From 29 January – 1 February, Liechtenstein’s sole ski resort of Malbun hosts a double-header of competition ice climbing – the annual UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships and the fifth round of the UIAA European Continental Cup series. The event is supported by UIAA member association Liechtensteiner Alpenverein. Malbun has hosted UIAA events in the past – notably a European Cup in 2022.
UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships
On Friday 30 January and Saturday 31 January, the World Youth Championships will be held with categories for U16, U18 and U20 climbers competing in both lead (difficulty) and in speed.
The Championships are set to welcome over 70 athletes from Czechia, Great Britain, Germany, Iran, Japan, hosts Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
The full programme can be found here. Click here for a list of registered athletes.
The World Youth Championships has long provided a platform for young athletes to test themselves against international climbers on world-class structures and supported by a full UIAA World Cup level support from scoring to routesetting to judging. In last year’s event in Ouray, USA six nations claimed gold medals.
Livestreaming will come from the speed finals – Friday 30 January at 19:30 local time and from the lead finals – Saturday 31 January at 11:00 local time.
A number of athletes who medalled at youth competitions have since gone on to forge impressive careers on the senior World Tour, notably the likes of Catalina Shirley, Louna Ladevant, Sina Goetz, Lea Beck, Yannick Glatthard, Aneta Louzecka and Vivien Labarile. Last year impressive performances came from a number of emerging athletes notably from Team Spain who claimed three of the gold medals.
Continental Cup
The Continental Cup, to take place on Sunday 1 February, is set to welcome over 70 athletes from Canada, Czechia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, hosts Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the large contingent from the United States. A full list of registered athletes can be found here. Livestream will be available from the lead final, 17:00-19:00 local time.
Of the athletes currently in the Continental Tour podium positions, the Czechia duo of Aneta Louzecka and Oliver Hamerský, the Netherlands’ Marianne van der Steen and local athlete Andreas Ganter are set to compete.
Current Continental Season Rankings (after four rounds)
Women: (1) M Van der Steen (NED), 237 points, (2) A Louzecka (CZE), 237 pts, (3) M Salmon-Thomas (FRA), 221.5 pts
Men: (1) O Hamerský (CZE), 206 pts, (2) A Gantner (LIE), 176 pts, (3) V Devin (FRA), 166.5 pts
Further Resources
Event Programme
Event Pages – Continental Cup – World Youth Championships
Registrations
Live Results
Photo credit: UIAA European Cup in Malbun, 2022. UIAA/Remo Gstöhl
