Welcome to Behind the Wall, your weekly digest on what is happening in the climbing competition world.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing is holding their Executive Board elections on 12th April 2025 for the next term from 20025-2029. We dig into the process, look at who is nominated, and what their vision for the future is.
As usual, I recap the news over the last couple of weeks and share my favourite media. I also recap where you can buy tickets for upcoming international competitions and what competitions you can watch this weekend.
"Climb into the Future": The IFSC Election 2025
Since the IFSC was founded, in 2007, only one man has led the non-profit International Federation: Marco Scolaris.
Scolaris has been president for 18 years, and is standing for the final time. In 2023, the IFSC General Assembly of National Federations agreed to let him stand in these elections, despite serving as President beyond the limit of 12 years.
This term would take him into the LA2028 Olympics, cementing Sport Climbing as a core Olympic sport and overseeing Paraclimbing's first inclusion in the Paralympics.
Each of the 101 National Federations will vote for a new Executive Board at the XXII IFSC General Assembly on 11th and 12th April 2025 in Larnaca, Cyprus.
They will elect:
- President
- 4 Vice Presidents: 2 women and 2 men
- A Continental Board Member from each IFSC-recognised continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Pan America.
Additionally, they will elect an Auditor for 2025 and members of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commissions for the term 2025 to 2029.
The election process is governed by the independent Nominations Committee, which is made up of
- Dagmawit Girmay Berhane (Chair): IOC Member and Chair of the IFSC Ethics Commission;
- Paola Virginia Gigliotti: IFSC Honorary Member appointed by the Executive Board on 5th December 2024; and
- Frederick Yu: Continental Member appointed by the Continental Councils on 8th January 2025.
The Committee has the ultimate decision-making power in all matters relating to elections, including evaluating compliance with eligibility criteria. The Committee operates independently from the candidates and election campaigns, ensuring fairness and impartiality throughout the process. The Committee was appointed by the current IFSC Executive Board, including both presidential candidates.
Who is Nominated?
Below are the nominations for the Executive Board in 2025:
- President: Marco Scolaris (Italy) and Tijl Smitz (Belgium)
- Vice President:
- Women: Naomi Cleary (Australia) and Anne-Worley Moelter (USA),
- Men: Kobinata Toru (Japan), Pierre You (France), Jan Bloudek (Czechia), and Joachim Driessen (Netherlands)
- Continental Board Members:
- Africa: Christopher Naude (South Africa)
- Asia: Li Guowei (China), Anthony Seah (Singapore)
- Europe: Burghilda Beste (Germany)
- Oceania: Stephane David (New Zealand)
- Pan America: Rene Sepulveda (Puerto Rico)
Scolaris is one of 3 members of the Executive Board who are standing for re-election. The others are Kobinata Toru, who is looking to serve one more term, and Pierre You.
Two other current members are nominated for positions: Naomi Cleary, who is the current Continental Board Member for Oceania, and Tijl Smitz, who is the current Continental Board Member for Europe.
Due to the limited number of nominations, the only competitive positions are President, the two men's Vice President positions and the Asia Continental Board member.
What do the presidential candidates want to do in the next term?
Both Presidential Candidates were asked to provide a manifesto, video and motivation letter.
However, the Nomination Committee found "serious irregularities" in Tijl Smitz's documents and video. Specifically, they state in their report (p. 6) that he:
- Attempted interference with staff neutrality,
- Used a quote from the IOC President in his electoral campaign,
- Used unauthorised pictures of staff and athletes.
Smitz has apologised for these errors publicly and has since removed the offending material from his supplementary material and re-submitted.
Despite this apology, the Nomination Committee criticises Smitz in their report, saying.
7.2.13. The Nomination Committee further maintains that, while the request of the Nomination Committee was complied with, it is noted that the candidate chose not to disclose the reason for such apology in the public statements, notably the admonitions of the IOC and of the Nomination Committee, giving the inaccurate impression of a spontaneous act and denoting lack of transparency and sincerity.[Emphasis from original text]
When I asked him about this criticism, Smitz wrote:
I believe this was appropriately addressed in my statement, particularly in the phrase: ‘As soon as the issue was brought to my attention.’
This wording was deliberately chosen to reflect the fact that I acted immediately and in good faith upon being informed of concerns. It acknowledges that corrective action was taken in response to an issue that I was made aware of without omitting or misrepresenting the context. I have always sought to handle this matter transparently and with full respect for the electoral process.
In a letter to Smitz on the 28th February, the Nomination Committee wrote:
After careful review of the Candidate’s request to publish an amended version of the electoral manifesto, the Nomination Committee determined that the request cannot be accommodated: the submission is considered outside the established deadlines, which is not something the Nomination Committee can grant in the current election framework. Furthermore, given the responsibilities associated with this role, it is expected that candidates anticipate and carefully consider the implications of their campaign materials and communications without needing external guidance.
The decision to not release an updated version of his manifesto significantly impacts Smitz’s ability to run for President. It creates a situation in which one Candidate has their full set of supplementary publications available online while the other does not. When asked for comment from the National Committee, the IFSC responded with
The Nomination Committee is an independent body appointed to ensure a fair, transparent, and proper election process for the IFSC elections.
All candidates are required to submit their materials within a defined framework, including timelines. The Committee then reviews these materials to ensure they meet the required standards and criteria set out for the election. The Nomination Committee then issues a report providing details on the process and findings throughout the evaluation of the submitted nominations. This Report, along with all correspondence to the candidates, has been published on the IFSC website and is accessible to the public.
As the electoral campaign is still ongoing, the situation remains a delicate one. Out of respect for the process and to preserve fairness for all candidates, the Committee will not be making any further comments beyond what is already outlined in the official documentation available on the IFSC website.
The only public details of Smitz's vision are on his Instagram. I asked Smitz for a summary of his vision for the IFSC. He replied saying that he would focus on development, sustainability and creating a new leadership culture.
Development as a main focus – The growth of our sport must extend beyond the Olympic Games, ensuring that grassroots initiatives and elite competition go hand in hand. I advocate for empowering Continental Councils to drive regional progress, providing tailored support for national federations and many education opportunities.
Economic, social, and environmental sustainability – As our sport continues to expand, we must embrace responsible commercialisation while staying true to our values. This includes enhancing marketing strategies, prioritising athlete well-being, and implementing strong sustainability initiatives.
A new leadership culture – IFSC needs a collaborative and transparent management approach where decisions are taken strategically and inclusively. Strengthening communication between board, Continental Councils, national federations, and stakeholders will be key to fostering long-term growth.
However, we do have the supplementary documents for Marco Scolaris. In his manifesto, Scolaris focuses on 15 key areas:
- Athletes: He will focus on increasing athlete resources at competitions and support from their National Federations. Athlete well-being and health are also important to him. He wants to create the IFSC Refugee Team by 2027 to support misplaced athletes and refugees.
- Olympics and Paralympics: He will focus on continuing to build the IFSC's reputation, preparing for Brisbane 2032, growing Paraclimbing and securing funding from the IOC. He also wants to change the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) events to include more athletes and align the Continental Qualification events with the Association of Olympic Committees (AOC) Games.
- Calendar, Subsidiary and External Delivery Entities: He proposes categorising tournaments, like Tennis does with the ATP, and standardising walls and infrastructure. He wants the IFSC to subsidise National Federations to help them organise events.
- Governance and Sustainability: He is interested in consolidating the IFSC's position as one of the best-governed sports. He also wants to invest in research around hold and volume recycling and reduce operational emissions by 50% by 2026.
- Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities: He wants to incentivise gender equality and create policies to support pregnant and parenting athletes.
- IFSC National Federations: He wants to strengthen links between National Federations and their local National Olympic Committee. He also wants to create a fund to help disadvantaged regions and support training pathways for officials.
- Continental Councils: He wants to help the Continental Councils become independent separate legal entities that can help Sport Climbing be included in regional multi-sport events like the Mediterranean Games and Central America and Caribbean Games.
- Brand Awareness: He proposes changing the IFSC to World Climbing and creating a new logo. The last logo was created in 2015.
- Geopolitical: He wants the IFSC to take a leading role within the Olympic movement's response to situations of armed conflict and international crisis.
- Marketing & Resources: He wants to maximise the IFSC circuit's exposure and build on the success of the Paris Olympics towards LA in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.
- Private Equity & Pro Leagues: He is interested in exploring how private equity and Pro League project operators can develop "pro sport" models with the International Federation as the guardian of the sport.
- Esports: He wants to create an operational E-Climbing sport by 2028.
- AI: He wants to partner with startups and firms to bring AI to the community, following the IOC's guiding principles.
- Climbing Summits: He wants to confirm the IFSC summits in 2026 and 2028 and create regional summits involving the main climbing stakeholders.
- Grassroots: He wants to build and support projects for climbing communities and boost historical promotional events like Rock Junior.
So far, Marco Scolaris has navigated the complex world of sporting politics to take Sport Climbing from a fringe sport to one of the most watched sports at the Olympics. The 2025 – 2029 term would be his final term, culminating in 22 years leading the IFSC.
The choice between Scolaris and Smitz appears to be one of the establishment versus the newcomer, between Sport Climbing moving further into the Olympic community or a renewed focus on growing the grassroots.
Whoever wins, the next term will be a pivotal one for Sport Climbing. It will include Sport Climbing's first Olympics as a core sport and the introduction of Paraclimbing to the Paralympics. It is a time when Sport Climbing will further professionalise. It is a time when athletes, fans and the community will start to reap the full benefits of Sport Climbing being an Olympic sport.
News
- The Germany Sport Climbing team started crowdfunding to support athletes and coaches in 2025 after a cut in funding by the German Alpine Club, DAV.
- Edited versions of World Cups on YouTube by channels like Climbing Rocks and Donkey Climb Media have disappeared. These channels have existed for years and amassed large subscriber bases and many preferred to watch them to the live streams. This comes within 6 weeks of IRIS Sport Media being appointed as the IFSC's Global Partner.
- The main reaction to the new format for Boulder seems to be people's hatred of having two climbers climbing at the same time in the Boulder finals.
- Studio Bloc Results
- Women: 1. Geila Macià Martín (Spain), 2. Júlia Benach Zubero (Spain), 3. Futaba Ito (Japan)
- Men: 1. Anže Peharc (Slovenia), 2. Kaito Watanabe (Japan), 3. Nikolay Rusev (Bulgaria)
- National Team Trials results. Last week, the USA held their second qualification event for the National Team.
- Lead. Final on YouTube
- Women: 1. Adriene Akiko Clark, 2. Ella Fisher, 3. Melina Costanza
- Men: 1. Sergey Lakhno, 2. Declan Osgood, 3. Dillon Countryman
- Speed. Final on YouTube
- Women: 1. Micaela Patajo, 2. Kayleigh Borek, 3. Isis Rothfork
- Men: 1. Michael Hom, 2. Logan Schlecht, 3. Merritt Ernsberger
- Boulder. Final on YouTube
- Women: 1. Melina Costanza, 2. Adriene Akiko Clark, 3. Nekaia Sanders
- Men: 1. Ben Hanna, 2. Joshua Gerhardt, 3. Vail Everett
- Lead. Final on YouTube
- With National Team Trials over, USA Climbing announced the USA team for 2025, including the pre-qualified athletes. Athletes were ranked based on their performance from both the National Championship in 2024 and National Team Trials in 2025. This ranking was used to decide the Boulder, Lead and Speed team athletes. In Speed, athletes' points were awarded using the Resolved Time Ranking system, which awarded points based on athlete's times at events.
- Boulder
- Women (6 World Cup quota spots): Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, Annie Sanders, Melina Costanza, Adriene Akiko Clark.
- Men (4 World Cup Quota spots): Colin Duffy, Jesse Grupper, Vail Everett, Zander Waller, and Benjamin Hanna.
- Lead
- Women (4 World Cup Quota spots): Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, Annie Sanders, Melina Costanza, Adriene Akiko Clark.
- Men (3 World Cup Quota spots): Colin Duffy, Jesse Grupper, Sergey Lakhno, Declan Osgood, Cruz Padilla.
- Speed
- Women (6 World Cup Quota Spots): Sophia Curcio, Emma Hunt, Piper Kelly, Isis Rothfork, Madi Walsh.
- Men (6 World Cup Quota spots): Merritt Ernsberger, Zach Hammer, Michael Hom, Sam Watson, Logan Schlecht.
- Boulder
- The Japanese have announced their Lead Team for 2025. The Japanese team can only send a maximum of 6 athletes to a World Cup, and who gets to go will depend on results as the season progresses.
- Women: Ai Mori, Mei Kotake, Natsuki Tanii, Natsumi Oda, Mashiro Kuzuu, Miho Nonaka, Ryu Nakagawa, Natsumi Hirano, Kobayashi Mai, Kohana Mugishima, Sana Ogura.
- Men: Sorato Anraku, Shion Omata, Zento Murashita, Satone Yoshida, Taisei Homma, Shuta Tanaka, Neo Suzuki, Hiroto Shimizu, Masahiro Higuchi, Ao Yurikusa, Tomoa Narasaki, Hareru Nagamori, Yuta Imaizumi, Yuji Fujiwaki.
Media Recommendations
Here are my 5 media recommendations from the week.
Toby Roberts answered questions about how his life has changed, his plans for this year, all with some bouldering thrown in.
Erin McNeice shared her first competition simulation of the season and where she feels like she has progressed the most.
The Testpiece Podcast
Testpiece Climbing talk with the new CEO of Mad Rock, Kenny Suh, about how the climbing industry has evolved and everything climbing shoes.
Anna Hazelnut and her friend Irena go on two slab climbing quests to send the hardest slab climbs in their gym.
Louis Parkinson shares how he has changed his mindset around how he talks to himself about climbs with help from the man behind the camera, Sam Douglas-Jones.
Competition Tickets
- 22nd – 23rd March CWIF 2025 There are still some tickets to compete. Spectator tickets for the final are sold out.
- 23rd – 29th June Innsbruck 2025 World Cup Tickets go on sale in early spring.
- 7th – 8th June Prague Boulder World Cup Tickets are on sale.
- 14th – 16th June Bern Boulder World Cup Tickets are on sale.
What to Watch?
This week, we have CWIF in Sheffield, which is where I am going this weekend.
The semi-final and final will be live streamed on the Climbing Works YouTube channel. Olympian Molly Thompson-Smith and Team GB alumni Jon Partridge will be commentating. All times are local times (UTC+0).
Sunday 23rd March
Update 21 Mar 2025: A previous version of this article said that the IFSC have cracked down on the edited channels, which was an assumption which may not be true. I have since updated the article to accurately say that they have disappeared.
Update 21 Mar 2025: I have added that the Election Committee was appointed by the Executive Board, which was missing from an earlier version of this article.
Update 22 Mar 2025: Added IFSC response for comment from the National Committee.
