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March, 12, 2002, newspaper "Uralskii
rabochii", the author Ju. Bozhenko. (translation - I.
Mamaeva).
The serious of large-scale competitions in
climbing will take place in Yekaterinburg in May - three events
of the World Cup at once. The idea was born and brought to
life by the President of Climbing Federation of Russia, Vice-president
of the International Council for Competition Climbing, Professor
of the Urals State Polytechnic University Alexandre Piratinskii.
The Year of Mountains
 --
Mr.Piratinskii, six years ago one event of World Cup in climbing
took place in Yekaterinburg. But three events - it is for
the first time.
-- It is for the first time in the history of climbing that
three events of World Cup will be held in one place. And it
is for the first time that three events one after the other
will be in Russia.
-- It was your initiative, and the initiative is usually
punished, as you know. I mean a lot of organizational cares.
Why would you get this 'headache'?
--Well, organization of one event or three of them does not
differ greatly. And I must say, that it is a natural desire
of a country to invite those kinds of competitions, in which
its sportsmen are able to achieve outstanding results. Sportsmen
in the West are traditionally keen on such kinds of climbing
as 'difficulty' and 'bouldering' - conquering of a serious
of short hard routes. But, when they do not include 'speed'
in their competitions, they counteract its development. Among
Russian sportsmen and among representatives of Eastern Europe
there also are winners and prize-winners of events of World
Cup in 'difficulty' and 'bouldering'. Our regional school
is famous for strong 'speed-climbers' and they would like
to have a serious of their own cup events. But the program
of World Cup is usually short of this kind of climbing. For
instance, last year there was only one 'speed' event in Malaysia.
I made an appropriate suggestion, Council of climbing accepted
it, and at the General Assembly of the Unit of Alp Association
our right to hold three events of World Cup was confirmed.
And it is nice that three more countries - Italy, Singapore
and Poland - announced that they would provide speed events
of World Cup. It is symbolic that Russia is holding such imposing
international competitions just in the year, which is declared
by UNESCO as a Year of Mountains.
Each route has its own pep.
-- Won't it be a little dull for sportsmen and spectators
if all three events will take place in the sport complex of
the USTU-UPI?
-- Only the first of three events will take place on the wall
for climbing in the sport complex in the USTU-UPI on the 7-19
of May. The program of this event includes difficulty and
speed. Now there exist a tendency to vary the character of
routes. The primitive approach to them really alienates climbers.
A sportsman must not jump from one 'handle' to another, but
go up, using different movements. It depends on the size,
form and disposition of holds, on the steepness and peculiarities
of the relief. That is why competitions today are held not
only on the artificial routes of the walls for climbing but
also in special premises and outdoors. For example the Frenchmen
organized World Cup events in Shamoni just in the city square.
Three times I was the head judge of the speed competitions
in Italian Boregar, where the routes were made on the concrete
wall of the dam. Our country also has the similar experience:
in Krasnoyarsk the World Cup events were organized both on
the wall of the hotel "Tourist" and on the bearing
of the bridge across the Yenisei.
I have perceived the building of the trade center "Dirizhable"
in the Botanic district. And I am glad that the idea to hold
World Cup events there was supported by the officials of the
trade center.
The second Yekaterinburgian event - speed climbing - will
take place on the 22 of May in "Dirizhable" on the
ground of the second floor, which is able to seat about 2000
spectators. That would be a competition in the form of a night
performance. And the last of three events - speed again -
will take place outdoors on the ground near "Dirizhable",
as a wall there will be used a 27-metres high turret. This
area is able to place up to 10 000 spectators.
 --
So, each event will have its own pep, won't it?
--Yes. The wall in USTU-UPI has a great overhanging and rich
relief. It is something like French routes in Besansone, Paris…
The route in "Dirizhable" will require high technique
of climbing. And for running up at the open "tower"
routes all participants will have to possess outstanding endurance.
In each attempt sportsmen will climb the height of a 9-storey
building, and the finalists will take 10 starts.
-- Will the competitions outdoors take place under any weather?
-- I hope that heavens won't send us two days of continuous
rains. Several caps on the tower will protect the sportsmen.
And what about spectators… I was a witness of two events of
World Cup in France and Italy that were holding under the
pouring rain. Spectators were standing under umbrellas and
I didn't see anybody go away.
-- The level of these competitions presupposes high demands
to the preparing of routes. Who will do this?
-- Guidance in the whole will accomplish managers of routes
from France. But during the last discussion of this problem
at the Climbing Council there was admitted the possibility
of using the Russian managers and - for judging - Russian
judges of the international category.
I'd like to note, by the way, that foreign route managers
(and they are former outstanding mountaineers and climbers)
- are of elite caste. Their fee is 10 times the fee of a judge.
Six years in the Olympic family.
-- Who will be our guests?
-- I believe, the majority of the strongest sportsmen of the
world. We have already got applications from countries, which
set the tone in this sport - France, Slovenia...
 --
Can we hope that sportsmen from Yekaterinburg will be widely
presented among speed climbers in the Russian team?
-- I hope, that Aleksey Gadeev, Yakov SOUBBOTINE, Vladislav
Baranov, Alexandre Lyashenko, Maya Piratinskaya, Zosya Podgorbunskikh,
sisters Olesya and Anna Saulevich will get an excellent form
to this competitions. They all are among ten best climbers
in the world in their groups. The members of the youth combined
team of Russia Sergei SINITSYNE (silver prizewinner of the
country championship) and Igor ASTACHOV will also take part
in the competition.
-- Mr.Piratinskii, the Olympic games, which have just gone,
remind of the fact that your International Federation tries
to achieve the including of climbing into the Olympic program.
-- We have been in the Olympic family for 6 years already.
Actually, the Unit of Alp Associations stands up for including
mountain sports (ski-mountaineering, rock climbing, ice-climbing)
into the program of Olympic Games. This time Turin as the
capital of winter Olympic games of 2006 and Peking as the
capital of summer Olympic games are considered to be the first
possible places.
Strategically it is more correct to get into "winter".
The program of White Olympiads is not so rich and has some
lack of night starts. And as I am responsible in the International
Federation for development of speed climbing, I think, that
this most dynamic kind of climbing is just created for the
Olympic program. For example, competitions among snowboarders
are held according to the same 'formula': athletes take start
on each of two routes, the loser quits. The final race lasts
only an hour and allows direct reporting.
But the opportunity to take part in summer Games must also
be considered. By the way, the Chinese National Federation
of mountaineering has sent to us, leaders of the Council of
Climbing, the invitation to visit Peking in the beginning
of April with the purpose to discuss questions concerning
the development of this sport and possibility of including
it into the program of Olympiad-2008. The Chinese never stand
aside from new sport tendencies and always try to look ahead.
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