IFSC CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

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08 October 2023

Sport is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls.

For International Women's Day this year, the IOC invited the Olympic Movement to support the UN Women’s campaign by sharing a picture on social media of an inspiring woman in sport. The IFSC joined the campaign today by celebrating the first Youth Olympic medallists of Sport Climbing at Buenos Aires, the first gender-balanced Olympic event ever.

"Gender equality is a distinctive reality of climbing, and our sport has reflected this since its foundation when, for instance, prizes were made identical," says Marco Scolaris, IFSC President. "There is a long way to go, though, and we want to set new goals. At the IFSC Plenary Assembly next week, we will propose the addition of a female athlete representative to the IFSC Executive Board."

In 2018, 40% of IFSC athlete licenses were distributed to women, and Katja Vidmar became the first female IFSC routesetter. At home, women now comprise 70% of IFSC full-time staff in Torino.

"A new career path is being put into place to include more women on our routesetting and officiating teams," says Silvia Verdolini, IFSC Sport Director. "Already in 2019, we will welcome a second female IFSC routesetter: Hélène Janicot."

Learn more about the women in sport movement on the IOC website here, and join the celebration online by sharing a picture of the women in climbing who inspire you most at #WomensDay #WomenInSport #WomenInClimbing!