After three Continental Cups in three different European countries across three successive weekends, Utrecht will host the final UIAA ice climbing event for 2025 on Saturday 13 December. Athletes will then take a break from the competition until the world-level events commence in 9 January in Cheongsong, South Korea.
The event in the Netherlands, organised by the Royal Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (NKBV) and Sportcentrum Olympos, is set to welcome around 70 athletes from 16 countries.
A shake up of the podium and seasonal standings looks guaranteed with only the Czech pair of Oliver Hamerský, series leader in the men’s event and Aneta Louzecka, third in the women’s, likely to feature from the current top three. A strong performance from the 13-strong Dutch team will be forecast spearheaded by World Tour athletes Dennis van Hoek and Marianne van der Steen. The Liechtenstein team, with their many family connections, should also be in medal contention. In the women’s event, France’s Illona Serrar, a medallist in two of her last four competitions, will seek to return to the top three in the seasonal standings. The largest teams, besides the host nation are Czechia (6), Liechtenstein (6), Poland (6), Slovakia (5) and Spain (5).
There will be no livestreaming from Utrecht. The finals will take place from 17:30-20:00 local time.
Current Continental Season Rankings (after three rounds)
Women: (1) M Salmon-Thomas (FRA), 221.5 points; (2) C Shirley (USA) 180 pts; (3) A Louzecka (CZE), 157 pts
Men: (1) O Hamerský (CZE), 185 pts, (2) V Devin (FRA), 166.5 pts, (3) J Brown (SUI), 166 pts
Further Resources
Event Programme
Event Page
Registrations
Live Results
Photo credit: Competition in 2023, UIAA/Rein Rijke
