Five World Cups across three continents headline the provisional 2019-2020 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour calendar, partnered by Outdoor Research.
Four of the venues featured as part of the 2018-2019 season ensuring familiarity for athletes and the opportunity to build on relationships and experiences. “We are delighted with the shape of the calendar for the upcoming season,” explains UIAA Sport Events Coordinator Rob Adie. “Working with established organisers ensures we can focus on improving events in terms of the athlete experience and ensuring greater consistency from competition to competition. We are also looking forward to showcasing ice climbing during the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne where a dedicated structure will be constructed in the centre of the city.”
The season again features a mix of urban locations (Moscow, Denver) as well as Alpine Classics (Saas-Fee). The inaugural visit to Denver last year drew a massive 25,000 spectators across the weekend, widely considered to be the largest crowd ever assembled for a competitive climbing event. Denver is currently part of the 2019-2020 programme but the event is still subject to confirmation.
Photo: UIAA/Levi Harrell
The new entry is the Chinese leg which after events in Hohhot and Beijing will move to Changchun City. A new venue but with organisation again expertly led by the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA). The calendar is completed by the popular event in Cheongsong, South Korea.
2020 will see the expansion of the UIAA Youth Ice event programme. Youth climbers will have two opportunities to excel – a combined format World Youth Championships (lead & speed together with one combined champion) will feature as part of the programme during the World Cup opener in Moscow. Russia is also the venue for the annual World Youth Championships (champions in lead and speed disciplines) with Kirov playing host.
The season also includes Continental Cups and Championships across four continents with Asian Cups for the first time. Many of these are integrated as part of World Cup events.
Livestreaming from all World Cup semi-finals and finals will again be provided. A new Results service integrated with the livestream will also be launched.
PROVISIONAL 2019-2020 UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR
Dates refer to the full competition including registration days. Further details and programmes will be communicated in due course. See the full calendar in the video link.
WORLD CUPS
20-21 December (2019)
Moscow, Russia
3-5 January
Changchun City, Jilin Province, China
10-12 January
Cheongsong, South Korea
23-25 January
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
21-23 February
Denver, USA (TBC)
WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
20-22 December (2019)
Moscow, Russia (Combined format)
6-8 March
Kirov, Russia (Single discipline format)
2020 YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
9 – 22 January
Ice Climbing Showcase
Lausanne, Switzerland
CONTINENTAL CUPS
Asian Championships
10-12 January
Cheongsong, South Korea
Asian Cups
8 February
Iran
15 February
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
European Championships
23-25 January
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
European Cups
23 November (2019)
Bern, Switzerland
30 November (2019)
Brno, Czech Republic
7 December (2019)
Žilina, Slovakia
29 February
Oulu, Finland
North American Championships
21-23 February
Denver, USA (TBC)
UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER
Main photo: 2019 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, Denver (USA).
Photo: UIAA/Levi Harrell
