12th IFSC Plenary Assembly 2017

Olympic Format discussions, talks about the future of Sport Climbing in Canada, gender equality workshops and more took place this week at the 12th annual IFSC Plenary Assembly in Quebec City.

Hosted by Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) and the Fédération Québécoise de Montagne et d’Escalade (FQME), this year’s meeting brought together about 100 delegates representing 41 National Federations to prepare for 2017 and discuss key topics for our sport.

Exchanging Ideas National Federations benefitted from a new series of specially designed workshops : Kobinata Toru of the Japanese Mountaineering Association (JMA), Vincent Caussé, Competition Director of the Fédération Francaise de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FFME) and Kynan Waggoner, CEO of USA Climbing introduced diverse perspectives on organising international events; Guylaine Demers, professor at the Department of Physical Education of Laval University, discussed equity issues in sports the following day alongside Maaike Romijn, Board member of the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (NKBV); and Jean - Laurent Bourquin, a Sport Executive who worked in the

International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 17 years, concluded the series with a workshop on opportunities coming from Olympics inclusion.

Olympic Format

During the press conference following the Plenary Assembly on Saturday, initial information was announced on the Olympic Format for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018. For the full announcement, please click here.

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"The Olympic Format is the outcome of a long process inside the IFSC and outside with the International Olympic Committee various components," said IFSC Sport Director Jérôme Meyer. "We are looking forward to the next steps of this process and our continued collaboration with the IOC. We know that both Olympic Games will be unforgettable moments for our sport."

Next Up for Canada

Also announced in Quebec were the upcoming IFSC events in Canada. Both the PanAmerican Youth Championships 2017 in Montreal and the IFSC Youth World Championships 2018 in Central Saanich were

approved during the Plenary Assembly. "Competitive Sport Climbing is growing in Canada, and the CEC and FQME have both played extensive roles in this development," said Maria Izquierdo, President of the CEC and IFSC PanAmerican Council.

"The future is bright, and we are thrilled for these events and to keep working closely with our provincial federations."

Four More Exciting Years

Voting for the PanAmerican and European Council Boards and the IFSC Executive Board also took place this year. For the next four-year term, Mr. Toru will be replacing Helmut Knabl (AUT) as IFSC Vice-President Sport/Events (JPN): "It is a great honour, and I feel much responsibility for the future of this sport as well. I would like to do my best." The complete list of IFSC Executive Board members can be found here on the IFSC website.

"During the past four years, we have served the world’s best Sport Climbing athletes, actively promoted universal values, hosted spectacular events around the globe, and even reached the Olympics. We are excited for what these next four years will hold for our sport, in Canada, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and beyond," concluded Marco Scolaris, President of the IFSC.

For more information, please contact:

Joseph ROBINSON

Media Relations

IFSC

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION

OF SPORT CLIMBING

Tel: +33 479266750

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