PractICE climbing. Our guide for the future of the sport.
The near 170 international athletes who took part in the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour may now be in off season mode, but the following months provide the perfect opportunity for the athletes to build on the experiences and lessons learnt from the past season.
For those wishing to get involved in the sport of ice climbing whether as an athlete, coach or organiser, the UIAA has harnessed the knowledge it has built up as organizer of the sport by producing a dedicated Practice Ice Climbing guide.
“During the past decade, I have met many ice climbers through the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour. Today, I feel that competitive ice climbing has never been stronger with a huge and lively community from all over the world,” explains UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt. “This positive moment provides the perfect opportunity to step up the development of ice climbing. To ensure a sustainable future, we need to be proactive in sharing our know-how and in promoting ice climbing to youth athletes, thus offering a legacy for future generations.”
This manual, written by UIAA experts, is a key document gathering a wide range of information on several topics: including speed climbing, lead-difficulty, national teams and event management. It is dedicated to member federations, athletes, national bodies, event organizers and also ice climbing lovers who want to improve their skills and knowledge.
“This manual is a product of a strategic milestone of the UIAA Ice Climbing Commission and a big step in bringing ice climbing forward as a professional competition sport,” adds Commission President Urs Stöcker.”The aim of this project is to explain the philosophy and nature of competition ice climbing, support the officials of national federations in building national teams and national competitions as well as assisting personal trainers and athletes in planning and executing their training so they can compete with the best.”