UKC

Has to be one of the worst world cups in the history of the IFSC I would have thought. Graeme might know some worse ones?

First the turnout was pretty low with only about 35men and 35 women entering. The semi final was rather dull with a massive bottleneck on the women's route; thirteen people fell on the exact same move. The men's was not much different either though the one highlight for me was Romain Desgranges performance who almost topped the route and climbed superbly on a tricky looking and very steep route.

The women's final was going OK. Jesse Pilz topped the route just within the 6m time limit. Janja was out last and needed to top the route faster than Jesse to take gold and the overall title. Unfortunately she slipped off just a few moves from the chains. So Jesse Pilz was first, Akiyo Noguchi second and Janja third. But then it turned out that Janja's fall was due to wet holds by the increasing rainfall. This was obviously unfair and so the only way to sort it was to scratch the entire final and just go off the semi final results. Everyone's efforts were in vain. Not a good outcome for anyone. There wasn't even a clear victor. According to the IFSC web site Janja and Jain Kim tied for first place.

I don't think anyone was to blame and I think the decision to scratch the final was the only fair option. Just seemed like really bad luck the rain hitting the route so late on. The men's final didn't go ahead at all so Romain won from his semi final result.

The lead finals appear to have vanished from youtube?

youtube.com/watch?v=hiPctIGxdd8&

Is this a glitch or something else?

I'm guessing they've taken them down on purpose to avoid confusion. I suppose officially they were 'cancelled'.

Yep, real shame in the men’s too as the overall title was decided from that result, without any real fight. Can’t be helped but a bit of a damp squib...

Remind me why indoor walls are popular? 

Indeed. Although remember this is China with a climate very different than here. I'm guessing it's a bit like when it snows here. We're so unused to it we don't what to do and can't cope. And apparently the forecast in Wujiang had been dry for the weekend so the downpour wasn't expected.

Seems to me that relying on a weather forecast for the successful completion of a world sport event is pretty irresponsible. If the audience gets wet, so be it, but if the wall itself becomes unusable because they've failed to weatherproof it, such that the entire event can't continue, that seems to me to be a dereliction of responsibility. Didn't sound like a once-in-a-century freak storm, so why on earth wasn't it prepared for?

Actually, didn't something similar happen only last year, also in China? You'd have thought they would have learned from the mistake.

Why didn't they just let the wall get completely wet and then rerun the finals?

Would have made an interesting change.

Just looked this up. Xiamen last year, the semis were completely washed out.

Is further repeat of this a risk worth taking without ensuring weather-proofing? Or is it like World Cup skiing, where events frequently get postponed or severely affected by unequal competing conditions? Seems to me that a climbing wall - particularly an overhanging World Cup wall, is a damned sight easier to weather-proof than a piste!

Not that many indoor lead walls that are high enough for world cup competitions, in spaces that can accommodate a decent number of spectators. Although by the time the IFSC have cut the time limit to two minutes that will no longer be a problem.

This kind of thing happens regularly in the world of sport. Even the mighty institution of Wimbledon only has limited weather protection. And that's in a country famed for its high rainfall and unpredictable weather and for an event that sells out of very expensive tickets every year, decade after decade.

I think it's impractical and hugely expensive to prepare for every eventuality. It doesn't have to be a hurricane. All it takes is a bit of wind to blow the rain a bit and you've got a wet wall.

Climbing World Cups are hugely expensive to run as it is. Most years Britain can't even afford to run a single event. Expecting weather protection for outdoor walls is expecting there to be a load more cash that just isn't there.