One year after the conclusion of the IFSC Climbing World Championships Innsbruck 2018 organized by the Austrian Climbing Federation, the competition, which earned four medals for the host country and saw over 60,000 spectators officially closes as a financial success.

A global multi-sport event, the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 is scheduled to take place in Doha from 12-17^th October 2019. Designed to connect new sports and rising stars with a youthful generation of sports fans, the Games are set to feature skilled performances from 1,240 athletes, representing 97 countries across 14 different disciplines. The IFSC is thrilled to announce that Bouldering will feature in the first edition of the Games on 13-14^th October.

Tokyo 2020 has launched the "Open Innovation Challenge" in a partnership with Alibaba Cloud and Intel, and invites participants to develop prototypes using the latest Cloud and AI technologies to help enhance the spectator experience at sporting events, and more specifically the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. The challenge will focus on the new urban sports debuting next year, including Sport Climbing.

Following elections which took place during the IFSC Climbing World Championships 2019 in Hachioji, Japan, the IFSC Athletes’ Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of six (6) new members.

The IFSC Speed Climbing Youth World Championships took place on two separate days, August 27 and 31. Team USA dominated the event by earning a total of five medals, while Russia claimed the most first-place finishes and new youth world champions.

The bouldering competitions of the IFSC Climbing Youth World Championships took up the majority of the 10-day event with four separate finals held from August 27 to 31. Nearly 100 total boulder routes were created to challenge the young athletes and several rising stars began making names for themselves.

Whilst in Hachioji, Tokyo, for the 2019 IFSC Climbing World Championships, IFSC President Marco Maria Scolaris and Head of Olympic Coordination Jérôme Meyer met with the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG), to discuss logistics in the final countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. IFSC Secretary General Debbie Gawrych, as well as a number of IFSC staff members and consultants, were also present at the meeting.

It is with deepest regret that the IFSC announces the passing of CFR (Climbing Federation of Russia) Vice President and IFSC Honorary Member Mr. Yuriy Skurlatov, aged 77.

Friday 16^th August saw the third edition of the International Conservative Climbing Treatment Assembly (ICCTA) take place in Tokyo, Japan. Hosted by members of Climbing Physios at Pump Climber’s Academy, the meeting received 38 attendees from 18 different countries, including 10 Sport Climbing coaches and 28 physiotherapists.

With the 2019 IFSC Youth World Championships well underway in Arco, Italy, the IFSC held a strategic planning workshop to inform its National Federations (NFs) of the IFSC’s plan moving forward, towards 2024 and beyond. A total of 35 attendees from 24 of the IFSC’s Member Federations joined the seminar in Arco, where IFSC Secretary General Debra Gawrych raised a series of topics concerning the future of the IFSC and Sport Climbing as a whole during an interactive discussion.

As the annual turnover is growing, the IFSC is now seeking to engage a skilled Bookkeeper to support the Administration Department in the daily bookkeeping tasks and assist in making travel arrangements for the team.

Underneath the towering lead walls in Arco, the young climbers participating in the IFSC Climbing Youth World Championships tackled the demanding routes and tough barrel overhangs to determine the first youth world champions of 2019.