Akiyo Noguchi

The 2018 IFSC competition season is abbut to start overseas and the organization’s lead photographer has some thoughts about the potential chaos that might ensue.

Eddie Fowke travels to many of the IFSC comps and knows better than most how changes to the scoring might affect things.

Because most climbers are thinking about qualifying for the Olympics in 2020, there will be many climbers competing in more than one discipline.

Fowke recently told the climber’s site 8a.nu about five things he sees as being issues in 2018.

He listed climber burnout and injuries, confusion, contention, mixed results and big world cups (more climbers than ever).

At one point, he says, “And while doing double duty at World Cups where there are more than one event in a weekend (Boulder/Speed, Speed/Lead). Along with the injuries expect emotional burnout as climber’s struggle with continued trips overseas, time zone juggling and the pressure of having to perform.”

Read the full list here. Visit here for your 2018 Canada Boulder Team.

Follow @guymcnamee who’s on Team Canada Boulder team this year! Full team in profile link. Pic @murdochshane #climbing #bouldering

A post shared by Gripped Magazine Comps (@grippedmagazinecomps) on Mar 21, 2018 at 4:58pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: Eddie Fowke Talks Comps on 8a.nu appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

If you’re a route setter and want to build better skills, then check out this course being offered at Bolder in Calgary on May 28, 29 and 30.

As stated on the website: World Climbing and the IFSC are hosting a three-day route setting course designed to teach experienced gym setters more advanced techniques to better meet the needs of commercial climbing gyms.

The concepts for these needs has been compiled from real working conditions in gyms all over the world and aims to begin to build professional standards for the organization and safety in the route setting workplace.

Participants for this course will be evaluated and if successful will be recognized as certified at the Foundation level, the first step in the IFSC’s new commercial setter certification track that aims to professionalize route setting outside of competitions.

It is a continental level course sanctioned by the IFSC. The course will emphasize safety, communication, teamwork and athletic empathy.

The course will also explore setting methodology, setting quality, professionalism in route setting, creativity, time management, productive forerunning, the Risk – intensity – complexity scale and composing a set or a circuit.

The requirements are at least two years of sustained setting experience, at least five years of climbing experience, ability to climb 5.12 and V6 in many styles.

Evaluation will be made by (at least) two instructors based on skills demonstrated, and progress made during the course.

The instructors and Tonde Katiyo and Travis Kemp, the assistant instructor is Fred Charron. There will only be eight setters accepted. The price is $1,920.

The selection process will take into account professional and relevant climbing experiences, letter of motivation, as well as geographic distribution. Continental applications will be prioritized. See here for more.

Bolder is also offering a course to the public to boulder better. Check it out below.

Are you stuck on a plateau with no end in sight? Looking to give your skill-set the boost that will help you send those problems that are just out of reach? We can help! Coach @onepetewonder has over 20 years of experience in telling people why they aren't good enough, and then making them good enough. Blood, sweat and tears may be involved. . Our advanced bouldering clinic gets underway Wednesday April 18th! . Limited spots available. Register before it's too late! Visit www.bolderclimbing.com for more information / registration. . #yyc #bolderclimbing #bouldering #yycclimbing #yycnow #yycfit #yycbuzz #calgary #calgarynow #calgarybuzz #calgaryfit

A post shared by Bolder Climbing Community (@bolderclimbing) on Mar 22, 2018 at 2:40pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: IFSC Route Setting Course in Calgary appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

This short film features highlights from Urban Uprising’s Tour de Bloc in Edmonton on Jan. 25, 2008.

The podiums results were Thirza Carpenter in first for women, followed by Vikki Weldon and Heather Sawitsky.

For the men, Patrick Lucas won with Marshal German in second and Dan Archambault in third.

Sit back and witness how different comps were only 10 years ago. With the lack of run and jump dynos, it’s hard to believe this is even a comp.

The post Indoor Weekly: Throwback to 2008 Tour de Bloc appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

The following is a news report from the IFSC about the third International Federation (IF) Gender Equality in Leadership Forum which took place on March 28 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Electoral processes, gender-neutral portrayal and meaningful inclusion in decision-making roles were at the heart of the forum.

IFSC President Marco Scolaris and IFSC Sport Officer Silvia Verdolini participated at the forum and altogether more than 30 International Federation representatives attended the event to discuss the recommendations share best practices to adapt to their own organisations and seek new solutions to improve gender equality in sports leadership.

“We acknowledge and actively work against gender disparities in the IFSC, where 40 percent of athlete licenses are distributed to female athletes and male and female athletes are awarded equally since the first international competition,” says President Scolaris.

“Although there is still a long way to go, I have to say that Sport Climbing has started already decades ago with the right foot: both genders have always been felt (and therefore considered) equal. Moreover, one of the beautiful things about Sport Climbing competitions is that they give everyone the best chance to express themselves, to show parallel levels of excellence across disciplines.

“We are proud of the record-setting success of Janja Garnbret at IFSC events, as well as the ground-breaking outdoor ascents of former world champion Angela Eiter and youth world champion Margo Hayes and the organising of events like the Women’s Climbing Symposium by season champion Shauna Coxsey.

“We hope our organisation consistently serves alongside them and all leaders of the Sport Climbing community to make sure our climbs are always towards gender equality.”

For more on the forum visit here.

IFSC President Scolaris and IFSC Sport Officer Silvia Verdolini attended the 3rd International Federation Gender Equality Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland. "We acknowledge and actively work against gender disparities in the IFSC." – President Scolaris. Find the full article on our official website : www.ifsc-climbing.org

A post shared by IFSC (@ifsclimbing) on Apr 4, 2018 at 6:08am PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: IFSC at Olympic Gender Equality Forum appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

It’s April in Canada and it feel like December outside, but the Lead comps will go on this upcoming weekend.

On April 7, three Lead competitions will be taking place across Canada as part of their provincial series.

For the Ontario Climbing Federation, a Lead comp will be taking place at Gravity in Hamilton.

The Wilson Centre in Edmonton will be hosting their first big comp of the year.

And in Quebec, the Youth Lead Provincials will be taking place at Allez Up for Youth B, C and D.

The Lead and Speed season is much shorter than the Bouldering season and will wrap-up by the end of the month.

Rehearsal ; pc: @lloyddking #climbing #ualbertaclimbing #leadclimbing #sportclimbing

A post shared by Wilson Climbing Centre (@ualbertaclimbing) on Mar 28, 2018 at 8:49am PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: April 2018 Lead Comps Start appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Tonde Katiyo talks about World Cup Prep Camp at Copenhagen Boulders in Denmark in the video below.

The World Cup starts on April 13 in Switzerland, April 21 in Russia and May 5 in China.

For the 2018 Team Canada Boulder team visit here.

The post Indoor Weekly: Watch Prepping for World Cup 2018 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Canada Youth B team member Indiana Chapman

The Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) has announced the top=three athletes of the Canadian Youth A, B and Junior National Bouldering Teams.

According to the selection criteria the top three athletes from the Canadian Bouldering Championships are automatically named to the four person team.

The fourth member will be named by the High Performance Director and National Coaching staff, in consultation with the High Performance Committee following Difficulty and Speed Nationals in May.

The CEC wishes to congratulate these amazing young climbers for the excellent results and performances. The CEC also wants to recognize and thank the coaches, clubs, provinces and parents for their support of these amazing athletes.

Male/Female Youth B
Hugo Dorval / Indiana Chapman
Ethan Hoffman / Mateja Vukojevic
Owen Gambling / Sonya Colliander

Male/Female Youth A
Zach Richardson / Madison Fischer
Guy McNamee / Aggy St-Jaques
Aidan Doyle / Babette Roy

Male/Female Junior
David Trudeau / Mika Hosoi
Zachary Mathieu / Bronwen Karnis
Alex Fricker / Sophie Buitendyk

Follow @guymcnamee who’s on Team Canada Boulder team this year! Full team in profile link. Pic @murdochshane #climbing #bouldering

A post shared by Gripped Magazine Comps (@grippedmagazinecomps) on Mar 21, 2018 at 4:58pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: 2018 Canadian Youth Bouldering Team appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Wilson Centre in Edmonton

At the Wilson Centre in Edmonton, Josh Muller and Alyssa Weber took top spots at the big event that had Youth D to Open competitors.

It’s been a trend this Lead season in Canada that top competition boulderers are taking podiums at Lead events. Maybe it has something to do with strong boulderers like Miles Adamson doing much of the setting.

Photographer and climber Lloyd King said, “Think of the moving parts that need to come together. Plus the hard to hit targets in order to create success at a large scale climbing event your community looks forward to and depends on year after year. It certainly has its associated expectations.

“Thankfully, there are so many rad volunteers. Belayers, judges and long standing community supporters that step it up event after event and make the magic happen.”

Open Female/Male Results
1. Alyssa Weber / Josh Muller
2. Paige Boklaschuk / Alex Fricker
3. Lisa Van de Panne / Lee Hunter

For full results visit here. The next and final Lead comp of this season in Alberta is Lead Provincials at The Hanger on April 23.

Watch Adamson on one of his Qualifiers below.

The second qualifier I set for mens open, at the U of A competition. Josh is in first with 2 tops. The Fricker is in 2nd with a fall near the top @grippedmagazinecomps @cdnclimbingnews

A post shared by Miles Adamson (@miles_adamson) on Apr 7, 2018 at 11:58am PDT

Great shot from @lloyddking of qualifiers today. The last rope comp I did was nearly 15 years ago in Scotland at a youth world cup. Today I just thought why not. I managed to grab first in qualifiers though so that's dope. We'll see how tonight goes.

A post shared by Josh Muller (@joshmuller) on Apr 7, 2018 at 2:57pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: Boulderers Win Lead at Wilson appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Gravity climbing gym in Hamilton has long been a centre for big comps, in 2013 and 2014 they hosted an IFSC Bouldering World Cup.

But they had never hosted an Ontario Climbing Federation (OCF) Lead event.

On April 7, one of Ontario’s few Lead comps took place there with Brandon Barraclough and Charle Prosser taking the tops of the podiums.

Gravity commented on the weekend, “It was an action-packed weekend and it wouldn’t have been possible without you. From the competitors, to the volunteers, to the spectators cheering everyone on, we’d like to give a huge thank you to everyone who was part of our first OCF rope comp.”

Below is Open podium results and for full results visit here. Scroll through images by Scott Parker below.

Male/Female Open Results
1. Brandon Barraclough / Charle Prosser
2. Adam Koebel / Vida Wand
3. Alex Meoko / Carly Noonan

A post shared by Gravity Climbing Gym (@gravityclimbing) on Apr 9, 2018 at 7:55am PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: Gravity Lead 2018 Results appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

It was a high-energy weekend at Allez Up in Montreal for the 2018 Quebec Lead Championships. This was the first CEC National Series Lead Event this season.

Everyone brought their A-game and like many Lead comps this year, top boulderers won the podiums.

Maybe it’s that Lead routes are more like boulder problems these days or boulderers are training for more rope routes with Olympic dreams. Time will tell.

Below are Open podium results, see Allez Up’s post below for full podium results.

Male/Female Open
1. Francis Bilodeau / Babette Roy
2. David Trudeau / Lia Wieckowski
3. Florent Balsez / Elina Avramova

Congrats to all the athletes! . Men's Elite 1: Francis Bilodeau 2: David Trudeau 3: Florent Balsez . Women's elite 1: Babette Roy 2: Lia Wieckowski 3: Elina Avramova . Junior Women 1: Caitlin Williams 2: Allyson Bergeron . Junior Men 1: Maxime Boisvert 2: Alexandre Closset 3: Olivier Beaudin . Youth A girls 1: Aurelie Huppé 2: Eve Laprise 3: Sophie Valence . Youth A Boys 1: Noah Charron 2: Olivier Paradis 3: Raphael Demers=Lapointe . Youth B girls 1: Mia Laprise 2: Thea Chapman 3: Aspen Hendry . Youth B Boys 1: Hugo Dorval 2: Mathis Imbeault 3: Hugo Valence . Youth C girls (tie for 1st) 1: Cedar Hendry, Léa Latour 3: Léa Fyrigos . Youth C boys (3-way tie) 1: Wu Yaoyang, Antoine Laporte, Dylan Le . Youth D girls 1: Lylou-Anne Basirico-Jean 2: Jade Beauchemin 3: Inès Ferrarini . Youth D Boys 1: Maxime Therien, Matviy Voshchykov 3: Eliott Robert

A post shared by Allez Up (@allezupmtl) on Apr 8, 2018 at 1:55pm PDT

The day has come and gone! It was high in emotions, the athletes brought it, and the setters delivered the show! Here are @germain_coquin and @thea21_tc in their final routes. Both took home medals. . Thanks for coming out! . #allezup #competitionclimbing #coupequebec #escalade

A post shared by Allez Up (@allezupmtl) on Apr 7, 2018 at 5:33pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: Quebec 2018 Lead Championships appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Bouldering wowed the crowds at the 2018 FISE World Series in Hiroshima, Japan this past weekend.

Canadian MC Pete Woods travelled to lend his talents for the big event.

Clementine Kaiser managed to improve on her second place in Semis and clinch the victory just ahead of 14-year-old Japanese star Natsuki Tani in second.

For the Males, the top three climbers had tied, but Meichi Narasaki eventually came out on top stunning the crowd and judges with his skill and technical ability.

The phenomenal young Japanese climber has won multiple Junior Championships and we’re sure we will be seeing a lot more of him at events in the future.

Female/Male Finals
1. Clémentine Kaiser / Meichi Narasaki
2. Tanii Natsuki / Tanaka Shuta
3. Mei Kotake / Dohi Keita

ボルダリング IFSC Bouldering International Series 男子予選も開催中！ . 当日は混雑が予想されるため、入場登録を済ませておくと入場がスムーズに行えますが、【登録は当日でもOK】 「登録を忘れたから行けないや」と思って諦めていませんか？選手たちの熱い戦い・パフォーマスを現地で味わいましょう！ 事前登録は公式サイトから https://fisehiroshima.jp #fisehiroshima #fisehiroshima2018 #hiroshima #広島 #アーバンスポーツ

A post shared by FISE Hiroshima (@fisehiroshima) on Apr 6, 2018 at 4:22pm PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: FISE Japan World Series appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Since 2016, Meiringen marks the opening of the IFSC Climbing World Cup season.

Nestled in the Swiss Alps, the mountain village welcomes a new strong field of about 250 elite Bouldering athletes on April 13 and 14.

Below are the Canadians from the 2018 Canadian Bouldering Team heading over.

Team Canada
Alannah Yip
Madison Fischer
Sean McColl
Sebastien Lazure
Nathan Smith
Jason Holowach

Shauna Coxsey (GBR) has yet to lose in Meiringen, but as in 2017 the reigning Bouldering season champion will have to overcome a recent finger injury to continue her streak of victories with Meiringen runner-up Katharina Saurwein (AUT) back on the start list.

Jongwon Chon (KOR) missed the finals cut last year, but the men’s Bouldering season champion and Meiringen runner-up Aleksei Rubtsov (RUS) are top candidates to medal.

After dominating the Bouldering team rankings in 2017, Japan returns with a full lineup of podium contenders: Meiringen winner Kokoro Fujii, Combined season champion Tomoa Narasaki, Akiyo Noguchi, Miho Nonaka and youth Bouldering world champion (Youth B) Futaba Ito.

Expectations are also high for the United Sates, sending youth Combined world champion (Juniors) Claire Buhrfeind and more strong contenders.

Headed back to Meiringen, Switzerland for the first World Cup of the season! Photo from the comp there in 2016 by @tenorwill

A post shared by Alannah Yip (@alannah_yip) on Apr 10, 2018 at 6:14pm PDT

From Switzerland, world champion Petra Klingler fell just short of the podium in Meiringen last year, but she will again be in the spotlight in front of her home crowd. Also keep an eye on Alexander Megos (GER), runner-up at the European Bouldering Championship in Munich.

Nine rising stars competing at the Youth Olympic Games in October will test their progress in Meiringen.

Youth Combined world champion (Youth A) Sandra Lettner (AUT) will climb in her first IFSC World Cup, alongside Argentina native Valentina Aguado, Combined world champion Elena Krasovskaia (RUS), Keita Dohi (JPN), Petar Ivanov (BUL), Vita Lukan (SLO), Hannah Meul (GER) and Filip Schenk and Giorgia Tesio of Italy.

Watch Finals:

The post Indoor Weekly: Canada Heading to 2018 Swiss World Cup appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Shauna Coxsey and Leah Crane

Shauna Coxsey and Leah Crane visited the Plymouth Climbing Hangar to try the new facility.

While they were there we asked them to share their top five tips for getting off the ground.

In 2017, Coxsey won four Bouldering World Cups and the overall title. In 2009 and 2010, Crane was the British Bouldering Champion.

Watch the short video below with the top British comp climbers.

Tip 1: Put your shoes in your jacket when you get to the gym to warm them up.
Tip 2: Brush the holds because there’s so much chalk on the holds. Don’t try projects that are too chalky. Also, brush your holds after your done.
Tip 3: Make sure your landing zone is clear. Don’t fall off on anyone. Communication, tell other boulderers where you’re going on your route.
Tip 4: Try things you’re not good at. Keep it mixed up to improve at your weaknesses.
Tip 5: Warm up! Your body is a tool to go up the wall, so warm your fingers up, stretch and ease into the session.

The post Indoor Weekly: Pros Give Five Tips for Gym Climbing appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Jernej Kruder for the win Photo Vladek Zumr

The first IFSC Boulder World Cup of 2018 took place on April 13 and 14 in Switzerland.

No Canadian made Semis, with Alannah Yip finishing 29th and Sean McColl 37th. See full Female results here and Male here. Below is the IFSC report.

Female/Male Finals Results
1. Miho Nonaka / Jernej Kruder
2. Janja Garnbret / Tomoa Narasaki
3. Akiyo Noguchi / Aleksei Rubtsov

First World Cup of the season for team is done here in Switzerland; next stop Russia

A post shared by Sean McColl (@mccollsean) on Apr 14, 2018 at 10:00am PDT

Meiringen Word Cup Report

Dynamic moves and creative problems created an exciting final round in Meiringen, hosting its third IFSC World Cup event.

The Bouldering stars and rising stars did not disappoint, giving the crowd in Switzerland and viewers everywhere thrilling moments until the end.

After standing on his first IFSC World Cup podium last year in Nanjing, Jernej Kruder rose to the top this weekend. First to climb in the men’s final, three times Kruder energised the audience by leaping for holds: the jump to the finish after controlling a challenging ladder of holds on the first problem; the quadruple dyno starting the second problem; and an unexpected drop to score the zone point on the third problem.

2017 Combined season champion Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) and Aleksei Rubtsov (RUS) topped two problems and scored four zone points to place 2nd and 3rd by attempts, and Jakob Schubert (AUT) closed out the round with the only top of a powerful fourth problem on his first attempt. Tomoaki Takata (JPN) climbed in his first IFSC World Cup final today and finished in 5th place.

Click to watch a crazy dyno below.

Boom! Mega dyno by @kruderjernej to take first at @ifsclimbing Switzerland World Cup! Results in profile link. #ifscwc #ifsc #dyno #bouldering

A post shared by Gripped Magazine Comps (@grippedmagazinecomps) on Apr 14, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

Four female finalists began their podium quest in Meiringen with a flash of the first problem, solving advanced footwork and a sleek switch from heel to toe to continue upward after scoring the zone point. 2017 Combined season champion Janja Garnbret (SLO), Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) and Miho Nonaka followed with flashes of a dynamic second problem, but only Nonaka continued the perfection on the subsequent slab, completing a gruelling shoulder move on her first attempt.

She carried the momentum into the fourth problem, solving a double-dyno into a palm press on the way to her fourth top and first gold medal since 2016. Garnbret made her 23rd podium in 27 events by finishing with a flash, and Noguchi rounded out the podium with four tops as well, requiring more attempts to do so.

9 athletes competing at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 competed in Meiringen this weekend. Sandra Lettner of Austria became the first qualified athlete to reach finals at an IFSC World Cup event in 2018, the first of her career.

She climbed well all day, sticking the double-dyno rollover on the last problem in finals for 4th place. Giorgia Tesio of Italy also performed well, qualifying for semi-finals on Friday.

Congratulations @kruderjernej and @nonaka_miho for starting the 2018 #IFSCwc Bouldering season in 1st place! Recap and highlights at our bio link @thecircuitclimbing

A post shared by IFSC (@ifsclimbing) on Apr 15, 2018 at 2:36am PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: First Boulder World Cup 2018 Results appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Udo Neumann takes a hard look at the recent IFSC Boulder World Cup in Switzerland to determine what factors play into competitors winning.

He narrows it down to patience, direction of loading and balance, smart positioning, embracing variety and stick to plan A.

This was the first World Cup of the 2018 season and you can find results here.

Watch:

The post Indoor Weekly: Factors Deciding Boulder Comps appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

If you ever wondered if a Bouldering competition climber could request a ladder to come down from the top a problem, well now you know, they can’t.

In the IFSC Rules 2018 handbook, it clearly states in section 3.2.7:

Under no circumstances shall special provisions be made at the request of any competitor, e.g.
descent to the ground from the top of a boulder by a ladder.

Here are some other rules of comp scene you might not have known about.

• Competitors are not permitted to carry or use any audio listening equipment during observation and whilst climbing.
• The climbing rope shall be connected to the competitor’s harness by a “figure of eight” knot, secured with a “stopper” knot.
• Each route shall be designed:
  i. So as to avoid the danger of a competitor’s fall injuring the competitor, or injuring or obstructing any other competitor or third party;
  ii. Without any downward jumps
• The Boulder Judge or organising staff shall clean all holds on a boulder before each competitor begins their first attempt. A competitor may also request that holds be cleaned before any attempt on the boulder. Competitors may clean holds that they can reach from the ground. Only brushes or other materials that are provided by the organisation shall be used for this purpose.
• Only competitors who are or will be at least 16 years of age in the year of the competition and who hold a valid International Licence shall be eligible to compete in a World Cup competition.

Here are three reasons why 2018 will be the best comp season to date:

The post Indoor Weekly: Comp Climbers Can’t Request Ladders appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Speed and Boulder in Moscow this weekend

The second IFSC Boulder and first Speed World Cup will be taking place in Moscow this weekend and Canada is ready.

Despite not having their best performances, many of Team Canada have shaken the cob webs from off season and are ready for Russia.

Sean McColl, Seb Lazure, Will Johnson and Nathan Smith will be competing in Boulder and McColl in Speed.

I felt pretty good today, but got stopped by the last 3 boulders of a pretty tough round that didn’t see many tops.. in the end I got the first 2 boulders in 3 tries and needed a little bit more to advance. . I am excited to compete again at the next one! Meanwhile we got some more time to enjoy Switzerland! . Here’s my flash of B2 Video by @malek_climbing @climbcanada . @blocshop @thenorthface . @fiveten_official @organicclimbing @plastickholds #blocshop #bouldering #neverstopexploring #teamblocshop #ifscwc #worldcup #switzerland #teamcanada #climbcanada

A post shared by Sébastien Lazure (@seblazure) on Apr 13, 2018 at 4:08pm PDT

IFSC Report

After celebrating 70 years of Sport Climbing events last year, Moscow welcomes the best Bouldering and Speed athletes next weekend to Russia, where the earliest Speed climbing competitions were organised.

The first climbing competitions were organised in the former USSR in the late 1940s. These events focused on Speed climbing and were mostly dedicated to Soviet climbers until the 1980s. The first Climbing World Cup in Moscow took place in 1994, with the most recent edition occurring in 2010.

Russian athletes have continued to excel on the world stage, in Bouldering and especially Speed. Since the inception of the IFSC in 2007, Russia has topped the national team ranking every year. Iuliia Kaplina currently holds the women’s world record (7.32 seconds), and Vladislav Deulin secured the season title in the final races last year. Anna Tsyganova is the reigning world champion and the women’s Combined winner of the 70th Anniversary event, and Speed legends Stanislav Kokorin and Mariia Krasavina have both won multiple season titles.

Congratulations @kruderjernej and @nonaka_miho for starting the 2018 #IFSCwc Bouldering season in 1st place! Recap and highlights at our bio link @thecircuitclimbing

A post shared by IFSC (@ifsclimbing) on Apr 15, 2018 at 2:36am PDT

Star Speed athletes from around the world will challenge the Russian team in Moscow on Sunday. Reza Alipourshenazandifar (IRI) set the men’s world record last season (5.48 seconds), and Anouck Jaubert (FRA) returns after winning the season title last year. Also keep an eye on Indonesia’s Aspar Jaelolo and Aries Susanti Rahayu, who climbed fast at the final IFSC Speed World Cups of 2017 in Wujiang and Xiamen.

Moscow also hosts the second stage of the Bouldering season on Saturday and Sunday. The Japanese team, first in the national team Bouldering ranking last year, continued to perform well in Meiringen. Miho Nonaka won gold in the 2018 debut, and her teammates Tomoa Narasaki and Akiyo Noguchi joined her on the podium. Slovenia also excelled in the Bouldering opener, with Jernej Kruder winning his first IFSC World Cup and Combined season champion Janja Garnbret beginning the season with a silver medal.

In the spotlight in Moscow will be Aleksei Rubtsov. The men’s Combined winner of the 70th Anniversary event finished 3rd in the Bouldering season the past two years and already won a bronze medal in Meiringen. For the full list of starting athletes and photos of the 70th Anniversary event last year, visit the official Moscow event page on the IFSC website.

12 qualified athletes for the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 will compete at IFSC World Cup Moscow, including youth Speed world champion (Youth A) Aleksandra Kalucka (POL) and youth Bouldering world champion (Youth A) Filip Schenk (ITA).

Three athletes from China will join them, Asian youth Combined champion YuFei Pan among them. From Russia, Luiza Emeleva and Elena Krasovskaia will climb in both disciplines in front of their home crowd. Also keep an eye on Mao Nakamura (JPN), who climbed in Meiringen semi-finals last weekend. Sandra Lettner (AUT), 4th in Meiringen, is not on the start list.

It was that good! Nice @kruderjernej. Next @ifsclimbing this weekend! More in profile link. #ifscwc #climbing #bouldering

A post shared by Gripped Magazine Comps (@grippedmagazinecomps) on Apr 19, 2018 at 8:51pm PDT

Watch Semis

Watch Finals

Watch Speed Finals

The post Indoor Weekly: Watch 2018 IFSC Moscow World Cup appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Watch highlights from the first Boulder World Cup of 2018 from Meiringen, Switzerland.

IFSC Report

Japan claimed three medals and Slovenia placed two athletes on the podium at the first IFSC Bouldering World Cup of the 2018 season in Meiringen, won by Miho Nonaka (JPN) and Jernej Kruder (SLO).

Dynamic moves and creative problems created an exciting final round in Meiringen, hosting its 3rd IFSC World Cup event. The Bouldering stars and rising stars did not disappoint, giving the crowd in Switzerland and viewers everywhere thrilling moments until the end.

Watch Slow Motion Highlights

After standing on his first IFSC World Cup podium last year in Nanjing, Jernej Kruder rose to the top this weekend. First to climb in the men’s final, three times Kruder energised the audience by leaping for holds: the jump to the finish after controlling a challenging ladder of holds on the first problem; the quadruple dyno starting the second problem; and an unexpected drop to score the zone point on the third problem. 2017 Combined season champion Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) and Aleksei Rubtsov (RUS) topped two problems and scored four zone points to place 2nd and 3rd by attempts, and Jakob Schubert (AUT) closed out the round with the only top of a powerful fourth problem on his first attempt. Tomoaki Takata (JPN) climbed in his first IFSC World Cup final today and finished in 5th place.

Four female finalists began their podium quest in Meiringen with a flash of the first problem, solving advanced footwork and a sleek switch from heel to toe to continue upward after scoring the zone point. 2017 Combined season champion Janja Garnbret (SLO), Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) and Miho Nonaka followed with flashes of a dynamic second problem, but only Nonaka continued the perfection on the subsequent slab, completing a gruelling shoulder move on her first attempt.

She carried the momentum into the fourth problem, solving a double-dyno into a palm press on the way to her fourth top and first gold medal since 2016. Garnbret made her 23rd podium in 27 events by finishing with a flash, and Noguchi rounded out the podium with four tops as well, requiring more attempts to do so.

10 athletes competing at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 competed in Meiringen this weekend. Sandra Lettner of Austria became the first qualified athlete to reach finals at an IFSC World Cup event in 2018, the first of her career. She climbed well all day, sticking the double-dyno rollover on the last problem in finals for 4th place. Mao Nakamura of Japan and Giorgia Tesio of Italy also performed well, qualifying for semi-finals on Friday.

Congratulations @kruderjernej and @nonaka_miho for starting the 2018 #IFSCwc Bouldering season in 1st place! Recap and highlights at our bio link @thecircuitclimbing

A post shared by IFSC (@ifsclimbing) on Apr 15, 2018 at 2:36am PDT

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Sean McColl in Moscow Qualifiers. Watch video below.

The second IFSC Boulder World Cup and first Speed is taking place this weekend in Moscow and four Canadians competed in Qualifications for Boulder.

Sean McColl, Seb Lazure, Will Johnson and Nathan Smith gave their best and in the end they finished in 13th, 77th, 91st and 69th respectively.

McColl is heading to his first Semis of this season after a disappointing finish in 37th in Switzerland.

For a pre-comp rundown and to watch Semis and Finals visit here.

In 2017, McColl talked about his training. He said, “A big misconception is that I train every day for three or four hours. When I tell people, when they’re like, ‘Hey Sean, how much do you train?’ and I’m like, ‘Ten to 15 hours a week,’ they’re like, ‘Woah, what? Don’t you do this professionally?’ Yeah.

“I know Adam Ondra. He’s at the upper echelons and I think he trains 20 to 25, and that’s conservative, I think. He is built that way. He loves training that much and he admits that he’s constantly tired. Before competition season he has to have a really big tapering session but I’ve found that – I’ve tried to train 16 hours a week and I’m just too tired and my training sessions are just less efficient. Everyone has to learn it but I’m really comfortable doing 10 to 15, and of the 15 hours a week it’s not all climbing.

“There will be some dead hanging and some fingerboarding and some – off the top of my head it’s hard to come up with the percentages and everything but I try to do cardio. I do floor-based exercises with bands, which is actually kind of new for this year and last year. I obviously do bouldering and lead climbing, circuits, I don’t really do any speed training although I should, since I do World Cups in them and everything. Then I do a bit of cross-training like, abs, and I like playing soccer with my friends or playing basketball. I guess it’s not considered training but it’s more for fun.”

Click to watch McColl in Qualifiers.

% for making semis in Russia It’s interesting to see the margins getting smaller and smaller in bouldering World Cups. Even small mistakes are the difference between advancing to the next round and finishing way down the list : @climbcanada

A post shared by Sean McColl (@mccollsean) on Apr 21, 2018 at 5:50am PDT

The post Indoor Weekly: Sean McColl Makes Semis in Moscow appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Sean McColl became the first Canadian of the 2018 World Cup season to advance past a Qualifiers.

While it was a good effort, he did not have the juice to make Finals and ended in 16th and 48th in Speed.

Canadians Nathan Smith ended in 69th in Boulder, Seb Lazure in 77 and Will Johnson in 91. Full results here.

There is a big Team Canada contingent expected at the Chongqing World Cup, including Alannah Yip, Sean McColl, Allison Vest, Jason Holowach, Lucas Uchida, Nathan Smith, Kye Wotton and Seb Lazure.

Boulder Men/Women Finals
1. Tomoa Narasaki / Janja Garnbret
2. Jernej Kruder / Miho Nonaka
3. Gregor Vezonik / Akiyo Noguchi

0% for making finals in Russia ~ Tough first couple of boulders in semis; this was on the way to my only top of the round ~ Good luck to all the finalists! ~ : @climbcanada

A post shared by Sean McColl (@mccollsean) on Apr 22, 2018 at 5:19am PDT

IFSC Report

Anouck Jaubert tied the women’s Speed climbing world record on her last run and Japan, Russia and Slovenia placed 3 athletes on the podium at the second Bouldering and first Speed event of 2018.

Six months after the final IFSC Speed World Cup in Xiamen, China, the fastest Speed climbing athletes in the world went head-to-head again this weekend in Moscow. Indonesia and Russia excelled in Speed qualifications, sending no less than 20 athletes to finals altogether.

2017 season champion Anouck Jaubert of France faced-off in the gold medal race against long-time rival Iuliia Kaplina (RUS), competing in front of her home crowd. A false start handed Jaubert the victory, and she maintained composure during the final run to tie the women’s Speed climbing world record (7.32 seconds) set by Kaplina last year at The World Games in Wroclaw. Elena Timofeeva (RUS) won her first IFSC World Cup medal, profiting in the small final on a slip from Aries Susanti Rahayu (INA), who clocked a fast time of 7.39 seconds in the quarterfinal.

In the men’s Speed final, 2017 season runner-up Reza Alipourshenazandifar (IRI) continued to race quickly in the 2018 season opener, approaching his world record (5.48 seconds) and scoring only one time above 6 seconds. He won gold in the big final over 2017 season champion Vladislav Deulin, who made it 3 medals for Russia in Moscow. Veddriq Leonardo (INA) bested teammate Hinayah Muhammad on a false start to win a bronze medal on Sunday at his first IFSC World Cup.

Japan and Slovenia dominated in Bouldering finals on Sunday evening, claiming all the medals in the grand finale in Moscow. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN), 2nd at the first IFSC Bouldering World Cup of 2018 in Meiringen, was the only male finalist to top all four problems, including a flash of a powerful second set. The reigning Combined season champion and Bouldering world champion last won gold in the IFSC World Cup series in 2016 (Munich).

Congratulations to all the athletes who excelled at #IFSCwc Moscow, including the Indonesian team who sent 10 athletes to the Speed finals earlier today! Full summary and replays of Bouldering and Speed finals at our bio link

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Meiringen winner Jernej Kruder (SLO) was the first athlete to complete a top in finals, solving the barn-door swing of the opening problem and flashing the last two problems. Kruder’s Slovenian teammate, Gregor Vezonik, flashed the challenging steep final set for his first IFSC World Cup medal. Russia’s Aleksei Rubtsov also climbed well in Moscow, smoothly completing the jump on the third problem for 5th place.

Janja Garnbret (SLO), Petra Klingler (SUI) and Miho Nonaka (JPN) led the way on the first three problems: the lines of crimps on the opening slab, the multi-move dyno of the second problem and the physical third sequence. The last problem featured a showdown between Nonaka, winner in Meiringen, and Garnbret, the 2017 Combined season champion. Nonaka made the opening leap and successfully wrestled up the next volumes on her first attempt, requiring a flash from Garnbret to tie in finals and force a countback to her leading semi-final score. With fans in Moscow and around the world watching, Garnbret maintained her composure and completed the top on her first attempt for the victory. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) also quickly solved the fourth problem to bump Klingler off the podium by top attempts.

Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland registered an impressive time of 7.91 seconds in Speed qualifications, the first glimpse of Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 qualified athletes in the discipline this year. Elena Krasovskaia of Russia also climbed strong, topping 3 problems in Bouldering qualifications on Saturday.

Congratulations Anouck Jaubert, who tied the women's #speedclimbing world record (7.32 seconds) info finals today at #IFSCwc Moscow! Jaubert and @rezaalipour.1 begin the 2018 season with gold medals. Replay and results at our bio link

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