An enthralling weekend of UIAA Ice Climbing is in store with competitions taking place on two continents.
Europe – UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships and Continental Open
Champagny-en-Vanoise, France, is a regular host of top level UIAA ice climbing competitions and this year will host both the annual UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships and the fourth round of the European Continental Open series.
The World Youth Championships will see athletes divided into U16, U18 and U20 categories and contest both speed and lead competitions. Athletes are set to represent ten countries with significant participation from Spain (14 athletes), Great Britain (7), Mongolia and Switzerland (6 athletes each) as well as Lichtenstein (5 athletes). A full list of registered climbers can be found here.
Livestreaming will be offered of both the speed and lead finals.
The speed finals will take place on Friday 19 January at 16:30 local time. The lead finals will be held on Saturday 20 January at 15:30 local time. Please subscribe to the UIAA YouTube channel and follow the links below for further details. The event programme can be found here.
The Continental Open series resumes after events held in Slovakia, Czech Republic and the Netherlands before the close of 2023. Two further events in the UK and Finland are scheduled for February.
Athletes from 16 countries are registered for the lead only competition. The UK leads the way with 15 athletes ahead of host country France with 8. A list of registered athletes can be found here. After the first three rounds of competition, the European Tour leaders are Marianne van der Steen, Netherlands, and Javier Cano Blázquez of Spain.
Livestreaming will be offered from the finals held on Sunday 21 January at 17:15 local time. The Continental Open programme is here.
Live results from all events can be found here.
The event is organised in collaboration with la Fédération Française des clubs alpins et de montagne (FFCAM) and La Plagne resort.
North America – Continental Open
Organised by the Ouray Ice Park, a Continental Open will take place in Ouray, Colorado between 18-20 January. A similar competition was staged in 2021 and offers North American ice climbers the perfect opportunity to compete ahead of next month’s UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup and World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
Nearly 60 athletes have registered from five countries, with over 40 athletes from the American Alpine Club competing.
Highlights from the competition will be available on the UIAA YouTube channel from Sunday 21 January. Please refer to the event page for the competition programme.
A review of all competitions will be published on Monday 22 January. Please follow the UIAA Ice Climbing Instagram channel for live updates.
Main photo: Marion Salmon-Thomas is part of the French squad competing in the Continental Open in Champagny-en-Vanoise. Credit: UIAA/Nils Paillard/alpy.io
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