A few weeks ago, the International Climbing Association IFSC announced that it intends to hold on to the European Championship 2020 in Moscow. But now more and more national associations are canceling their participation in the competition. This is despite the fact that the European Championship is the last chance for the athletes to secure a coveted Olympic ticket.
On October 11, the Austrian association Austria Climbing announced that it would not send a team to the European Climbing Championships in Moscow. This decision was made in a board meeting.
France follows Austria's rejection
At the end of October, another important climbing nation followed with France, which cancels its participation in the European Championship. The Austrian Climbing Association cites the following arguments as justification:
- The current number of coronavirus infections, especially at the Moscow location, does not allow the athletes to be sufficiently safe.
- Applying for the entry visa is very complicated and it is uncertain whether the flights will even be carried out.
- Very few countries even signed up to take part in the competition and some – like us – have canceled their participation.
Big disappointment for the French athlete Fanny Gibert
This is what the IFSC says about the European Championship
At the beginning of October, when the IFSC communicated that they would like to stick to the 2020 competition calendar, LACRUX spoke to the IFSC press officer Marco Vettoretti. In the interview Vettoretti said that the IFSC was aware that national associations could be canceled.
However, if a national association cancels participation "voluntarily", this is no reason to cancel the competition. Only when the athletes of a nation cannot travel to Moscow due to national exit regulations will the IFSC cancel the competition.
At the same time, Vettoretti says Russia has promised to allow the participating national teams to enter the country for the competition. Only an exit ban in one of the participating countries can prevent the competition.
These athletes have secured participation in the Olympics
Updated 03.11.2020
| 1 | Akiyo Noguchi (Japan) | Adam Ondra (Czech Republic) |
| 2 | Aleksandra Miroslaw (Poland) | Alberto Ginés Lopez (Spain) |
| 3 | Brooke Raboutou (United States) | Alexander Megos. (Germany) |
| 4 | Iuliia Kaplina (Russia) | Bassa Mawem (France) |
| 5 | Janja Garnbret (Slovenia) | Jan Hojer (Germany) |
| 6 | Jessica Pilz (Austria) | Kai Harada (Japan) |
| 7 | Julia Chanourdie (France) | Ludovico Fossali (Italy) |
| 8 | Kyra Condie (United States) | Mickael Mawem (France) |
| 9 | Laura Rogora (Italy) | Nathaniel Coleman (United States) |
| 10 | Mia Krampl (Slovenia) | Rishat Khaibullin (Kazakhstan) |
| 11 | Miho Nonaka (Japan) | Sean McColl (Canada) |
| 12 | Petra Klingler (Schweiz) | Tomoa Narasaki (Japan) |
| 13 | Shauna Coxsey (Great Britain) | YuFei Pan (China) |
| 14 | Anouck Jaubert (France) | Michael Piccolruaz (Italy) |
| 15 | YiLing Song (CHN) | Jakob Schubert (Austria) |
| 16 | Alannah Yip | Colin Duffy (USA) |
The detailed Rules for Olympic qualification can be found on the website of the International Climbing Association IFSC.
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Credits: Cover picture Jan Virt / IFSC