We are back to the Boulder discipline for the IFSC World Cup Series 2025 with a historic occasion taking place in Curitiba, Brazil – the first ever World Cup to be held in South America.

It goes without saying that it will also be the first time a World Cup will be held in Brazil, but the city of Curitiba has held IFSC events before, just last December the IFSC South American Cup was held in the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.

At that event, Chile’s Benjamin Vargas won the men’s Boulder competition, and as you would expect, is very excited about having a World Cup in his region: “I’m really looking forward to competing in Brazil. It's like a dream to have a World Cup so close to home.”

Talking about what it means to have a World Cup in South America, Vargas said: “In my opinion, it’s very important for the development and visibility of climbing in South America, because even though climbing is getting popular, not everybody knows there is a competition world circuit.

“And also, the people of the region can meet all the international athletes and hopefully get inspired.”

When it comes to climbing in his home nation, Chile, Vargas believes there’s lots of room for improvement: “Over the last two years Climbing has been getting very popular.

“I would say now there are nearly 60 climbing gyms in Santiago, but there’s still a lot of room for development outside of the Capital.”

Bringing the focus back to the Curitiba event, Vargas has been preparing well during the off season: “I know in Europe it’s winter training, but for me in Chile it's actually summer training, and it was focused on developing a better physical condition and trying to increase the climbing intensity.”

In the men’s competition Vargas will have teammate Joaquin Urrutia alongside him, just like he was in Curitiba for the South American Cup as Vargas won gold and Urrutia silver. On the podium with them that day in the bronze position was Brazil’s very own Rodrigo Iasi Hanada. He will once again be competing on home turf with five teammates.

All three South American’s will be up against some very strong climbers from around the world. By simple historic medal tally’s, Japan and France are strong teams, and they bring that heat to Brazil.

At the first Boulder World Cup of the season in Keqiao, China, Anraku Sorato and Narasaki Meichi were on the podium in gold and bronze, respectively. The Japanese duo line up again against a French contingent that includes Olympians Paul Jenft and Sam Avezou.

You can also add into the men’s mix Olympic champion Toby Roberts of Great Britain, and the sole representative from South Korea, Jongwon Chon.

Japan and France are also represented well in the women’s competition with the likes of Keqiao silver medallist Oriane Bertone, Olympian Zélia Avezou and Naïlé Meignan who won a silver and bronze in the 2024 series.

For Japan, at the last event in Keqiao both Nakamura Mao and Sekikawa Melody made the final, and they will be looking for the same, and better, in Curitiba.

From South America, and with some Curitiba history, Argentina’s Valentina Aguado returns to the city where she won silver at the South America Cup last year, and Brazil’s Anja Köhler will lead a team of six home nation women in the place she won her South American Cup gold in 2023.

For a final word on a first South American IFSC World Cup and his hopes in the region, Vargas said: “I wish that climbing could be more accessible for everybody in terms of recreational practice and competitive development.”

Only time will tell, but it has to start somewhere, and it starts with an IFSC Boulder World Cup from Friday 16 May to Sunday 18 May.

News and updates about all IFSC events will be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.