International Competitions
NEWSInternational Competition |
The body responsible today for organising the world series of competitions is The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC)
Organised competitions started in the former USSR in the late 40's, when speed events were organised. In 1985, the first official difficulty contest was held on a natural crag in Italy, won by German Stefan Glowacz. Arco di Trento joined Bardonecchia in 1986 for a combined final ranking, won by French superstar Patrick Edlinger and his compatriot Catherine Destivelle. That same year the French organised the first indoor event in Lyon, opening the way for the future. On an International level, the UIAA recognised the circuit in 1988, with the World Series, and in 1989 with the first World Cup, in speed and difficulty. In the early 90's events were organised in Europe, with some in Japan and the US. It was then decided to run International events on artificial walls only, in order to eliminate any environmental impact. In 1991, the 1st World Championship was organised in Germany which now occurs every two years.
In 1992, the 1st World Youth Championship took place in Switzerland. In 1997, the ICC (International Council for Competition Climbing) was created inside the UIAA to take charge of competitions. In 1998 the new discipline of bouldering was officially introduced becoming World Cup in 1999.
In 2001 more than 45 countries participated in the official calendar, including World, Youth, Continental Championships, World Cups, Continental circuits, and many other high profile International competitions. In 2005, Competition Climbing successfully participated in the Duisburg World Games, as well as in the Asian Indoor Games. In 2006, the UIAA decided to cease governance of Competition Climbing and to support the creation of an independent International Federation to govern the sport.
On January 27th, 2007, in Frankfurt, 48 Federations convened to found the IFSC – the International Federation of Sport Climbing.
See http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/ for more information and world wide fixtures.