Marco Scolaris and Debra Gawrych to lead the IFSC until 2025

Marco Scolaris and Debbie Gawrych will oversee the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 thru to Paris 2024 after they were re-elected President and Secretary General, respectively, at the XVII IFSC General Assembly, attended by 57 voting Member Federations today.

The elections for the leadership of the IFSC were the main items of business during the three-day General Assembly, which took place online due to the pandemic and was opened with a virtual welcome address from the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach.

Scolaris founded the IFSC in 2007 and has led the Federation since then. He was re-elected President for another four-year term thru to 2025. Scolaris stood unopposed for the position and was elected with 50 votes.

Scolaris was responsible for spearheading his sport’s inclusion onto the Olympic sports programme and the election means the Torino native will be at the helm when Sport Climbing makes its Olympic debut this summer at Tokyo 2020 as well as its sophomore appearance three years later at Paris 2024, both important milestones in the Federation’s relatively short history.

"Many of our accomplishments have been obtained thanks to the support of a great team of Board Members and staff," Scolaris said. "Now that we have secured our place at two editions of the Olympic Games, it is time to also start working on ensuring that Sport Climbing is included at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028 and beyond."

Supporting Scolaris for another four years will be Debbie Gawrych, who was confirmed as Secretary General for a second term with 48 votes. Gawrych has led the development of the IFSC Strategic Plan 2020-2028 and managed the marketing contract with Dentsu, together with a host of other responsibilities.

As the founder and former President of USA Climbing and with vast experience in Sport Climbing at the international level, Gawrych is a highly valued member of the Sport Climbing community.

With her new mandate, Gawrych says she is determined to lead the organisation into an even stronger position in 2025. "My goals are to do everything in my power to give our organisation the solid foundations it deserves," she said.

Elections for the IFSC Executive Board were also held, with new members Wolfgang Wabel and Pierre You respectively receiving 41 and 52 votes, and joining re-elected member Kobinata Toru, who received 53. The full composition of the IFSC Executive Board is the following:

IFSC President: Marco Maria Scolaris

IFSC Secretary General: Debra Gawrych

IFSC Vice President: Toru Kobinata

IFSC Vice President: Wolfgang Wabel

IFSC Treasurer: Pierre You

IFSC Africa Council Representative: George Stainton

IFSC Asian Council Representative: Li Zhixin

Athletes’ Representative: Sean McColl

Athletes’ Representative: Shauna Coxsey

Representatives of the three remaining continental councils will be determined by upcoming elections.

In addition to receiving statutory reports and updates from the Continental Councils and Commissions, the General Assembly ratified the decision of the Executive Board to admit two new members into the Federation: the Croatian Sport Climbing Federation, representing Croatia, and the Federación Puertorriqueña de Escalada, representing Puerto Rico.

Delegates received updates on the planning for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and upcoming continental Games. They were also given a status report on the 2021 IFSC Season, which successfully got under way in Meiringen, Switzerland last weekend, as well as a preview of the 2022 Season.

Finally, the General Assembly voted for the 2022 and 2023 General Assemblies, which will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and Singapore respectively.

President Scolaris closed the General Assembly by thanking the delegates for their support and called for renewed focus and effort in the lead-up to Sport Climbing’s historic debut in Tokyo this summer.

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