The 2024 UIAA General Assembly was held from 8-9 November in Malta and hosted by ClimbMT.
A total of 107 delegates from 47 countries attended the event.
Below is a short summary of the voting decisions only. A full review of the GA will be published on Monday 18 November.
Elections
Executive Committee
Peter Muir was re-elected as UIAA President. Muir (ACC, Canada) will serve his second and final term from 2025-2028.
“Thank you for your confidence in electing me for another four years. I want to thank all member federations for the help they have given me and the Executive Committee. I have really enjoyed being President for four years and I am delighted to carry on for a further four. I look forward to continuing the work we have done including the implementation of the new strategic priorities.”
Peter Muir, UIAA President
Amit Chowdhury (India, IMF) and Martin Lascano (Argentina, FASA) were re-elected to the Executive Committee.
Yolanda de Both (Netherlands, NKBV) and Saray Khumalo (South Africa, MCSA) were also elected to the Executive Committee.
Two Executive Committee positions were vacant following the departure of Lode Beckers (Belgium, CMBEL) and Françoise Jaquet (Switzerland, SAC). The UIAA thanks Françoise and Lode for their incredible commitment to the UIAA through their respective tenures with the Executive Committee.
Management Board
Newly elected to the General Representation of the Management Board were:
Eimir McSwiggan, Ireland, MI
Nima Nuru Sherpa, NMA
Andrew Syme, UK, BMC
Re-elected to the Management Board:
Phil Powers, United States, AAC (North America Representative)
Jean Miczka, France, FFCAM (European Representative)
Stein Tronstad, Norway, NKF (General Representation)
The full composition of the Management Board is available on the UIAA website. Anne Arran (BMC, UK), after considerable and dedicated service, leaves the MB after her final term expired.
World Ice Climbing
A new Operating Unit ‘World Ice Climbing’ was created to govern the sport of competition ice climbing (see below). The following candidates were elected to its first Board:
Joanne Carilli-Stevenson, USA, (AAC)
Etienne Grillot, France (FFCAM)
Alexandru Paun, Romania (CAR)
The Board is also be comprised of athlete representatives:
Eimir McSwiggan, IRL (MI)
Willis Morris, GBR (BMC)
Further details to follow shortly.
New Member Associations
The following applications for new membership of the UIAA were accepted:
New Active (Full) Members
Andorra: Federació Andorrana de Muntanyisme
Georgia: United Federation of Georgian Mountaineers
Honduras: Federacion Hondureña de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada
New Associate Member
Australia: Australian Climbing Instructors’ Association Incorporated
UIAA Declaration
The new UIAA Declaration for climbers, hikers and mountaineers was approved.
The purpose of the new declaration is twofold:
- To lay out the generally accepted norms for behaviour that the UIAA considers optimal. This includes the ethics and style with which we climb and the environmental and social considerations that we should be aware of.
- To clarify the best practice for climbers and mountaineers from a mountaineering viewpoint. This particularly refers to the style of rock climbs and ascents of “alpine” peaks.
Further details on the UIAA Declaration will be made available once the document is officially published.
The approval of the UIAA Declaration follows on from the recent publication of the UIAA Sustainability Charter.
Articles of Association
Amendments to the Articles of Association including a new governance model for ice climbing (a self-governed Operating Unit), changes to the annex regarding criteria for honorary membership and raising the number of UIAA Court members were approved.
Strategy
The seven Strategic Priorities of the UIAA for the period 2025-2028 were approved. These are:
- Wider global representation
- Rock climbing and hiking
- Ice climbing
- Safety Centre of Excellence
- Training and development
- Climate change and sustainability
- Financial development
Further details can be found here.
Future General Assemblies
As voted on in 2023, the 2025 UIAA General Assembly will take place in Kosovo from 23-25 October.
A year later, in 2026, the General Assembly will be held in Denver, the United States (hosted by the AAC). In 2027 the GA will take place in Chile (hosted by FEACH).
Full Report
More extensive details on all topics, including on the panel discussions, World Ice Climbing and the 3rd Climate Change Summit, will be published in due course.
