Discussions surrounding the invasion of Ukraine and actions of the ethics committee headline IFSC General Assembly

Members of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah over the weekend for the federation’s annual General Assembly. It was the first major meeting of the post-Olympic season with members attending both virtually and in-person. The invasion of Ukraine and the behavior of the IFSC Ethics Committee were among the main topics of discussion at the meeting.

One major decision made by the membership was to suspend Russia and Belarus as member federations of the IFSC. The suspension of membership for both nations was related to their role in the invasion of Ukraine. The IFSC Executive Board will be mandated to continually review the situation and remove the suspension of both nations when the circumstances allow for such action.

Those weren’t the only suspensions dished out in Salt Lake City however, as the entirety of the IFSC Ethics Commission was suspended at the meeting. The mass suspension arose from a dispute started by Marc Le Menestrel, Chair of the Ethics Commission, according to the information provided by the IFSC.

The IFSC accused the Ethics Commission of “overstepping its remit and interfering in the Federation’s governance and ordinary course of business.” The federation found the Ethics Commission in violation of its statutes for communicating “false and unfounded” information directly to national federations. As a result of that ruling, all current members of the commission, and the commission itself, were suspended.

In response to the incident, the IFSC Executive Board adopted resolutions “aimed at ensuring ongoing adherence to the IFSC statutes, rules and regulations.” The sport climbing body also promised complete reform of its Ethics Commission led by independent experts and experienced members of national federations, adding that a commission with new members will be appointed as soon as possible.

Other topics of discussion at the General Assembly included a new photo book depicting sport climbing’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, the yearly annual report covering the business of the IFSC and the allocation of awards given out by the sport climbing body.

The assembly opened by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who told those gathered, “you have every reason to be proud. Because this General Assembly is truly special for the Climbing community.”

“It is your first General Assembly since Sport Climbing made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, so please accept my heartfelt congratulations on this milestone.”

He continued, “what an entrance your sport has made on the Olympic stage! The performance of your athletes in Tokyo celebrated your sport and your community at its best.”

He concluded, “a real display of excellence in sport, a youthful energy, but also inspiring moments of respect and sportsmanship that touched the hearts of so many people around the globe.”

Finally, it was decided that a scheduled revision of the IFSC Statutes would be postponed to next year’s General Assembly in Singapore. Dates for the meeting have yet to be determined, but the IFSC stated they would be announced later this year.