More than 7 000 climbers from 60 climbing gyms in six countries have participated in the HardMoves qualifications. The final will take place on Saturday in Wuppertal, where 26 gyms and their teams of ten will be trying to qualify to the super final for six teams and six climbers. The super final will be streamed live and is going to take place over a swimming pool in front of 1 600 spectators. The line-up is very impressive indeed and Adam Ondra is participating for Klättercentret in Stockholm. Jan Hojer and Jule Wurm are participating for Chimpanzodrome/Boulderplanet.

Guntram Jörg, an active FA boulderer who has done ten 8B+'s and harder, is opening up a gym, Steinblock in Vorarlberg in the western part of Austria this Saturday. 571 m2 of climbing walls, including children and training areas. "I try to involve young people in this project which are climbers. They should have a place to work and a spot to meet. Steinblock is not created by a marketing agency it´s a boulderers brand. People should feel the power of bouldering in our Steinblock bouldering gym. Kids should start bouldering and get the chance to start climbing at a really young age. It´s really easy to start climbing in a gym when you are young but climbing outside is more difficult. You need a car, you need to travel, you need a lot of time. This is not possible for everybody and that is the reason why we need a bouldering gym like this. Video from Gargellen located in the Vorarlberg."

David Fitzgerald started climbing in 2012. 2.5 years later he did his first 8A and now he has done his first 8B+, Soul Revolution SS in Glenmalure, Ireland. "All of the good aspects of bouldering rolled into one - the full package. I will never get tired of that spot high up in the hills, far away from everything. A dream come true."The picture is from Wonderland 8B in Glendalough, which he did on the same day. "I’ve spent the last four years exploring the bouldering in Ireland, and although the quantity of established areas and lines aren’t large, they make up for it in quality. There is so much untapped potential here on this small island that I feel we’ll never discover all of it. I'm always in search of that next great boulder and I'm aware that Ireland’s Chironico could be no more than an hour's drive away... In the Wicklow area, Michael Duffy has dedicated himself to establishing some of the best lines that I’ve ever laid eyes upon, including Wonderland (8B) in Glendalough and Soul Revolution (8B+) in Glenmalure. The lines that he has established have led to some of my most cherished memories and I still have a mountain of them to climb."

Alex Puccio, the best female boulderer on rock and in comps, who frequently uses personal grades, comes clean writing an official letter to the media saying she is in it for the inspiring challenges - Not for grades others have given. "Dear publicity and Media, something that really bothers me. I'm pretty frustrated with what it takes to be at the top level of your sport. I feel like I'm a pretty honest climber and person and I will never be ok with taking a higher grade for a climb just to get more recognition and publicity just to be more "famous" in our sport. People will always have their opinions and the sad thing is that when climbers take the inflated grade just to "look cooler" they might get crap from other professional climbers or climbers that are immersed in the sport, but to the majority that doesn't know any better they look "bad a**"! Sure I could have said I've done another V14 or more V13's and even flashed a V12, but that's not me and I wouldn't have been honest to myself and to the media. I will never be one of those climbers to do that just to get ahead! And actually some of the climbs that have been the toughest for me have not been V14 or even V13. There are quiet a few V12's that I have done that were physically and mentally the hardest for me because of the massive moves and sloppy holds. I like to seek out the "non girly" or "non shortie" climbs because I like a challenge! I don't want to be defined by my gender and height and no one will tell me what I can and can't do! And I won't just go seek out a climb with a big number attached to it just because it's my style and it would be easier for me. A climb has to inspire me for me to want to try my hardest on it and have fun working it, otherwise it's meaningless. I will always keep pushing myself, but honestly!!! I also want to add that I'm very thankful for my sponsors that have supported what I value as an athlete, person and climber!

It looks as if running his own bouldering gym, Schlüsselstelle, together with his brother Daniel doesn´t keep Markus Jung from climbing hard. He spent last weekend in Fontainebleau, where he did his first 8C which took him just a day, and commented, "8C? My personal grade is around 8A." The reasons for the big grade discrepancy is that Misti was originally given a traverse grade, even if it is goes diagonal, which normally is one or two grades softer compared to boulder grades. The big dilemma is that there is no clear definition when traverse grading is in use and for 15 years 8a has been saying that traverse grades should be removed or reported like 8Cc. Just two months ago, UKC made headlines of Kevin Lapota doing it but in reality the 8C grade should be translated to an 8B boulder at the most or, as Markus suggests, 8A.

Jan hojer and James Webb have done a double flash ascent of Quoi de neuf acte 2 in Fontainbleau giving it a personal grade of 8A+. The boulder was set up by Jacky Godoffe as an 8B but later suggestions of upgrading to 8B/+ have been put forward. James (184 cm) is by far the best flash boulderer in the world with 39 flashes 8A+ and harder, frequent using personal grades. Jan (187 cm) is the best flash boulderer in world-class competitions. Last year he won the European Championship and was #2 in the World Cup.

Angie Scarth-Johnson has traveled from Australia to Spain again to find some of the best limestone climbs in the world. Last year she did an 8c in Rodellar, being just 10 years old, and today she did Speed baby 8b+ in Margalef. "The start was wet, short powerful climbing, I really enjoyed it after the first Boulder problem. I had to use one finger for intermediate."

The Olympics 2020 have been a hot topic recently, and that is mainly due to the format which has been suggested. There have been several articles on 8a discussing it but not all has been said yet. Further disadvantages of the suggested Combined Olympics format are: 1. The guys qualifying for the Olympic will most probably not make it to the Speed quarter final during World Cups and the World Championships. Sean McColl is the only athlete that has been training and competing in Speed lately and he is almost 50% slower compared to those who do only speed. This means that the guys competing in the Olympics will have little or no experience to compete in the knock out rounds. 2. During the Olympics, the most important round in Speed will be the Top-16 first knock out. The Top-2 final will have almost no importance for the Combined final ranking, creating no excitement for the speed final, especially if one speed pro qualifies for the Olympic. 3. It will be hard to find organisations for running World Cups based on the Olympic format. During the Olympics, only 30 + 30 competitors will participate but in a World Cup, at least three times as many will take part. 4. IFSC has divided the competition season so it starts with Bouldering and finishes with Lead. Now this will be changed into a mix of everything for the whole 2019 season. This means that the athletes will have to train Lead, Speed and Boulder, which in many ways are their opposites. This will have a negative impact on their maximum performances outdoors and also on each individual discipline, creating a space for the non Olympic guys to win. 5. The Olympic format will not be so endurance based if there will just be one qualification and then one final round. The World Championship will be much more endurance based as the top athletes will participate in two semifinals as well, spending many more hours in isolation. 6. Some might argue that during the World Cups it will be impossible to run the Olympic format and instead it will just be a combination of Lead/Boulder and Speed, as it already is today. However, this format will not measure who is the best for the Olympic format where you have to train and prepare for all three disciplines simultaneously.

Chris Sharma has previously said that the suggested combined Olympic format is "a big shame!" Adam Ondra, the best competition climber in the last two years, is even more critical, which goes hand in hand with what 8a has stated. As for his plans for 2016, Adam will once again focus on rock but possibly do some World Cups as well. "Combined format is the great tragedy for our sport. I think that Olympics is amazing thing for climbing, but honestly, no other choice could have been worse than combined format. It is just sad to see lead climber on the speed route and speed climber on lead route. It is embarrassing for the climbers because they are on a completely different level. Athletes are going to be forced to train what they do not specialize in. The audience is interested in seeing top performance, right? But it will only see more average performance due to the format. Additionally, it shares no spirit. Competition climbing is originated in rock climbing, where the speed is not taken into consideration (well, there are few exceptions like The Nose). What you climb and in which style is what matters. Lead and boulder fit into this philosophy. Speed does not. And it does not reflect the current situation either. Nobody is interested in doing all three disciplines except Sean. Why should something, that one person in the world is interested in doing, become Olympic? I did not participate in World Championship 2014 in Gijon in speed. And because of that, I was not Combined World Champion. I did it deliberately, with full awareness, just because I did not agree with the rules. IFSC chose the combined format in order not to disappoint anyone, but at least I feel disappointed. In my opinion, going for speed only, lead only, boulder only or lead and boulder combined is much better than all three combined." It should be mentioned that the latest IFSC Plenary Assembly, was opened by Marco Scolaris, who said, "We cannot say anything about the format at this point as the decision has not been taken yet.", although the application is based on 30 + 30 athletes competing in Lead, Boulder and Speed for one set of medals.

Isabelle Faus, who is #2 in the Bouldering ranking game and did an 8B+ last year, has done the endurance test piece, Prime Time to Shine 8c in Clear Creek Canyon. Next she is going to Boulder in Font and then probably Routes in Red River Gorge followed by Boulders in Rocklands. "It was a fun transition, I like to get up high and take big falls and stuff, I like the sport climbing process, learn all the beta and execute. My plan is to just keep trying hard and keep doing my thing! Really happy, when I was first starting climbing 5.14 seemed so crazy.. but now the possibilities seem to be as high as I want them, excited to keep going with sport climbing, thanks to Chad for amazing and supportive, :::)