Eddie Fowke - WC Challenges 2018

"Moving into 2018 we’re possibly going to see the most crazy, intense IFSC World Cup season to date. In a year already jam packed with World Champs, Youth World Champs and Youth Olympics, we are also preparing for the run into the 2020 Olympic games. Something that means we’ll be seeing more climbers competing in more than one discipline than ever before. 1: BIG World Cup’s. With Olympics on the horizon we will see an increase in participation with athletes from more nations getting access to funding to send their climbers to international events. From 2014 to 2017 World Cup fields grew approximately 30%. Expect to see this rate of expansion continuing to track upwards. 2: Climber burnout and injuries. Elite level climbing places huge demands on climber’s bodies, on their skin and on their emotional state. With climbers hoping to be in the window for Olympic selection and lacking training expertise we will get more injuries. Some climbers will look to do select events to pace themselves through the season, others will be gung ho, competing through Boulder season and into Lead season without a real break. And while doing double duty at World Cups where there are more than one event in a weekend (Boulder/Speed, Speed/Lead). Along with the injuries expect emotional burnout as climber’s struggle with continued trips overseas, time zone juggling and the pressure of having to perform. 3: Mixed up results. Some top climbers will make intermittent appearances this season, no longer competing for the overall in a single discipline as they aim to spread their season out, or to peak for the Innsbruck World Champs. This could open the door for some unexpected finalists and indeed even winners in some events. 4: Confusion. With new rules there is always confusion. The big rule changes in bouldering will make it difficult to follow until we’re familiar with those changes. Add to that, athletes competing across disciplines and not being as familiar with the rules as the specialists. Another area of confusion will be climbers withdrawing at the last minute in multi event weekends when they find themselves in a position to do well in one event and choose to manage their energy and skin levels. For example, if a climber makes Lead semis, will they still want to compete in Speed qualification, putting themselves through another round of competition? 5: Contention. The stakes are arguably higher than ever before. After a troubled 2017 with some very dubious decisions from judges, officials and routesetters which directly influenced the outcome of major events… Well let’s just say that won’t be good enough going forward. Speed timing systems need to be fixed, routesetters need to set clear finishes on problems, and the definition of + in Lead must be consistent. Expect protests to increase in 2018 and the coaches’ area to be more intense no matter what. It’s a simple result of there being more at stake.