Intl climbing event to be held in Tai'an
A poster of the 2018 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Tai'an, Shandong province. [Photo/ifsc-climbing.org] |
Organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), the event is supported by the Chinese Mountain Association, the Shandong administration of sports and the Tai'an government.
Hailed as the premier climbing competition in the world, the event will gather more than 300 elite Bouldering and Speed climbing athletes to vie for positioning in the season rankings.
In the IFSC World Cup series, athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering and speed.
For the lead competition, competitors attempt to reach the top of a long, difficult route.
A female competitor takes part in the lead competition of the 2017 IFSC World Cup held in Kranj, Slovenia. [Photo/ifsc-climbing.org] |
A competitor in the bouldering competition of the 2018 IFSC World Cup held in Chongqing, China. [Photo/ifsc-climbing.org] |
Two competitors compete in the speed climbing competition at the 2018 IFSC World Cup held in Chongqing, China. [Photo/ifsc-climbing.org] |
The IFSC Climbing World Cup entered China in 2003, when only one race a year was held. It has since developed to four races each year.
With a reputation as "climbing ballet" and "precipice rhythmic gymnastics", climbing is a skillful and adventurous extreme sport popular all over the world.
Rock climbing was formally included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee in 2016. It was also included in China's 13th National Games for the first time in 2017.