One of the highest-level events organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), the 2013 Wujiang-Fenhu Climbing World Cup will be held from October 19 to 20 by the scenic Sanbaidang Lake in the Fenhu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Jiangsu Province. Nearly 100 athletes from 21 countries and regions will compete in four events.
Rock climbing integrates competition, fitness, spectator appeal, and challenge, earning it the reputation of “ballet on the rock wall.” Currently, more than 80 countries and regions have officially developed the sport, and climbing has been listed by the International Olympic Committee as one of the eight candidate sports for the 2020 Olympics. The Climbing World Cup is held in stages around the world, and the top ten athletes in both speed and difficulty climbing will gather in Fenhu. The highest overall ranked climber will be crowned the annual Climbing World Cup champion.
To build a brand for climbing sports culture, the Fenhu High-Tech Zone constructed last year the largest artificial climbing wall in China, which has been designated by the Chinese Mountaineering Association as the “National Youth Climbing Training Base.” Located in the golden triangle where Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai meet, Fenhu is at the forefront of Suzhou’s integration with Shanghai. Fenhu also hopes to leverage the Climbing World Cup to actively integrate into Shanghai’s half-hour economic development and sports-cultural lifestyle circle, establishing itself as the “Suzhou bridgehead and Hongqiao sub-center.”
The event is organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and hosted by the Climbing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau, and the Jiangsu Fenhu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.