The Climbing sport has been there for long and there has been talks of including the sport into the additional events’ category for Tokyo 2020 Summer Games. The International Federation for Sport Climbing is trying their level best for this inclusion as it would support their expansion programs to take the sport to the far and wide of our world. Marco Scolaris, the President of International Federation of Sport Climbing, the International body that oversees the development of Climbing, spoke with us on this.
Importance of NHK deal in IFSC’s quest for Tokyo 2020 inclusion…
The deal with NHK is a major step for the IFSC and Sport Climbing as it is another signal that Sport Climbing is becoming more and more attractive for media and sponsors. Sport Climbing is growing fast attracting many young people around shared values.
Expectations with 2016 IFSC World Championships…
The World Championships will be held after the IOC decision. It will then be an important date and event where we will be eager to show the best of our sport. The newly renovated Bercy Arena will host the event; more than 500 international athletes representing more than 50 countries are expected to participate in the competition. It will be the most prestigious event that the IFSC has ever organized.
From two long term allies, IFSC has moved forward to 6 supporters for the inclusion of Sport Climbing in Tokyo 2020 program. How is IFSC moving forward from here to bring in more support?
We will keep working very hard to develop our partnerships and TV rights deals. This is part of the development of our sport and Federation. We expect to attract new partners with global exposure and sharing our values and our ambition to develop the sport around the world.
Athletes Career Program…
We have had several programs and we have agreement with some universities. So far however it seems our athletes are well placed in real life and the professional world.
Development programs related to the coaches, technical officials, medical and other support staff…
Since 2014 the training / development strategy focuses on the Continental councils. To give an example, we have run 5 courses in different continent in 1,5 year. Idea is to strengthen the continental capacity in order to create the basis to develop their events.
Sport and fans- following development program…
We are creating a network of world climbing “Gyms”, with coordinated event and other initiatives. This project will work in the interest of millions of climbers around the globe and particularly for kids. Currently we have a special attention for South America and Oceania. We are willing to organizing competitions that propose a real show to the audience. Our aim is to attract a wider audience through amazing venues, new technologies to showcase our athletes and popularizing our rules and animations.
Benefits of Tokyo 2020 inclusion…
No doubt that it will help our sport reach a larger audience and spread around the world. Our ambition is to develop the sport on the 5 continents to allow young generations to practice a sport that is exciting, affordable, healthy and can be practiced everywhere.