Competitors and team officials at the IFSC Youth World Championships in Helsinki, Finland attended a seminar focussing on athlete health and nutrition held by the IFSC.

As the first International Federation to implement a REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) policy and screening for competitions, the IFSC welcomed attendees from around the world to learn about the importance of energy availability, fuelling, and long-term health in climbing.

Led by Karen Halsell, the IFSC Medical and Anti-doping Commission member, who first introduced and delved further into REDs in climbing, the young climbers and their team officials were then addressed by Edward Gibson-Smith, a nutritionist from Great Britain.

Gibson-Smith, a researcher and sports nutrition practitioner specialising in nutrition for climbing, highlighted the importance of food and hydration before looking into common food ‘myths’ and providing example plans for fuelling for training and competing.

Kim Mitchell, the USA Team Leader and physiotherapist who attended the workshop with team members said: “It was an excellent presentation; there was a lot of information. There was basic information on REDs and the nutritionist gave a lot of great details about how to fuel your body before during and after competitions.

“I think it’s very important we do these kinds of things at the youth competitions. There was a good crowd there, it was pretty much packed, so it was very well received, I think.”

The IFSC plans to continue expanding education opportunities at events, reinforcing its commitment to athlete health, safety, and performance.