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NEWS: IFSC Lead World Cup Briançon - Report

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 UKC News 25 Aug 2020
Laura Rogora competing in the Final 3x2

IFSC Commentator Charlie Boscoe reports from the first - and likely only - IFSC Lead World Cup of 2020...

Yes, you did read that headline right - we actually HAD a World Cup! Almost 10 months to the day since the World Cup in Inzai, Japan, which closed out last season, the IFSC were finally able to get an event on and it took place in Briançon, in the heart of the Southern Alps.



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 tjdodd 25 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:

It was great to see some competition again.  Interesting routes in both the semi-finals and finals and some great climbing on show with excitement to the very end.  The commentary was excellent as always.

 john arran 25 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:

Excellent write-up. Thank you Charlie.

 Wil Treasure 25 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:

Nice report. The competition world has really crossed a threshold in the last few years, helped by some of the incredible climbers along the way. Ondra looks in the best form of his life at the moment and Laura Rogora climbing 9a 3rd go is incredible on its own, but even more so the day after a comp.

One thing I'm not totally clear on:

>The BMC decided in advance that they wouldn't be sending a British team (a policy which was initially not met with universal agreement but proved to be spot on when UK quarantine rules changed a week before the event)

I'm not convinced it's the BMC's job to second guess travel restrictions. It was entirely legal for British climbers to compete, several were already on the continent and may not even be returning to the UK so quarantine wasn't an issue (and again, I don't think that's the BMC's business). In some ways it's a strange system, needing to be registered by your country to compete, when you're competing as an individual (and also funding most of this). Given the minimal support provided to the GB Comp team I think it's a poor decision to put other barriers in their way.

 JLS 25 Aug 2020
In reply to Wil Treasure:

>"Given the minimal support provided to the GB Comp team I think it's a poor decision to put other barriers in their way."

The BMC have a history of having Molly T-S sitting watching competitions rather than taking part. Who, how, why that helps anyone is a mystery to me...

1
 AlanLittle 25 Aug 2020
In reply to JLS:

Totally agree - especially having seen GB Ski juniors not even at an event but just doing summer glacier training in Austria a few weeks ago.

Who is supposed to be gaining what from depriving Molly of top level competition practice when she's clearly a serious contender for the remaining Olympic slot at the European championship?

 JLS 25 Aug 2020
In reply to AlanLittle:

>"the remaining Olympic slot at the European championship"

This info had past me by... I had thought that when the Euro's were abandoned due to Covid the remaining places were allocated from the World Championships.

Is this a decision that was reversed once the Olympics were postponed?

I've lost track of who might still be in the running for Olympic places...

 AlanLittle 25 Aug 2020
In reply to JLS:

Euro's afaik not abandoned, just postponed. But I'm not an expert and might be mistaken.

In reply to AlanLittle:

No, you are correct. Moscow just postponed. At the moment the ruling is that if the 4 remaining Continental Championships are not held by the end of the year then the places get re-allocated to the highest ranked European/Asian/African/Oceanian (is that a word) from the 2019 World Champs. This is because under the current Rules a new cadre of young athletes would be eligible to compete in 2021.

 Southvillain 26 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:

On the men's side, Adam Ondra (CZE) had looked like a different species to just about everyone else all weekend and he backed that up by finding the only top in the final to seal an utterly dominant win

His last move was just extraordinary. How he had the strength to slap at the last hold, then re-adjust to grip it, had me shouting "WTF!". Great competition.

 Rad 26 Aug 2020

Thanks for an excellent write up, Charlie. I was sad that IFSC blocked the livestream and full recorded sessions for the US. Highlights are not the same. Hopefully that won't happen next time.

Totally agree that Adam is from another planet. We are fortunate that he is such a good role model too, making time for fans, casting his spotlight on other climbers and route developers in his videos, speaking so many languages, cheering on his competitors, and more. 

IMHO there are many things that help set Adam apart, but a big one is mental. He has such a rich repertiore of movement that he very quickly analyzes routes/problems, comes up with a solution that work for him, and executes them. I've never seen anyone climb faster on routes. He loves to challenge himself and learn new things. I'm glad you mentioned the Dawn Wall, because technical granite climbing is very different from sport climbing, and yet he mastered it quite quickly. Also, his flexibility is astounding. It is awe inspiring, and frankly sometimes disturbing, to see him use his flexibility in his climbing. Underlying it all is his super strong motivation and work ethic.  No other climber has such a complete package, and I expect we'll see more great things from him in the coming years.

Post edited at 18:58
ElArt 28 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:

Watched live and loved how the commentary went into overdrive when Ondra got into the second half of the final.

I hope the BBC take Mr Boscoe  to the Olympics as it would be knowledgeable, genuine commentary and great for the sport. Getting a climber on to fill in the gaps just wouldn’t cut it. 

 Michael Hood 28 Aug 2020
In reply to ElArt:

> Watched live and loved how the commentary went into overdrive when Ondra got into the second half of the final.

I think there was no choice given the speed he was climbing (fraction over 3 mins for the lot) 😁, that's one of the reasons Ondra's so good, less time on-route getting tired.

> I hope the BBC take Mr Boscoe  to the Olympics as it would be knowledgeable, genuine commentary and great for the sport. Getting a climber on to fill in the gaps just wouldn’t cut it. 

Agreed, however I fear unlikely since this would require some corporate pragmatic sensible decision making, and the BBC hasn't shown vast swathes of doing this in recent years.

ElArt 29 Aug 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

I don’t know much about BBC decision making but they can do some brilliant TV. Whoever gets the rights it’s fingers crossed that Mr Boscoe gets an invite. 

 Colin Knowles 30 Aug 2020
In reply to Wil Treasure:

> I'm not convinced it's the BMC's job to second guess travel restrictions. It was entirely legal for British climbers to compete, several were already on the continent and may not even be returning to the UK so quarantine wasn't an issue (and again, I don't think that's the BMC's business). In some ways it's a strange system, needing to be registered by your country to compete, when you're competing as an individual (and also funding most of this). Given the minimal support provided to the GB Comp team I think it's a poor decision to put other barriers in their way.

Wil, I think you'll find that you are mistaken in the assumption that the BMC/MCoS decision was about travel restrictions. I'm prepared to be corrected, but my belief is that it was due to the impact of lockdown on training, and specifically about the timings of the opening up of gyms for training in different parts of the UK, which made it difficult to make fair and measured team selections.

In reply to Colin Knowles:

Which makes no sense in relation to Molly, who had been living in Germany for ages and where the walls started opening up on 11th May.

And Molly is of course part of the already selected elite so there would be no question about her selection.

Post edited at 20:36
 timjones 31 Aug 2020
In reply to Colin Knowles:

If they are going to quit when the selections are difficult they probably shouldn't be allowed the responsibility.

 wbo2 31 Aug 2020
In reply to UKC News:  The problems with allowing exceptions to 'normal' processes for qualifying to allow for unusual circumstances is that other people soon start complaining, and soon start taking the p.  I've seen this before close up in athletics where people start arguing about why they're not selected ' because xxxxx'

 Wil Treasure 31 Aug 2020
In reply to Colin Knowles:

Thanks, I was basing my assumption on what is implied in the article rather than any further knowledge. It still looks poor when we're talking professional level competitions though. No doubt it would have been an awkward selection process.

Blanche DuBois 20 Sep 2020
In reply to Colin Knowles:

> Wil, I think you'll find that you are mistaken in the assumption that the BMC/MCoS decision was about travel restrictions. I'm prepared to be corrected, but my belief is that it was due to the impact of lockdown on training, and specifically about the timings of the opening up of gyms for training in different parts of the UK, which made it difficult to make fair and measured team selections.

Err - what?!?  Has c19 passed by France, Austria, Italy etc then?  Or have all their training facilities been open as usual?  I know I'm late to the debate here, but I would have thought this piss poor decision making by the BMC (I know, shocking, and entirely unlike the BMC) would have generated more comment given how much has been devoted to how qualified (or not) their chief bean counter is/was.  Doesn't seem to be much (any) info on the BMC websit either.

Supported the organisation for years, but if I renew my subscription when it falls due, then it will be through clenched teeth.

 AlanLittle 21 Sep 2020
In reply to Blanche DuBois:

German national team were allowed into closed-to-the-public training facilities throughout lockdown, and climbing  in Germany & Austria reopened to the public significantly earlier than in the UK

In any case it’s inconceivable that a “fair and measured team selection” wouldn’t have decided Molly T-S was fit, and since she clearly has a realistic chance at the remaining Olympic slot, not giving her the chance to get some top level comp practice in was a travesty 

Post edited at 06:41
 AlanLittle 21 Sep 2020
In reply to AlanLittle:

Oops, correction. Meant to write climbing walls in Germany & Austria reopened to the public significantly earlier than in the UK


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