The best sport climbers are coming to Bratislava

BRATISLAVA – The Slovak metropolis will welcome the world’s best climbers to the World University Sport Climbing Championship as competitors are set to scale the country’s biggest climbing wall. Event action starts next Wednesday and runs through Saturday.

Over 150 competitors and their coaches from 26 countries will compete in the capital city of Slovakia to win the title of the world’s best university climber. Among the competitors there are three Slovaks – Robert Luby, Andrej Capko, and Jakub Jiří Svub.

The World University Sport Climbing Championship were awarded to Bratislava on December 24, 2015. The Christmas joy changed to long preparations, the organisers have started to work on the event in 2016. With the championship almost here in Bratislava, almost everything is ready.

“The preparations of the sites and the technical security are in the finishing stages,” said organising committee president, Peter Hamaj. “We are working on the last details – an interesting opening ceremony and medals that are made in Kremnica.“

The championship will take place in K2 in Bratislava

 The competition in Slovakia will be under the sky of Bratislava © IFSC

The main site of the climbing championship will be the climbing wall K2 in Bratislava, which is the only wall in Slovakia suitable for speed climbing. “This wall fulfils the criteria of two factors – the difficulty and speed,” said Mr. Hamaj. “Each wall needs to fulfil the same parameters – the slope and length. There are rules also for the position of the holds which shape is specific for this kind of climbing,“

A big overhang dominates the wall in Bratislava and is tough even for experienced climbers. It is surrounded by perpendicular and slightly overhanging sections. The area of the wall is 2000m² with the maximum height of 15.5m. “The hall with the climbing wall is located on Stará Ivanská cesta. The entrance will be free of charge for everyone,“ the organising committee president added.

Competitions under the sky

Some competitions will take place also on the square in front of the Eurovea shopping centre. And that is where the opening ceremony of the World University Sport Climbing Championship will take place on June 19 at 7pm. “The main part will be the parade of participating countries. There will be also a culture programme,“ added Hamaj. An accompanying event called Olympic Day is also attractive for the fans and will take place at the square in front of Eurovea shopping centre on June 22. There will be various competitions for children, attractions, introduction of Olympic sports, and autograph session of some athletes.

The main organiser of the event is the Slovak University Sports Association, in collaboration with JAMES, Slovak Olympic Committee, K2 hall, and the Eurovea shopping centre. The event is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.