The comments and considerations about the
just finished season of the Sport Climbing World Cup, written
by ICC President Marco Scolaris
Marco Maria Scolaris, photographer, journalist, alpinist and President
of ICC (International Council for Competition Climbing), the international
body responsible for the organization of climbing competitions,
tells us about the last leg of the World Cup 2003 that has taken
place in Edinburgh, in Scotland, from the fourth to the seventh
of December. A comment about the just finished season and the
future, definitely encouraging perspectives, follow his report.
Oscar Durbiano
In Edinburgh an incredible Levet wins everything,
also the cold
The World Cup represented the grand opening of the biggest climbing
hall of the planet. Hall? The reality is that Retho is an abandoned
quarry a few kilometers from Edinburgh. Two rock walls at 90°
degrees represent half of the perimeter, completed and closed,
for another quarter, by a structure similar to a tensioactive
big tent, (35 meters high), with some parts of plastic and Plexiglas.
The last quarter consists of a beautiful construction with wide
windows, with the entrance (great view on the complex), restaurants,
terraced bar, offices, gyms, fitness hall, and includes a 30-meter-deep
well for the immersions. Three huge climbing walls have been built,
one of them for high difficulty and competitions, and a series
of boulders that look like the natural ones. An astonishing sport
structure, where the visual impact is definitely strong and impressive.
Unfortunately a complex like this is very difficult to heat, particularly
in Scotland and in December. The floor, made with big stone slabs,
doesn’t help either.
Therefore, a competition with prohibitive temperatures, between
3 and 7 degrees, with the sun only for a few hours. Temperature
acceptable for the boulderers (who during the pauses could warm
themselves in front of the big pipes blowing hot air), but not
for the difficulty competitors, who came out of the well heated
isolation zone and found themselves in the middle of the route
with big problems due to half frozen arms (particularly the girls
climbing on a vertical wall).
Not scared at all by the cold, the blonde Levet afforded the luxury
of becoming the first athlete of the history to win bouldering
and difficulty in two consecutive days. A really remarkable exploit,
that made history straight away for the BBC crew, that followed
the entire event with several cameras, all dressed like for a
Himalayan expedition. A bit harder, for Sandrine, to beat the
rivals of the difficulty contest, particularly the compatriot
Minoret, as the Austrian Eiter and Belgian Sarkany seemed a little
in the shadow, (or … cooled?). Third the Slovenian Vidmar
(who after arriving home went to bed with the flu). In the bouldering
competition only Olga Bibik has tried to resist with all means,
but, as it anyway happened for most of the season, also this time
she hasn’t managed to do it. Third Czech Kotasova, while
Italian Giulia Giammarco has placed sixth.
Another story for the guys. In the difficulty Spaniard Patxi Usobiaga
won clearly (finally!), after a series of second places (among
them one in the World Championship) and barely missed podiums.
Behind him French Fuselier and Millet: for both of them –
occasional finalists – the best results of their career
(Millet got a title in a Youth World Championship in far away
1995).
In the bouldering contest Meyer had to win, to conquer the title
in this specialty: accomplished mission, also if old Salavat Rakhmetov
never let go, after the victories in Rovereto and Fiera (Jerome
had won in Lecco and Argentiere), and hoped until the end. Third
Japanese Mogaki, a rarely present phenom, who competes also in
the difficulty (3° in Shenzhen and 20° in Edinburgh) and
demonstrate the level reached by the athletes of countries like
Japan or Korea, who unfortunately don’t have the financial
possibilities to compete regularly in the international circuit.
At the end of the competitions somebody complained about a too
hard route setting, but how can you judge with these temperatures?
Everything considered, thanks to a precise and efficient organization,
a good debut for Edinburgh, where, in 2004, will take place a
Youth World Championship in September and two other legs of Difficulty
and Bouldering World Cup in December. For the Youth in September
no problem, but for the World Cup in December the International
Federation will have to find other dates, if no adequate solutions
to heat the place are found. This not only for the athletes, but
also for all the people involved, and the spectators: impossible
to stand such a situation for several days in a row.
An extraordinary season
The competition in Edinburgh was the last of the longest and richest
competitive season of sport climbing since 1985, starting year
of the competitions in the western world, until today. Twenty-two
World Cups (10 Difficulty, 6 Bouldering and 6 Speed events), an
exceptional World Championship in Chamonix, a very crowded (as
usual) Youth World Championship in Bulgaria, three events of the
European Youth series, and several Masters, from the classic Arco
and Serre Chevalier, to some new entry like La Colmiane. In short,
a definitely positive season.
Difficulty
After the years of the crisis, a great 2003, with a sold out calendar:
ten events, the maximum allowed by the regulation. A regulation
that resists to the strain of time and is following sport climbing
towards its full maturity. French Alex Chabot was another time
the first of the ranking, he was the true ruler of the first part
of the season, until the World Championship in Chamonix, where
something got jammed in his head, and he was almost reached by
Spanish mini-hero Ramon Julian, winner of three events (four for
Chabot). Third in the general ranking a surprise, another Frenchman,
François Auclair, able to win gold in China. The best Italian
in the ranking was Crespi, of the Fiamme Gialle in Predazzo, 11°,
almost reached by Carabiniere Zardini, 13°, who has made up
for the distance thanks to a great final of the season, and that
should convince him to continue to compete for another year.
In the women’s field, few problems for Muriel Sarkany. Despite
a clear drop in shape after her World title, she has kept behind,
without too many problems, an always-stronger Sandrine Levet.
Nevertheless, both should look behind them, at the unexpected
arrival of 17-year-old Angela Eiter, from Austria, ruler of the
Youth Series and winner in Aprica and Valence (beside the Rock
Master in Arco). Not too bad Italian Jenny Lavarda, who slips
back a position in the general ranking (9°), compared with
last year. A transition year for the 19-year-old from the Venetia
region, waiting for new and important successes.
Bouldering
A good circuit, with a few great events, like the ones in Lecco
and Rovereto (in the fantastic MART) and the World Championship
in Chamonix. It was a triumph for Sandrine Levet, she was clearly
better than her rival Bibik, while further behind were Perlova,
Abramtchouk, Kotasova. In the men’s field, Jerome Meyer
recovers from the delusion of the World Championship, although
he is almost reached, before the last event, by Salavat Rakhmetov,
born in 1967, thirteen years older than the Frenchman. Third position
for the other Frenchman, Dulac. The Italian team didn’t
perform that great in the World Cup, after the awesome gold of
Core in the World Championship, and Calibani has always less motivation
to compete. For the spectators it is still difficult to understand
how the competition is going on: the finals, often very exciting,
would be it even more, with the updating of the results in real
time on a huge screen. Solutions to improve the understanding
of the results are being studied, but on the table there is also
a new format for the finals, already tested several times in France.
Speed
A good calendar doesn’t seem to change the luck of this
discipline, with only a small number of participating countries.
Great events in China and Val Daone, but most Federation aren’t
very interested (although it should be said that in 2003 FFME
has organized a national championship, with remarkable participation).
The fight is always limited between the Russian, (Soubbotine and
Pechekonov 2° and 3° in the men’s field, Yurina
and Saoulevitch 1° and 2° in the women’s field),
and Ukrainians (Repko third in the World Cup, but World Championship
winner, like her compatriot Stenkovoi), with the only intrusion
of the Polish rocket Tomasz Oleksy, a all-round athlete, strong
also in bouldering (double success bouldering-speed in Russia).
In China we had the opportunity to see very fast athletes also
from other countries, in the Youth World Championship you have
to wait in line to participate to the speed event…. Then
something jams and only very few continue. If things will not
change before 2005 (year of the World Games, where climbing will
be represented with the specialty Difficulty and Speed), this
discipline could disappear.
Comments
Right now all insiders feel that this is an important moment:
climbing has reached a turning point. An established, rich and
believable calendar, a strong participation of several countries
(a total of 44, in 2003), well organized events, a general climate
of optimism.
At ICC, the international federation that in less than seven years
has raised the destiny of a more than catastrophic situation,
not far from failure, they say that we are only at the beginning.
President Marco Scolaris speaks about it: « If right now
the Olympic Games seem to be a far away dream, possible to realize,
but with huge difficulties (a 8b/8b+ on sight), to use a language
we all like, now we must properly train. We will have to be ready
particularly toward 2005, when climbing will be present in the
World Games in Duisburg, at the Universiade in Innsbruck and probably
at the EYOD in Cesenatico.
We can already count on an even too crowded calendar for 2004,
and may be we will have, for the first time, to exclude some locations.
The regulations are all right, but may be in bouldering something
should be improved. Not much to say about our judges and route
setters, only that we regularly organize clinics and updating
courses. Also with the athletes there is a relationship of profitable
collaboration, as they are present in the managing Board. We will
invest in South America and China, countries with big potentialities,
where the sport can grow exponentially. We are working on exposure.
In particular, starting with 2004, we will try to give the possibility
to all countries to broadcast, on the EBU (Eurovision) circuit,
images of as many World Cups as possible, while we are creating
a Press and Public Relation office. We also want to include in
our calendar all international non-competitive events, that means:
lets try to bring the family together. Last but not least, we
are also studying a few projects with disabled people. In short,
climbing at 360°, like we have always dreamed of. But besides
dreaming, we all have to begin to work, starting with the national
federations. It is a message also for all the insiders, including
the sponsors: who wants to participate to our challenge? To propose
climbing as a complete, young, spectacular, unique sport. A sport
capable of transmitting, beside athletic and psychomotoric valences,
also other fundamental social values, like respect for yourself
(doping is right now inexistent, but it’s necessary to constantly
inform our youngsters), respect for the others (fair play, a serene
atmosphere of mutual esteem, as in the tradition of climbing and
mountaineering), respect for the nature (climbing on natural crags,
an always more popular recreational activity, with minimum impact,
protection of the environment). Already in 2004, I am convinced,
something will move ».
Marco Scolaris
RESULTS
Edinburgh, women’s difficulty
1° Sandrine Levet (Fra)
2° Chloé Minoret (Fra)
3° Maja Vidmar (Slo)
4° Muriel Sarkany (Bel)
5° Angela Eiter (Aut)
Edinburgh, men’s difficulty
1° Patxi Usobiaga (Esp)
2° Mickael Fuselier (Fra)
3° Sylvain Millet (Fra)
4° Alexandre Chabot (Fra)
5° Luca Zardini (Ita)
Edinburgh, women’s bouldering
1° Sandrine Levet (Fra)
2° Olga Bibik (Rus)
3° Vera Kotasova (Cze)
4° Mélanie Son (Fra)
5° Natalia Perlova (Ukr)
Edinburgh, men’s bouldering
1° Jérôme Meyer (Fra)
2° Salavat Rakhmetov (Rus)
3° Keita Mogani (Jpn)
4° Serik Kazbekov (Ukr)
5° Matthias Müller (Sui)
WC 2003, women’s difficulty general
ranking
1° Muriel Sarkany (Bel)
2° Sandrine Levet (Fra)
3° Angela Eiter (Aut)
4° Chloé Minoret (Fra)
5° Barbara Bacher (Aut)
WC 2003, men’s difficulty general
ranking
1° Alexandre Chabot (Fra)
2° Ramón Julián Puigblanque (Esp)
3° François Auclair (Fra)
4° Patxi Usobiaga (Esp)
5° Evgueni Ovtchinnikov (Rus)
WC 2003, women’s bouldering general
ranking
1° Sandrine Levet (Fra)
2° Olga Bibik (Rus)
3° Natalia Perlova (Ukr)
4° Ioulia Abramtchouk (Rus)
5° Vera Kotasova (Cze)
WC 2003, men’s difficulty general
ranking
1° Jérôme Meyer (Fra)
2° Salavat Rakhmetov (Rus)
3° Daniel Dulac (Fra)
4° Serik Kazbekov (Ukr)
5° Tomasz Oleksy (Pol)
