Some 70 athletes from 11 countries took part in the difficulty (lead) only competition held in the northeast of England and organised by the Scottish Dry-Tooling Club and the British Mountaineering Council.

One of the form athletes of the entire circuit, Spain’s Jorge Veiga Rodriguez (a World Cup silver and a Continental Cup gold in his last two events going into this weekend), won the men’s competition as the only athlete to top the route. In doing so the 20 year old from Hervas has effectively won the Continental Tour with only the round in Oulu, Finalnd still to take place. Joining him on the podium was a French climber in his late 30s who made a UIAA podium for the first time. Pierre Alexandr Keller, 38, claimed silver ahead of teammate Basile Fetet, who repeated his bronze medal from Sunderland a year ago.

Team France enjoyed even greater success in the women’s event. Ilona Serrer, only 21, has been a breakout talent this season and after two bronze medal performances, stepped up in Sunderland to dominant the competition. She clearly likes the venue having won silver last year. There was also joy for the British team, the BMC being another federation who have committed significant resources to this year’s World Tour. Caitlin Connor, 22, from Glasgow, won silver. Connor is one of a number of British athletes who has graduated through the youth competitions. Three years ago she won a silver in the World Youth Championships in Finland. Bronze went to Liechtenstein’s Lea Beck, an athlete who has been a force on the World Tour for a number of years. To note also the impressive performance of another BMC climber. Mia Coia, only 17, and fresh from medalling twice at the World Youth Championships last weekend, finished fourth.

The next UIAA Ice Climbing event is a World Cup in Longmont, Colorado, USA from 20-22 February.

Current Continental Season Rankings (after six rounds)
Women: (1) M Van der Steen (NED), 317 points; (2) I Serrar (FRA) 309.5 pts; (3) L Beck (LIE) 305 pts
Men: (1) JV Rodriguez (ESP), 359 points; (2) A Gantner (LIE), 268 pts; (3) JA Brown (SUI) 245 pts

Photos from the event will be available shortly. Please check the UIAA Flickr channel.

Further Resources

Live Results
Event programme

Photo credit: UIAA / Dylan Schwartz

Some 70 athletes from the following countries – Canada, Czechia, France, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and the USA will compete. Naturally, a strong contingent from the host federation, British Mountaineering Council (BMC), will contest the difficulty (lead) only competition.

This is the penultimate round of the Continental Series which has already seen competitions staged in Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Liechtenstein and will close with an event in Oulu, Finland on 7 March.

With an open field, Sunderland presents a fantastic opportunity for a number of new athletes to medal. Of the athletes currently in the top three of the Continental Tour rankings, Lea Beck (LIE) in the women’s event as well as men’s leader Jorge Veiga Rodriguez (ESP) and Andreas Gantner (LIE) are currently registered to compete. Adding lustre to the list are Ilona Serrer (FRA), currently fifth in the female rankings, as well as the siblings of Lea Beck and Andreas Gantner, Lorena Beck and Florian Gantner. Amongst the strong BMC squad, Mia Coia and Tabitha O’Carroll are fresh from claiming medals at the UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships.

Livestreaming will be available throughout the day on Sunday from the semi-finals (11:00 local time) and finals (17:15) of the senior event as well as from the youth competition (13:30). This latter is for U16 and U18 age categories.

Current Continental Season Rankings (after five rounds)
Women: (1) M Van der Steen (NED), 317 points; (2) A Louzecka (CZE), 288 pts; (3) L Beck (LIE) 240 pts
Men: (1) J V Rodriguez (ESP), 259 points; (2) JA Brown (SUI) 245 pts; (3) A Gantner (LIE) 231 pts

The event is organised by the Scottish Dry-Tooling Club and the BMC.

Further Resources

Live Results
List of registered athletes
Event programme

Photo: Last weekend’s UIAA Ice Climbing Continental Cup in Malbun.
Credit: UIAA / Daniel Mangeng

The world-level events in the UIAA Ice Climbing calendar commence on 9 January 2026, with the continental circuit kicking off in the middle of November. It promises to be an another enthralling season as the UIAA pushes towards the dream of ice climbing becoming part of the 2030 Winter Olympics – a decision on the sports programme for the Games should be made during the 2026 winter season.

Over 200 athletes from over 25 member associations are set to contest the coveted UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup lead and speed titles. Five venues on three different continents will offer unique ice towers, exciting routes and supreme technical challenges.

World Cups & World Youth Championships
Five events, Five countries, three continents

The season opener will again be held in Cheongsong, South Korea from 9-11 January. The municipality of Cheongsong and the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) have been a longstanding organiser of UIAA Ice Climbing World Cups and recently committed to hosting events until the year 2030.

After a weekend’s gap to allow athletes to rest after the change in continents, the World Tour heads to Europe for the second round at another of its regular venues. Saas-Fee, Switzerland (22-24 January) has been an ever-present host of UIAA-sanctioned events since 2002 with its distinct ice dome offering a unique structure for competition. Built within the resort entry point, the venue in the Swiss Alps regularly attracts large crowds particularly for Saturday evening’s lead competition. The competition is organised by the experienced team in Saas-Fee and the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC).

The third world level event of the season will be the World Youth Championships which makes a welcome return to the idyllic wintery setting of Malbun, Liechtenstein (29-31 January), which first held the event back in 2018. The competition, which will also host a Continental Cup for senior athletes on the 1 February, is organised in by the Liechtensteiner Alpenverein (LAV).

Another rest weekend will follow to allow athletes to change continents again to return to last year’s debut venue for the World Cup series in Colorado. Longmont will play host to the third round of the World Cup from 20-22 February. The event will be hosted again by the Longmont Climbing Collective and supported by the American Alpine Club (AAC).

The final stop in the series will be a third visit to Edmonton, Canada – 27 February-1 March – hosted by Offbeat Entertain and supported by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) – right in the city centre. This follows on from the inaugural event at the venue held earlier this year. As part of this initiative, the general public will be able to test themselves on the ice wall on the Sunday after the competition. Edmonton will crown the World Tour winners.

Event pages – including livestreaming information, event programmes and registration details – will be available in due course on iceclimbing.sport

Quotes
“We’re thrilled to launch the 2026 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour calendar, returning to iconic venues and expanding our Continental Cup presence across Europe and North America. With the support of our new partners (to be announced in due course), it promises unforgettable moments for both athletes and fans.”
JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson, World Ice Climbing Board Chair

“It’s great to be working with established and experienced World Cup and Continental Cup organisers on the 2026 World Tour. I am especially looking forward to a return to Malbun, Liechtenstein for the World Youth Championships – this was my first event on the World Tour back in 2018! The youth have lots of opportunities to compete this season and I really hope we can grow the future of the sport.
Rob Adie, UIAA Sport Events Coordinator

Reigning World Tour winners
The reigning World Tour overall winners from 2025 are Benjamin Bosshard / Switzerland (men’s lead), Sina Goetz / Switzerland (women’s lead), Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar / Mongolia (men’s speed) and Selenge Nyamdoo / Mongolia (women’s speed).

World Championships
The next UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships will be held in 2027. This follows a decision from the World Ice Climbing Board to return to hosting Championships in odd years and for the UIAA and World Ice Climbing Board to work on developments and enhancements to the pinnacle event in the sport.

Continental Opens
A total of seven Continental Opens are being hosted in the 2025-26 season in Slovakia, Switzerland, Czechia, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, the USA, England and Finland. Young climbers will also have the opportunity to test themselves in more competition environments with events being organised at most of this season’s Continental Opens.

Provisional 2025-2026 Calendar

World Cups
9-11 January – Cheongsong, South Korea
22-24 January – Saas-Fee, Switzerland
20-22 February – Longmont, USA
26-28 February – Edmonton, Canada

World Youth Championships
29-31January – Malbun, Liechtenstein

Continental Cups & Youth Events
22 November – Bern, Switzerland
29 November – Zilina, Slovakia – Youth Categories
6 December – Brno, Czechia – Youth Categories
13 December – Utrecht, Netherlands – Youth Categories
1 February – Malbun, Liechtenstein – Youth Categories
6-8 February – Sunderland, England – Youth Categories
7 March – Oulu, Finland – Youth Categories

The full calendar of events can also be viewed here.

Main photo credit: UIAA/Slobodan Mišković

The port city of Sunderland, located on the mouth of the River Wear, welcomed 75 athletes from 15 countries. Action took place at the Sunderland Wall venue with both a senior competition and youth classifications for U20, U18 and 16 climbers. The event was organised by the British Mountaineering Council and the Scottish Drytooling Club.

Up for grabs were the final Continental medals of the season and the Continental Tour titles.

Men: Milan Pellissier, a 20 year-old climber from France, took his first ever senior gold medal in Sunderland. It marked the conclusion to an impressive season which also saw him reach the finals of two lead World Cup competitions. Switzerland’s Jonathan Arthur Brown took silver and France’s Basile Fetet, bronze. The UK is a happy hunting ground for Fetet who last finished on the podium in Glasgow in 2023.

Brown’s silver medal secured the Continental title – awarded to the athlete with most points after the five European Continental Cups. The 24-year old Swiss athlete closed the season with three continental golds, one continental silver as well as a World Cup bronze. Mehdi Bouchet Bert Manoz of France and Jan Mondzelewski, Poland, completed the podium for the overall Continental tour.

Women: Japan’s Haruko Takeuchi made winning the Continental series a major goal for the 2024-2025 season. Bronze in Sunderland followed golds in Utrecht and Zilina and secured the women’s title by 35 points. Netherlands’ emerging Annick Teepe took the gold in Sunderland, her first on the UIAA circuit, which together with a silver and bronze from earlier rounds, earned her second place in the overall standings. Ilona Serrer, another 20-year old from France, was a first time medallist and secured the silver which propelled her into third place in the seasonal standings.

Livestreaming replay (Lead Finals)

Final Continental Season (Europe) Leaderboard – After 5 European Rounds

Women:
Haruko Takeuchi, Japan, 371 points
Annick Teepe, Netherlands, 336
Ilona Serrer, France, 261

Men:
Jonathan Brown, Switzerland, 385 points
Mehdi Bouchet Bert Manoz, France 234.5
Jan Mondzelewski, Poland, 229.25

A reminder that the World Tour level events concluded last weekend with the final World Cup of the season in Edmonton.

The Continental Cup in Sunderland closed the 2024-2025 season. Details on the 2025-2026 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour calendar will be published in due course.

Further Information
Sunderland event page
Sunderland results

The port city of Sunderland, located on the mouth of the River Wear, will welcome 88 athletes from 15 countries. Action will take place at the Sunderland Wall venue with both a senior competition and youth classifications for U20, U18 and 16 climbers. The event is organised by the British Mountaineering Council and the Scottish Drytooling Club.

Athletes from the following national federations have currently registered for the lead only event:
Canada (1), Czechia (2), Finland (4), France (5), Germany (1), Japan (1), Liechtenstein (9), Netherlands (4), Poland (10), Slovakia (2), Slovenia (1), Spain (2), Switzerland (6) and the United States (3).

The sizeable home team from the British Mountaineering Council counts 37 climbers.

Livestreaming will be available from the finals.

Semi-finals at 1000 GMT on Sunday 9 March can be viewed here.

Finals at 1615 GMT on Sunday 9 March can be viewed here.

Up for grabs are the final Continental medals of the season and the Continental Tour titles.

All six athletes on the overall Continental Tour podiums are competing in Sunderland with the two leaders – Japan’s Haruko Takeuchi and Switzerland’ Jonathan Arthur Brown, World Cup medallist in Edmonton last weekend, focused on taking the titles.

Current Continental Season (Europe) Leaderboard – After 4 European Rounds

Women:
Haruko Takeuchi, Japan, 306 points
Annick Teepe, Netherlands, 236
Aneta Louzecka, Czech Republic, 192.5

Men:
Jonathan Brown, Switzerland, 305 points
Mehdi Bouchet Bert Manoz, France 206.5
Jan Mondzelewski, Poland, 182.25

A reminder that the World Tour level events concluded last weekend with the final World Cup of the season in Edmonton.

Further Information
Sunderland event page
Sunderland athlete registrations

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

The world-level events in the 2024-25 UIAA Ice Climbing calendar commence on 3 January 2025, with the continental circuit kicking off at the end of November. 

Approximately 150 athletes from over 25 member associations are set to contest the coveted UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup lead and speed titles. Six venues on three different continents will offer unique ice towers, exciting routes and supreme technical challenges.

Please also refer to the recent news article related to updates in the post-season, the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, and work of the Ice Climbing Governing Group. Furthermore, from 6-7 July the UIAA and FFCAM, la Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne, are organising the second annual UIAA Ice Climbing Stakeholders meeting – a two day workshop in July to shape the future direction of competition ice climbing. Further information here.

World Cups: Six events, six countries, three continents

The opening UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup of the season is a welcome return to China on 3-5 January 2025 – the exact venue is still to be confirmed by the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA). This will be the fifth World Cup to take place in China – previous events were held in Beijing and Hohhot. The second event of the season takes place in Cheongsong, South Korea from 10-12 January. The municipality of Cheongsong and the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) have been a longstanding host of UIAA Ice Climbing World Cups.

After a weekend’s gap to allow athletes to rest after the change in continents, the World Tour heads to Europe for the third round at another of its regular venues. Saas-Fee, Switzerland (23-25 January) has been an ever-present host of UIAA-sanctioned competitions since 2002 with its distinct ice dome offering a unique structure for competition. Built within the resort entry point, the venue in the Swiss Alps regularly attracts large crowds particularly for Saturday evening’s lead competition.

The fourth World Cup of the season will be in Champagny-en-Vanoise, France (31 January – 2 February) organised in collaboration with FFCAM. After hosting the World Youth Championships last season, the event returns to the World Cup fold – it is sure to be another exciting and always idyllic wintery event.

Another rest weekend will follow to allow athletes to change continents again before arriving at a exciting new venue for the World Cup series in Colorado. Longmont will play host to the fifth stop of the tour from 21-23 February 2025. This new stop will be held on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park and follows events previously staged in the state – in Boulder and in Denver. The event will be hosted by the Longmont Climbing Collective and supported by the American Alpine Club (AAC).

The final stop in the series will be a return visit to Edmonton, Canada – 27 February –1 March – the event supported by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) – right in the city centre, will also feature the YEG Ice Fest. This follows on from the inaugural event at the venue held earlier this year. As part of this initiative, the general public will be able to test themselves on the ice wall on the Sunday after the competition.

Reigning World Tour winners

The reigning World Tour overall winners from 2024 are Younggeon Lee / South Korea (men’s lead), Woonseon Shin / South Korea (women’s lead), Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar / Mongolia (men’s speed) and Aneta Louzecka / Czech Republic (women’s speed).

Franziska Schonbachler (Switzerland) in action at the 2024 UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships in Edmonton. Photo credit: Slobodan Mišković / UIAA

World Youth Championships & Continental Opens

The date and venue for the World Youth Championships are yet to be confirmed and will be announced in due course. Young climbers will also having the opportunity to test themselves in more competition environments with events being organised at most of this season’s Continental Opens. A total of six Continental Opens are being hosted in the 24-25 season in Slovakia, Switzerland the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the USA and England.

Provisional 2024-2025 Calendar

World Cups
3-5 January – TBC, China
10-12 January – Cheongsong, South Korea
24-25 January – Saas-Fee, Switzerland
31 January – 2 February – Champagny-en-Vanoise, France
21-23 February – Longmont, USA
27 February – 1 March – Edmonton, Canada

World Youth Championships
TBC

Continental Cups & Youth Events
23 November – Zilina, Slovakia
30 November – Bern, Switzerland – Youth Categories
7 December – Brno, Czech Republic – Youth Categories
14 December – Utrecht, Netherlands – Youth Categories
25 January – Ouray, USA
8-9 March – Sunderland, England – Youth Categories

Other Events
11-13 October – Youth Training Camp, Brno, Czech Republic
18-20 October – Continental Training Camp, Brno, Czech Republic

The full calendar of events can also be viewed here.

Woonseon Shin (South Korea) at the 2024 Saas-Fee – UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. Photo credit: UIAA/Kaspar Kellerhals

Quotes

“Everybody, from the UIAA Office to the Governing Group to the event organisers have worked very hard to put in place the biggest and best calendar for a number of years. We are excited to announce a number of top-level events. However, this is only one part of the work being done with the UIAA delivering on feedback given by both organisers and athletes from the most recent season and working to create a more sustainable future for the sport. The next few years promise to be very exciting for all involved in competition ice climbing.”
Martin Lascano, Chair, Ice Climbing Governing Group

“The return to six World Cups is significant and great news for all involved. Having two competitions in Asia, Europe and North America creates a very balanced calendar with visits to well-established venues and exciting events in new locations.”
Rob Adie, UIAA Sports Events Coordinator

UIAA Ice Climbing Continental Open – Champagny-en-Vanoise, France. Photo credit: Photo: UIAA / Julia ROGER-VEYER

On Thin Ice: Episode One Coming Soon

The UIAA is delighted to announce the launch of a new accompaniment to the UIAA Ice Climbing season. On Thin Ice is set to unveil the drama and untold stories behind the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. This emotional documentary will take viewers beyond the competition itself and provide an unfiltered look at the athletes, their passions, the intense battles, and the parties that define the sport. From the real ice and alpinism in remote landscapes around the world to the intensity of the competition arena, the documentary promises an immersive experience that transcends the sport and will capture the imagination of all sports fans.

As the producers state: “We’ll meet the athletes and delve into their personal struggles, triumphs, and the unbreakable camaraderie that binds them together on the World Tour. We’ll live every moment of the competitions with them.”

Through intimate interviews and unfettered access, On Thin Ice promises to be an emotional rollercoaster that leaves audiences on the edge of their seats. The trailer for episode 1 is available (see below) and the full episode is scheduled to go live on Saturday 29 June – please subscribe to the UIAA YouTube Channel for updates.

Podcasts: Spreading knowledge about the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour

Want to discover more about the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour? Look no further than the UIAA podcast, Mountain Voices. Across each episode, experts from the climbing and mountaineering world discuss issues that impact climbers and mountaineers. Episode #1, available on all major podcast platforms, addresses competition ice climbing and features the contributions of Rob Adie, UIAA Sports Event Coordinator, as well as athletes Gordon McArthur and Eimir McSwiggan.

Furthermore, the UIAA’s Rob Adie features in the latest episode of Ice Ice Beta, a podcast about ice climbing, mixed, and dry-tooling. A recent episode also featured UIAA competition ice climber Kevin Lindlau (United States) and also the an episode featured athletes Willis Morris and Oz Miller from the Scottish Drytooling Club.

Further Information

Subscribe to the UIAA YouTube Channel for reminders and updates. Visit the channel for a wealth of content (livestreams from competitions and short form content)

To subscribe to press releases please click here.

Photos, free of restrictions for editorial use, are posted for each competition on the UIAA Flickr channel. 

Follow the UIAA social media channels, notably Instagram and Facebook.

Visit the UIAA Ice Climbing website for further information about the World Tour.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

Over 80 athletes contested the event in Sunderland, the first time that the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour has visited England. The event was organised by the British Mountaineering Council and the Scottish Dry-Tooling Club.

The Continental season may be over. However, the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour has one epic act to come. From 16-18 February, Edmonton, Canada will host the biennial UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships and the final World Cup of the season. A full preview press release will be published on Tuesday 13 February.

The event in Sunderland heralded two new seasonal gold medallists. Olga Kosek whose last gold medal came in Slovakia in 2021 won the women’s event to take second place in the overall rankings. It has been an impressive season for the Polish athlete who has two second places at Continental level and in a demonstration of her versatility, a World Cup bronze medal speed. The men’s title went to a dark horse. A sixth place finish in Utrecht in December was Slovenian athlete Gregor Segel’s best result to date. The 25-year old went into the final in Sunderland as the outsider having finished eighth in qualifying. However, as the only athlete to top the route he would claim an impressive gold medal.

Lorena Beck, Liechtenstein, took the women’s silver and Japan’s Haruko Takeuchi the bronze. For Beck it was a ninth medal of the season between World Cup, Continental and youth events. Takeuchi claimed her second Continental Open medal following a silver in Utrecht. Rich reward having also registered three fourth places.

The final women’s ranking reads:
Marianne van der Steen, NED, 392 points
Olga Kosek, POL, 354
Aneta Louzecka, CZE, 329

The men’s Continental Tour leaders surprisingly all failed to make the final in Sunderland. Spain’s Javier Cano Blazquez and Jorge Veiga Rodriguez as well as Switzerland’s Jonathan Brown could not replicate their recent form into the competition. Romania’s David Bouffard took silver, a second medal of the season, a title he shared with Patrick Inderbitzin of Switzerland.

It meant the leading positions went unchanged with Blazquez eventually taking the title.

The final men’s ranking reads:
Javier Cano Blazquez, ESP, 313 points
Will Morris, GBR, 277
Jonathan Brown, SUI, 269

A replay of the livestream from Sunderland can be found here:

Results from Sunderland can be found here.

Photo credits: Luke Briggs

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

The port city, located on the mouth of the River Wear, will welcome 96 athletes from 18 countries. Action will take place at the Sunderland Wall venue with both a senior competition and youth classifications for U20, U18 and 16 climbers.

Athletes from the following national federations have currently registered:
Azerbaijan (1), Czech Republic (3), Finland (6), France (5), Germany (2), Great Britain (34), Hungary (1), Ireland (1), Japan (3), Liechtenstein (7), the Netherlands (2), Poland (9), Romania (1), Slovenia (3), Slovakia (4), Switzerland (2), Spain (6), United States (6)

Live streaming of the finals will be available from the UIAA Youtube channel (scheduled for 18:15 local time). Please subscribe for updates and alerts.

In terms of the overall Continental Tour (compromised of six events in Europe and one in North America), the weekend will only prove decisive in determining the overall male winner. Javier Cano Blazquez of Spain leads on 313 points. In pursuit and still with a chance of taking the series are Will Morris (277), Great Britain, last weekend’s gold medallist Jorge Veiga Rodriguez (261, main photo) and Switzerland’s Jonathan Brown (251). All will compete on Saturday.

Having sealed the women’s title last weekend, Marianne van der Steen of the Netherlands will not compete and is instead preparing for the season’s pinnacle event, the UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships and World Cup in Edmonton, Canada from 16-18 February.  Top three places are still up for grabs in terms of the series rankings. Aiming to make the final podium are Haruko Takeuchi (photo, 277 pts), Aneta Louzecka (274), Olga Kosek (254), Eimir McSwiggan (186) and Caitlin Connor (177).

The event is organised by the British Mountaineering Council and the Scottish Dry-Tooling Club. Further details can be found here.

Live results will be available here.
Photos from the competition will be available on the UIAA Flickr channel.

Photo credits: Lauantai JanneAula/FINICE

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER