The Climbing Challenge, Bardonecchia 2006
Marco Scolaris, President of UIAA Climbing
(International Council for Competition Climbing), tells us about
the Climbing Challenge Bardonecchia 2006, the demonstrative event
held at the same time as the Turin Olympics 2006.
Oscar Durbiano
The conditions
2005 marked the twentieth anniversary of “Sportroccia”,
the first historic, climbing competition.
In September, Bardonecchia organized a congress to celebrate this
anniversary and review the situation of sports climbing. The Mayor
Francesco Avato was asked by the participants, if, on the occasion
of the imminent Turin Winter Olympics 2006, any sports climbing
initiatives had been organized. As a reply, the Mayor offered
the Commune’s availability to organize a side event, during
the days of competition at Bardonecchia.
After a first analysis, the project is defined and implemented
jointly by the Bardonecchia’s Sport Office, UIAA Climbing
and FASI (Italian Federation of Sports Climbing). During the Olympic
Games about thirty of the best athletes in the world will be invited,
as well as about ten managers coming from all parts of the world.
They will be divided into three groups, and in rotation, they
will be guests of the Commune for a few days, and they will be
able to attend one of the snowboarding Olympic events (Bardonecchia
has on its programme the half pipe, the snow-board cross and the
parallel giant slalom.)
For the first time in history, climbing will be there, in an Olympic
site, during the Games. The aim is to gain a small niche of visibility
for itself, an important presence, a starting point for the run
up to the Olympics.
Torino Climbing Challenge
The work begins two weeks before the Games.
Inside the Palace of Sport a beautiful new structure is set up
by Sintroc, composed of four imposing boulders (Rockmaster style)
and a 10 metre wall, approved for speed duels.
The inauguration takes place on 5 February, with the first round
of the provincial Turin circuit, called “Torino Climbing
Challenge” which involved the five FASI clubs Bside, Sasp,
Tao, Sportica, Cus Torino and Boulderbar. The participation is
definitely beyond all expectations to the satisfaction of the
local Fasi club, Tao: almost one hundred athletes compete against
each other in front of about the same number of friends and spectators.
Climbing Rings
A week passes and the Olympics come alive
with the Opening Ceremony, on the same day that the big international
athletes start to arrive.
The first group includes Mike Doyle (Canada), Alan Pryce (Australia),
Emily Harrington and Vadim Vinokur (United States), Magnus Midtboe
(Norway), Angela Eiter and Killian Fishhuber (Austria), Joerg
Verhoeven (Holland), Lei Zhao (China) and Lisa Lai Sho Cheng (Hong
Kong).
With time to warm their hands on the holds and a fantastic sunny
Sunday the Olympic Half pipe is an unforgettable spectacle.
The climber’s enthusiastically watch their snowboarding
colleagues among thousands of spectators. Straight afterwards,
back onto the holds, for three days of challenge within the family.
The most ruthless is without a doubt Angela Eiter, who follows
her friends’ evolutions and then does not relinquish a hold
on any of the men’s problems. Each athlete’s personal
story comes out, which only on occasions like this have an opportunity
to be revealed. Zhao was Chinese ping pong champion, therefore
he puts limits on himself and decides to only use his left hand
against his opponents, but regardless of this there is no chance
for anyone…Killian leads the group… The armed forces
come to climb, the policemen from Moena, the finance officers,
young volunteers from the work force, the boys from Tao: it hardly
seems real that a structure of this level is at everybody’s
disposal and to climb side by side with the world’s top
athletes. Ordinary people are missing: in this first phase it
is difficult to be noticed, all the attention and local resources
are concentrated on setting up the Olympic machine.
Instead there are plenty of children. They can climb on one of
the speed routes (“diluted”) thanks to the two instructors
from “Sasp Torino”, Andrea Bronsino and Lorenzo Mucci,
who provide assistance at the wall for the whole period.
Speed takes off
The second group, made up of Francis Rodriguez
and Manuel Escobar (Venezuela), Leire Aiguirre (Spain), is followed
by “our” athletes: Jenny Lavarda, Stefania De Grandi,
Giovanna Pozzoli, Stella Marchisio, Lucas Preti and Christian
Core (Italy). The large group of Italian athletes after the Olympic
Snowboard Cross show, has the pleasure of performing in front
of an audience. Some speed specialists are present. The new route
set out by Donato Lella, is fixed by Lucas Preti and Manuel Escobar,
and amazing times are seen. Over 10 metres high and along 13 metres
of actual length, the first attempts are around 8 seconds, but
on the following day the seven second barrier is broken and even
the six second barrier, until an incredible 5.79 is reached by
the Venezuelan (Lucas stops at 6.14).
Amongst others, the United States snowboarding team’s coaches
come and have a look. What is surprising is to discover that all
these people climb. How many are we then?! The more you speak
to people, the more you discover that our sport has an enormous
diffusion, a lot wider than one can imagine. And those who have
never climbed, having once seen it, want to try. Many return,
the base widens. Especially, finally, it seems that almost everyone
knows what sports climbing is and how far it is from mountaineering,
and from that stereotype of danger which is a historic burden
still slowing down our sporting recognition.
The four technical experts make other interesting considerations.
They also admit, that even if almost nobody in the States (and
in most of the Western world) practises it, speed could be the
most interesting Olympic discipline. The spectacle is assured,
the result is evident immediately.
Only the rest therefore needs to be improved…
Here comes the snow
The third group includes Cedric Lachat (Switzerland),
Tomasz Oleksy, Anna Saulevich, Sergey Sinitsyn and Salavat Rakhmetov
(Russia), Maja Vidmar (Slovenia), Olena Ryepko and Olga Shalagina
(Ukraine), reaches Bardonecchia under a heavy snowfall.
The meteorological conditions do not stop them from enjoying a
great Olympic parallel giant slalom trial. The climbers are impressed
by the size of the organizational machine, of its complexity and
at the same time by its precision. Everything is perfect, everything
is regulated. Some people ask themselves, if our abilities would
be up to standard…
A few days of boulder and speed follows. Guaranteed fun: ad hoc
problems are prepared, with spectacular lunges under the eyes
of Tomasz Oleksy, who moves from impossible falls to video shooting
and photos. Even the imperturbable Salavat smiles and the hours
pass by quickly. Tomasz and Sergey Sinitsyn are two rockets on
the speed routes, the new records reach 5.69 and even 5.51 (you
work out the vertical average…), while Olga Ryepko (9.99)
and Anna Saulevich (9.54) go under ten seconds. At dinner, past
memories resurface…Salavat, today world champion, won the
first cup competition (difficulty) at Innsbruck in 1991…some
of the people sitting at the table were still at primary school
at the time…
Conclusions
It was not easy to find space in Bardonecchia
during such a large and all-embracing event as the Olympics. Among
the exceptional competitions, the “white nights”,
the Olympic village, Mayor Avato and the city, can nevertheless
be satisfied with the image projected. Bardonecchia emerges from
this experience branded as a young city which can see far into
the future. For Fasi and UIAA Climbing, much has been done to
establish and perfect the network of political-sporting relationships
which are necessary to develop future programmes. The fruits will
be gathered in the next few years, but it will be necessary to
cultivate with great care what has been sown.
As was mentioned at the beginning, it was the first time that
sports climbing found itself so close to the Olympic Games. We
need to keep going. On the practical side, there is talk about
a new permanent structure at Melezet, near the half pipe, which
could host international competitions as well as the many passionate
people. In fact many of us, sitting in the stands, imagined our
walls and our boulders, inserted in that unique stage…the
athletes, with some reverential fear, were already there, ready
to give their best.
Marco Scolaris
