Seven years after the IFSC Youth World Championships in Edinburgh, top sport climbing athletes return to the capital city of Scotland for IFSC World Cup Edinburgh, the fifth Lead and Speed event of 2017.
The event will take place on September 23-24 alongside the second Paraclimbing Cup of the season. Edinburgh has consistently hosted top-notch events for rising youth stars since 2009. Young athletes from all over the world competed in Edinburgh in 2010 at the annual IFSC Youth World Championships. Now, many of those same athletes return to Scotland for IFSC World Cup Edinburgh. Altogether, 131 Lead and Speed athletes and 63 paraclimbing athletes have registered to compete at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena this weekend.
Lead rivalries continue
Veteran athlete Jakob Schubert of Austria was unstoppable in his first IFSC Lead World Cup of the season last month, besting a strong field in Arco that included Alexander Megos, Adam Ondra, and season leader Romain Desgranges of France. Desgranges is the only man so far to win two of these events in 2017. 2010 finalists Marcello Bombardi, David Firnenburg, Stefano Ghisolfi, Masahiro Higuchi, Domen Skofic and Loic Timmermans all return to the world stage in Edinburgh with seven more years of experience at the highest level. Also follow Great Britain’s own William Bosi and James Pope, two standouts at IFSC Youth World Championships Innsbruck.
For the women, the rivalry between Slovenian Janja Garnbret, Jain Kim of Korea and Anak Verhoeven of Belgium continues this weekend. Kim ended Garnbret’s streak of victories at three in Arco, adding a 26th IFSC Lead World Cup victory to her scorecard. Verhoeven joins 2010 finalists Julia Chanourdie, Katherine Choong, Dinara Fakhritdinova and Magdalena Rock in returning to Edinburgh. From Great Britain, keep an eye on Arco finalist Molly Thompson-Smith and 17-year-old Hannah Slaney. Ashima Shiraishi, crowned Lead youth champion for the third time at Innsbruck, is also on the start list.
Speed stars duel for Gold
Four athletes have guarded the top of IFSC Speed World Cup podiums so far: Reza Alipoushenazandifar and Vladislav Deulin for the men, and Anouck Jaubert and Iuliia Kaplina for the women. Jaubert gained ground in the Speed rankings with a victory in Arco, and frontrunner Kaplina leads a strong Russian team that has won no less than 15 medals this season. Her teammate Mariia Krasavina claimed three of them. Klaudia Buczek of Poland, youth champion in 2010, will aim for another gold medal in Edinburgh. Like Kaplina, Deulin has yet to miss a podium in 2017, and the Russian speedster returned to the top of the rankings in Arco. His teammate Stanislav Kokorin will also be in Edinburgh, as well as 2010 finalists Marcin Dzienski and Leonardo Gontero. Also keep an eye on Gontero’s Italian compatriot Ludovico Fossali, who registered the fastest time in Arco (5.81 seconds). Tune-in on September 24 to watch the action LIVE: www.ifsc-climbing.org
The schedule, starters and trailer can be found on the Edinburgh event page, and chat with us on Twitter during the show by adding #IFSCwc #eicawc17 to your tweets.
Paraclimbing Cup
After inspiring fans of IFSC World Championships Paris last year with unparalleled perseverance, the best paraclimbing athletes in the world have continued to impress this year. The second Paraclimbing Cup of 2017 will also take place in Edinburgh this weekend. Leg amputee Urko Carmona Barandiaran of Spain rebounded after an early fall in Paris kept him out of finals, topping every problem at the first Paraclimbing Cup of the season in Briancon. Paris medallists Mathieu Besnard, Nils Helsper and Melinda Vigh won gold medals in Briancon in the RP categories (limited range, power or stability), as well as visually impaired athletes Francisco Javier Aguilar Amoedo and Roxane Heili, forearm amputee Kevin Bartke and Serge Laurencin in RP2. Also track the climbing of world champion Elodie Orbaen in RP3.
Provisional Programme (GMT + 1)
Saturday, September 23
09:00-15:00 Lead Qualifications
16:00-18:00 Speed Qualifications
Sunday, September 24
09:30-12:00 Lead Semi-Finals (LIVE) 12:30-13:30
Speed Finals (LIVE)
15:30-17:30 Lead Finals (LIVE)
17:30-18:30 Award Ceremony (LIVE)
The ScotRail Alliance and British Transport Police (BTP) are issuing travel advice to all customers ahead of Scotland’s football World Cup qualifier against England on Saturday 10 June.
Extra carriages will be added to services between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High, as well as on key services between Glasgow, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, East Kilbride, Alloa and Stirling. However, services are still expected to be very busy.
BTP will have extra officers on duty as thousands of fans throughout England and Scotland descent on Hampden Park for this significant match. They’ll be on hand to reassure the travelling public, but also to deter, disrupt and detect criminality.
Queuing systems will be in place at key locations across the network, and fans are advised to leave plenty of extra time for their journey – as they may not be able to board their first train of choice. Customers are reminded that, in addition to the main route through Falkirk High, there are also trains from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts and Bathgate.
Scotland fans will be directed to Mount Florida station before and after the game, while England supporters must use to King’s Park. Additional carriages and services will be running between Glasgow Central and Hampden before and after the game.
To avoid disappointment, fans are being urged to plan their journeys in advance. In particular, they are asked not leave it until the last minute to head to the ground, and to be aware that there are only limited long-distance services after full-time. Where possible, customers travelling to further away destinations should head to either Glasgow Central or Queen Street as soon as they can after the final whistle.
Officers from BTP will be working closely with ScotRail Alliance and other train operators in the build-up this mighty match. This is a cross-border operation and officers have been meticulously planning for many months alongside Police Scotland and train operators. Extra officers will be patrolling train key stations and will be joining fans on board trains before and after the match.
Alcohol bans will be in place on many routes, and customers are reminded that the consumption or open carrying of alcohol is not permitted on any ScotRail service before 10am or after 9pm. Officers will be patrolling the network before and after the game, to reassure the travelling public and to deter anti-social and criminal behaviour.
Jacqueline Taggart, the ScotRail Alliance’s customer experience director, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming fans from both sides of the border onboard our trains this weekend.
“We want everyone to have great time at the match, but more importantly, to stay safe. With this in mind, police and extra staff will be on hand to assist at key locations across our network. Please help them to help you by following their instructions.
“We’ll be doing all we can to get fans to and from the match. You can play your part by planning your journey now – remember not to leave it to the last train of the night to get home, as all trains are going to be very busy. To help reduce your need to queue, please buy your tickets through to Mount Florida or King’s Park in advance – not on the day.”
Chief Superintendent John McBride, leading the operation for British Transport Police, said: “This is a mighty event for both teams and we’re looking forward to welcoming spectators as they arrive in Glasgow. Our policing operation will stretch the breadth of the nation and will involve a large number of officers.
“We want spectators to have a fun and enjoyable journey towards this match and will be on hand if they need assistance. Likewise, we will also be taking a zero-tolerance approach towards any individuals or groups who exhibit anti-social or criminal behaviour. There is no place for hooligan or intimidating behaviour and we will be taking firm action against those who are out to cause trouble.
“I would like to remind passengers travelling longer distances, that there will be few trains departing after the final whistle. Therefore, I would urge them to plan ahead and make sure they have booked accommodation or alternative travel options.
“Passengers are of course the eyes and ears of the rail network and I would ask them to remain vigilant on their journey and report suspicious behaviour to us.”
Anyone who wants to report crime or antisocial behaviour on the railway should do so by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 – in an emergency always call 999.
