Ice Climbing and the Hope of Sochi Olympic Flame
Where/When: Sochi, Russia, 23-24 Feb 2014
Ice climbing will be making a debut at the Winter Olympics. It’s the hope of the UIAA that an Olympic Movement and demonstration at the Olympic Village will help spark the Olympic Flame to become a full-medal sport in 2018.
North America (and the Western Hemisphere) will be represented by a small handful of World Cup Ice climbing athletes:
USA: Marc Beverly, Erin Weber.
Canada: Gordon McArthur, and Jen Olson.
The listed athletes are the highest ranked in UIAA world cup standings, or have the most competition experience of all the climbers who applied to represent their respective countries. Clearly, there are many good athletes, but what separates this list from the rest is the overwhelming support of World Cup competition ice climbing in the past, and drive to support the future of this sport through its evolution.
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- Cheongsong, South Korea January 11-12, 2014
- Busteni, Romania January 16-18, 2014
- Saas Fee, Switzerland January 24-25, 2014
- Champagny en Vanoise, France Jan.31- Feb.1, 2014
- Rabenstein, Italy February 7-9, 2014
- Sochi, Russia February 13-23, 2014
- Ufa, Russia February 28, 2014
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Honestly, this could help all climbers in global recognition of the sport and the spirit of climbing, even though climbing takes many forms (alpine, bouldering, sport, traditional, ice, mixed rock and ice, etc…).
I have recently become the latest, and only Western, representative on the UIAA Ice Climbing Commission. I have a dream that the USA will be able to sponsor our youth and promote mixed rock and ice climbing on a grand scale.
Check out my Sponsor page, and help support the construction of an mixed climbing-specific wall that I hope everyone will be able to use, as there is presently no training center for mixed climbers in the USA.
I share the passion for ice climbing with all the other competition athletes. We all strive to be our best. Help the movement with good energy, financial support, or whatever you can, to evoke a propagation of mixed rock and ice climbing in the present and ultimately, to the future, where the Olympic dream is possible.
