Baby not included
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:24 am
Rock climbing is expected to be catapulted on to the world stage by becoming an Olympic sport.
Though an official announcement is still a few weeks off, sport insiders say it is to feature at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sport climbing was one of five sports recommended for the Olympics by organisers of the 2020 Games, along with skateboarding, surfing, baseball/softball and karate. Under new rules, host cities can pick sports for possible inclusion.
The International Federation of Sports Climbing is working out the finer details about how competitors will be scored but essentially there will be three disciplines, lead climbing, a speed test and bouldering, with the gold medal going to the competitor with the overall highest score.
Some within the sport see inclusion in the Olympics as the ultimate reward for years of hard work. But others have expressed concern that this is could be the first step to regulation, officialdom and the commercial exploitation of a sport that for many years lay beneath the radar.
Their main fear is that the pursuit of climbing rocks in the outdoors, unfettered by rules and fees, will become a thing of the past.
The sport has come a long way since being the preserve of privileged Victorian mountaineers who climbed previously unscaled alpine peaks on summer jaunts. Now it is a popular pursuit, with an increasing number of at state of the art indoor climbing centres and dedicated online TV channels.
The announcement of the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics is expected on 3 August.
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