20 January 2017

Speed routes must vary!

Eddie Fowke gives his ideas for reinventing Speed climbing and I do agree but I would also like to add that the key issue for an Olympic success is to allow varied routes. In fact even the world record holder Danyl Boldyrev agrees that a fixed route is boring and actually, even in the World Championships and most of the World Cups 2016, it was not allowed to set new records as the walls were not certified. However, the most important reason for why IFSC should go for varied routes is that only few gyms in the world have IFSC speed walls. In other words, most climbers in the world need to travel hours by car or even by plane to find a speed wall with the right angle and the holds in the right place. In the long run it is of course much more boring just to train on the same identical route. Furthermore, it will take much more time for a climber to tune in on the fixed speed climbing route. If the routes would vary, Ondra and the crew could probably challenge the best during the Olympics. If IFSC keep the same old identical route, the top climbers still will not have a chance. If we cannot make the best climbers want to go for the Olympics and make the event a great show, chances are low that climbing will be a part of the Games also in 2024.
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