Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 27 June COVID address and the announcement that the country has been moved to adjusted lockdown level 4, the South African National Climbing Federation (SANCF) has announced that the Selection Trials set to take place on 10 and 11 July have been cancelled. Furthermore, Western Cape Climbing has announced that the Provincial Championships, scheduled for this coming weekend, have been postponed.
The SANCF Selection Trials are held annually to select the South African team for the IFSC Youth World Cup; this year, the cup is scheduled to take place at the end of August 2021 in Voronezh, Russia. While sport climbing is approved as a non-contact sport by the Minister of Sports, Art and Culture, the current lockdown restrictions limit gatherings and travelling in and out of Gauteng have made it difficult for SANCF to hold the event. The organisation did consider moving the event to the following weekend, as this would be outside the 14-day lockdown period prescribed by the government, but unfortunately this would not allow the selected athletes enough time to apply for their Russian visas and arrange travel and accommodation. Furthermore, it is of course possible that the current lockdown restrictions will be extended.
The WCC Provincial Championship was set to take place on 3 and 4 July, with the Top Rope & Lead competition hosted at CityROCK Cape Town on Saturday, followed by the Bouldering competition at Bloc 11 South on Sunday. WCC engaged in extensive discussions with the Western Cape Provincial Sport Confederation (WCPSC) and independent experts; the parties came to the decision that the Provincials would need to be postponed until we can once again gather safely. WCC is consulting with both gyms to determine new competition date, most likely towards the end of August 2021.
We believe both federations made the responsible decision to keep athletes safe in this third wave. There will be plenty more Provincials, Nationals and World Cups in years to come.
