According to information provided by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, the 2013 Asian Youth Climbing Championships held in Surabaya, Indonesia, concluded on the 14th after three days of intense competition. Nine young athletes from the Chinese team participated in difficulty and speed climbing events for both the men's and women's youth, junior A, and junior B categories. Among them, Jiang Rong won the women's difficulty championship in the youth category; Niu Di took the silver in the women's difficulty event in the junior A category; and Chen Zhaoying secured the silver in the women's speed event in the junior B category.
Ding Xianghua, Technical Delegate of the Asian Climbing Federation for this edition of the Asian Youth Championships and Director of the Climbing and Ice Climbing Department at the Climbing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, stated that as a non-Olympic sport, climbing is still in the phase of popularization and promotion in China. Sport climbing is very safe, and its core values—courageously scaling new heights, challenging oneself, never giving up, and maintaining a positive attitude—are particularly aligned with the psychological development characteristics of young people. The valuable mental qualities and physical health gained through climbing training can benefit young people throughout their lives. The Chinese Mountaineering Association has made the development of youth climbing a top priority. Here, he expressed heartfelt thanks to the schools and parents who support the advancement of climbing.
According to Cao Rongwu, head coach of the National Youth Climbing Team, the nine young athletes who participated in this competition were selected from across the country as top performers in this year’s KAILAS “Climbing Hope Stars” series of climbing events. They are young stars in youth climbing and the future hope of Chinese climbing. Considering that the youth group primarily focuses on academics, with limited training time and conditions, we did not set specific tasks for the young team members before the competition, nor did we provide intensive training or exert pressure. On the contrary, we encouraged them more to perform to the best of their abilities, learn from athletes of other countries, communicate more, and share the joy brought by the competition. Cao Rongwu also expressed concern about obstacles in the development of youth climbing, such as a lack of grassroots youth coaches, climbing facilities, proper guidance, and systematic training. He noted that over the next five years, he will work with relevant education departments to develop a youth climbing promotion system tailored to China’s national conditions, covering aspects such as promoting climbing in primary and secondary schools, establishing youth climbing skill levels, and training youth climbing coaches. The aim is to cultivate more Chinese youth with the spirit of courageously scaling new heights, challenging oneself, never giving up, and maintaining a positive attitude, all under safer conditions. (Reporter Zhang Shuzhuo)