From the 23rd-26th of October the IFSC is hosting the Nations Grand Finale Fukuoka. Taking place in Japan the event consists of both a Para-climbing Masters competition as well as a new teams or ‘Nations’ format across Lead and Boulder. Although the Nations finale will be across two disciplines, these events will be scored separately. This is the first time the IFSC have invited Nations to compete, instead of the competition being based purely on individual results.
Each Nation will have four athletes, alongside a national coach, and will compete alongside one another to score the most points for their team to secure their place in the subsequent rounds. This format involves more strategy, and makes for new and exciting competition viewing. The Nations that will be taking part in this invitational showcase are: Canada, South Korea, United States of America, Japan, Israel, and Australia.
Athletes Competing
- Australia: Judith Carrol, Maxim Pare, Dylan Parks, and Roxy Perry
- Canada: Riley Doherty, Hugo Dorval, Matthew Rodriguez, and Babette Roy
- Israel: Adi Bark, Maya Dreamer, Oren Prihed, Alma Sapir Halevi, Carmel Raz Romeo, and Tomer Yakobovitch
- Japan: Amagasa Sohta, Anraku Sorato, Nakamura Mao, Nonaka Miho, Tanii Natsuki, and Yoshida Satone
- South Korea: Chon Yejun, Jung Yejin, Kim Chaeyeong, Lee Dohyun, Noh Hyunseung, Oh Gayeong, and Seo Chaehyun
- USA: Vail Everett, Declan Osgood, Paloma Slowik, and Zoe Yi
If you are looking at the above wondering – why are the teams bigger than just four athletes? This is because the athletes competing in the Lead discipline do not have to be the same four athletes that competed in the Bouldering round. The athlete combinations and selection was entirely up to the invited Nations.
Boulder Round Explained
The Boulder element consists of a Qualification round, Elimination round, and a Final round. The top two Nations in the qualification will progress straight through to the finals. The remaining four Nations will then compete in the elimination round, where the top two will then progress to the finals.
The Boulder rounds are set to have a time limit of five minutes per boulder with a total of five boulders in each stage. Two men will complete two of the boulders at the same time, with two women tackling a further two problems. On the last boulder, the National coach will select one man and one women to attempt the problem. This comp has no isolation, so the teams that qualify highest in each round will have the advantage of watching the other Nations. The goal is to score the most points as possible with 50 points being available per boulder.
Lead Round Explained
The Lead segment of this competition, will follow standard IFSC scoring and time restrictions per route and consist of a Qualification and Finals round. In each round there will be two routes with one male and female required to climb the route per team. The total points scored per team will be based on the results of each athletes. Once again, no isolation will be enforced and teams can share beta and discuss the climbs openly. Adding again to the tactics and strategy of this dynamic format.
Catch-up on the Action!
If you, like most of us, totally missed that this event was even happening – you can catch up on the results and the climbing action by going directly to the IFSC Youtube channel. All the elimination rounds and finals will be streamed live. While you are there, be sure to catch-up on this weekends Para-climbing competition too.
This article is based on the available information provided by the IFSC at this time. For more details on the event, please refer directly to the official media release available here. As well as the rules as explained by the IFSC here.
