results in each discipline. Therefore, some changes have to be implemented, starting already in the 2017 season.
Key Principles
General perspective:
– The IFSC Events Combined shall be the same as the OG Combined format.
– The single discipline format (Speed, Boulder, Lead) format shall be the same as the IFSC single discipline Eventformat.
– The discipline sequence is: First Speed, then Bouldering, then Lead.
Rules perspective:
– The Combined Event consists of 2 rounds (Qualifications and Finals), both comprising all the disciplines.
– All Athletes (20 men and 20 women) participate in the first round.
– The Athlete’s score is given by multiplying the Athlete’s ranking (place) in each discipline. The lower the score the better. A ranking is produced after each round (Qualifications and the Finals).
Principles to be Confirmed
– The six best Athletes qualify for the Finals. Note: For the Speed Final the concept of “Lucky loser” (7° and 8° ranked Athletes in the 1/8th finals) applies, as a quota of 6 does not allow the duel system.
– Tied Athletes after the aggregation of their places will be un-tied by considering their respective ranking in each discipline.
Schedule
The precise YOG and OG schedules (days and timetables) are still to be defined. At the moment, there is a general agreement that the final round should be run as a block, not having standing alone disciplines. Instead, the qualification round may be separated in different sections: over 2 days or in the same day. Men and Women Finals may not necessarily be run in the same day. The IOC currently considers 3 days for Sport Climbing event, with a possible extension to 4 days.
OLYMPIC GAMES 2020 QUALIFICATION SYSTEM(QS):
– Note on IOC Timeline The IOC is going to publish in July 2017 the Qualification Principles regarding the OG 2020. Therefore, the QS for Sport Climbing will be defined after that date, together with the IOC. However, in order to give to National Federations the possibility to plan the next seasons, the following principles will be proposed to the IOC. These proposals partially correspond to the YOG QS principles for Sport Climbing subject to validation by the IOC in early March.
– General Principles a. Quotas are allocated to Athletes and not to NOCs b. A maximum quota per NOC will apply, proposed: 2 per gender
– Eligible Athletes may be those having a valid IFSC license at the time of the OG. Re-allocated quotas will be given through the relevant OG qualifying events, following the IOC guidelines. Qualification Period The qualification period is set for the years 2019 and 2020 (subject to IOC final confirmation).
– Qualification Events
Combined events or rankings shall be used for the QS.
– 2019 IFSC World Championships The IFSC World Championship has been voted by the IFSC EB in September 2016 to be rescheduled to odd years starting in 2019, subject to approval of the PA 2017.
– 2019 IFSC World Cup (previously called “overall” Final ranking 2019, with new rules starting in 2017) This is necessary in order not to devalue the World Cup and to guarantee Athletes’ participation to as many IFSC Events, counting on NOC funds for the Olympic preparation.
– IFSC Continental Championships
– Possible (additional) Olympic Qualification Event in 2020
– Quota Allocation Scenarios
Precise quotas require the finalization of IOC principles (expected: fall 2017).
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