Adventure

1.      APPLICATION TO ORGANISE A ICC-APPROVED COMPETITION

 1.1.   A member federation must make an application to the ICC, in writing, no later than the 30 September (or nine clear calendar months - or whatever is the greater period of time) before the proposed date of the proposed competition.  Following provisional approval by the ICC, the official ICC application form must be completed and returned, complete with the required financial guarantees, no later than the 31 December (or six clear calendar months - or whatever is the greater period of time) before the date of the proposed date of the competition.

 1.2.   Before ICC approval is given, the proposed venue of the competition and its associated facilities may be subject to inspection by an ICC-Delegate and/or an International Forerunner.  The cost of travel, accommodation and approved inspection fee shall be paid by the member federation applying to organise the competition.

 2.   COMPETITION FACILITIES

 2.1.   The member federation/organiser shall, at a minimum, provide the following facilities in accordance with the regulations governing these facilities:

a)   Organiser's Office/Secretariat:  Comprising an official Competition Director and a Secretariat responsible for dealing with all aspects of the organisation of the approved competition and accommodation of  ICC and member federation team members;

         b)   Competition venue registration facilities for ICC officials, competitors, team officials, organiser's officials, and other approved persons; e.g. VIP, press, television, etc;

         c)      Isolation zone area and facilities as specified in accordance with the regulations;

         d)      Isolation Zone registration - including the security of the Isolation Zone and the continuous scrutiny in respect to all persons entering or leaving the Isolation Zone;

         e)      Isolation Zone warm-up/practice wall and associate facilities in accordance with the regulations;

         f)      Transit zone adjacent to the climbing wall;

         g)   A separate isolation zone adjacent to the climbing wall to be used following a technical incident.  Provision being made to ensure that strict isolation regulations are maintained between competitors when two or more are in the separate isolation zone at any one time;

         h)   A competition area in front of the wall to which entry is restricted to the ICC officials, the organisers officials, competitors taking part in the official period of route observation or in process of making their attempt upon a route, authorised television personnel and other persons specifically authorised by the President of the Jury;

         i)      Height measurement and results service;

         j)      Medical personnel and a medical room;

         k)   A private ICC office complete with video play-back facilities;

         l)    Press office.

 3.     ORGANISER'S PERSONNEL

 3.1.   The member federation/organiser shall provide the following personnel:

          a)      Director of the competition organisation team;

         b)      Assistants to carry out the following activities:

               (i)    All pre-competition organisation/administration and supervision/liaison with those for the provision and construction of the competition climbing wall and associated facilities, and the arena facilities; 

               (ii)   Welcome and register ICC officials, competitors and team members, etc.;

               (iii)  Register and control authorised persons entering and leaving the isolation zone;

               (iv)      Maintain security of the isolation zone and competition zone;

               (v)      Accompany and generally assist competitors on leaving the isolation zone and walking to the transit zone and the competition wall;

               (vi)  Organise the opening and closing ceremonies;

         c)   Route Judges (in accordance with ICC regulations) to assist each Category Judge (including route time-keeping duties);

         d)   The belaying and wall cleaning team;

         e)      Routesetters and wall maintenance team;

         f)      Video recording and playback team.

         g)      Height measurement and recording service team.      

         h)      Media and Press services and facilities;

         i)      Medical services and facilities.

4.   CLIMBING WALL AND ROUTE-SETTING

 4.1.   Climbing Wall:  The climbing wall shall be constructed in accordance with the ICC regulations governing climbing walls.      

4.2.   The member federation/organiser shall, subject to the approval of the ICC, appoint the Chief Routesetter and the route-setting team.  The duties of the Chief Routesetter shall include:

         a)      Design of the routes for each round of the competition, installing the holds and protection points and equipment for each route in accordance with ICC regulations, checking that the routes are of the appropriate technical standard and that they comply with the ICC's safety regulations;

         b)   Co-ordination of the work of the assistant routesetters and responsibility to ensure that proper working and competition safety precautions are observed during the construction and dismantling of the wall and throughout the competition;

         c)      Repair and cleaning of the routes as instructed by the Category Judges;

         d)      Design, install and maintain the warm-up facilities;

         e)      Advise the measurement team and/or the Route/Category Judges in compiling the 'topo' for each route;

         f)      Advise the Category Judge for each route on the positioning of the video cameras;

         g)      Advise the President of the Jury and Category Judge for each route on the maximum time that competitors should be permitted to attempt each route.

4.3.   Where approved by the ICC, the roles of the Chief Routesetter and the International Forerunner may be combined.

5.      SAFETY

5.1.   The member federation/organiser shall be solely responsible for maintaining all safety precautions within the isolation/transit zones, competition area, the competition hall and for all activities concerned with running the competition.

5.2.   The President of the Jury, in consultation with the International Forerunner, shall have the sole authority in respect to any question of safety within the isolation and competition area - including declining to give permission to start or continue any part of the competition.  Any officials or other persons deemed, by the President of  the Jury, to have infringed or, in his/her opinion, likely to infringe safety procedures shall be subject to summary removal from their duties and/or dismissal from the isolation and competition areas.

5.3    Every precaution shall be taken to ensure safety.  Each route shall be designed to avoid the possibility of a competitor's fall:

         a)      Injuring the competitor;

         b)      Injuring or obstructing any other competitor.

5.4.   The President of the Jury, the Category Judge and the International Forerunner shall inspect each route prior to the start of each round of a competition in order to ensure the maintenance of safety standards.  In particular, the Category Judge and the International Forerunner shall:

         a)      Ensure that all safety equipment and procedures comply with UIAA standards and ICC regulations;

         b)      Ensure the competence of all belayers.  The Category Judge shall have the authority to demand the immediate replacement of any belayer (if necessary stopping the competition and declaring a technical incident) and any other person he/she feels jeopardises safety standards;

         c)   In the interest of safety, and in consultation with the International Forerunner and with the approval of the President of the Jury, the Category Judge shall decide whether or not to have the climbing rope pre-fixed to the first (and, where deemed appropriate, other) protection points.  Wherever possible, the design of the route should be such as to make such precautions unnecessary.

5.5.   Before the start of each round of a competition, the Category Judge shall ensure that appropriately qualified medical personnel are in attendance in order to ensure a rapid response to any accident or injury to a competitor or official working inside the competition/isolation zone area.

5.6.   All equipment used in a competition shall comply with UIAA standards unless otherwise specified by the ICC or, under exceptional circumstances, by the President of the Jury through the authority delegated to her/him by the ICC. Within these general requirements:

         Competitors shall use a UIAA approved single rope provided by the organisers.  The frequency with which the rope is changed shall be decided by the Category Judge.

         Under specific circumstances, the ICC Delegate may be instructed by the ICC to carry with him some technical equipment, providing the organiser with that gear (maillon rapide, ropes, etc.) which is not available in their countries. The ICC will charge the cost of this gear to the competition organiser.

5.7.   Equipping of routes: The following safety precautions shall be observed:

         a)      Maillon Rapides and quickdraw slings:  Each protection point to be used during a round of a competition shall be equipped with a 'quick-draw' sling and karabiner through which a competitor shall connect the rope.  The connection link between the 'quickdraw' sling (with no intermediate karabiner) and the protection point shall be made by means of a UIAA-ICC approved 10 mm Maillon Rapide.

         NOTE: the sleeve of the Maillon Rapide must be closed and tightened in accordance with the manufacturer's approved specification.

         b)      Where an extension of a normal quickdraw sling is required, a continuous (machine sewn) tape sling of the same strength (or greater) shall be used in place of the normal, shorter quickdraw.  Adhesive tape may be used to hold the loops of the sling together; under no circumstances shall such slings be shortened or adjusted by means of knots.   Under no circumstances shall a chain of normal length quickdraws (connected to each other by either Maillon Rapides, or locking or non-locking karabiners) be used.  Knotted rope or tape slings shall not be permitted .

5.8.   Belaying:  At the start of each attempt on a competition route:

         a)   Each competitor shall be equipped in accordance with the ICC regulations governing equipment;

         b)   The climbing rope shall be tied to each competitor's climbing harness using a '8' knot which itself is secured with a safety knot;

         c)      Before the competitor begins their attempt on a route, the belayer shall check (preferably in the transit zone) that the rope is secured to the competitor's harness in accordance with 5.8(a) and 5.8(b) above, and that the harness is properly fastened up;

         d)      Before accompanying the competitor to the start of the route, the belayer shall ensure that the rope is coiled in such a manner that it is ready for immediate use;

         e)      Difficulty Competitions: Each Category Judge shall, in consultation with the International Forerunner, decide whether a belayer should have an assistant at the beginning of the route to provide additional security (i.e. to 'spot') for a competitor during the lower part of their attempt on a route;

         f)      Speed Competitions:  The Category Judge shall, in consultation with the International Forerunner, decide whether a belayer should have an assistant at the beginning of the route to provide additional security in taking in a top-roped competitor.

5.9.   The belayer must at all times during a competitor's attempt on a route pay careful attention to the progress of the competitor to ensure:

         a)   That the competitor's movements are not hindered in any way by the rope being too tight;

         b)   That when the competitor attempts to connect the rope to any protection point he/she is not hindered in doing so or, if failing to make the connection of the rope to the protection point,  any excessive slack in the rope is immediately taken in;

         c)   That all falls are stopped in a dynamic and safe manner;

         d)   That no excessive fall shall be experienced by the competitor  being belayed;

         e)   That great care be taken to ensure that in stopping a fall a competitor shall not be exposed to injury caused by the edge of an overlapping section or any other feature of the climbing wall.

5.10.On connecting the rope to the final protection point (quickdraw) or in having stopped a fall, the competitor shall be lowered to the ground.   Care shall be taken to ensure that the competitor does not come into contact with any ground-based equipment.

5.11.Whilst the competitor is untying the rope from their harness, the belayer shall pull the rope down in as fast a manner as is consistent with the quick-draws not being unduly disturbed.  It is the responsibility of the belayer to ensure that the competitor vacate the climbing zone as quickly as possible.

5.12.The Category Judge shall be authorised to instruct the federation/organiser to replace any belayer at any time during the round of a competition.  If replaced, the belayer shall not be permitted to play any further part in the belaying of any competitor at that competition.

6.      HEIGHT MEASUREMENT AND TIME KEEPING

6.1.   The member federation/organiser shall arrange for an experienced team specifically responsible for providing a height measurement, time keeping and results service for each round of the competition, when not provided by the ICC itself.

6.2.   The height measurement team shall provide, in consultation with and the approval of the International Forerunner, a topographical outline ('Topo') of each route of the competition showing the position and height (in the case of traverse sections, distance along the axis of a route) of each hold and protection point on the route.  These 'topos' shall only be made available to the President of the Jury and the relevant Category Judge of each round of the competition.

7.      RESULTS SERVICE

7.1.   The member federation/organiser shall ensure that a public information display system updating the progress of each competitor and the current ranking of the leading competitors is installed for the duration of the competition.

7.2.   At the entry of each competitor, the public information display system shall provide information on the name of the competitor and her/his nationality.

7.3.   At the end of each round of the competition, the Category Judge shall be immediately provided with a complete and fully ranked list of competitors.  Only after this information has been checked (and, where necessary, amended) and officially approved in writing by the Category Judge and the President of the Jury shall this information be made available for publication.

7.4.   Results Lists: Shall be produced by the height measurement and results service team. All results lists should be in printed form; hand-written lists or sections of lists shall not be permitted.

7.5.   The results list of each round of the competition shall be printed on an ICC-approved results form and shall include the following information:

         a)   The approved ICC heading and logo;

         b)   The title of the competition (e.g.  World Cup);

         c)   Place of the competition (e.g. Rome)

         d)   The type of competition (e.g. Difficulty Competition);

         e)   Date of the competition;

         f)    The title of the round of the competition (e.g.  Men's Final);

         g)   When the round of the competition takes place on one or more parallel routes, the results for each route should be clearly identified (e.g. Route A).

         h)   The names, official status and signatures of the presiding officials; i.e. President of the Jury, Category Judge and Route Judge.

         i)  Time when the ranking has been published

7.6.   End-of-round  list of the competitors results shall include the following information:

         a)   Rank position of each competitor in descending order;

         b)      Family name (upper case letters) of each competitor;

         c)   First name (except for the first letter - lower case letters) of each competitor;

         d)  Nationality of each competitor using the IOC-approved three-letter code for each nation;

7.7.   The final (end-of competition) results list shall include all the items listed in 7.6 above and the following additional information:

         a)  Against each competitor's name, the heights attained in each of the previous rounds of the competition in which he/she competed;

         b)      Complete results of each round of the competition.

7.8.   No other information other than that specified above shall be included on any official results list except where specifically approved by the ICC. 

7.9.   Following the approval of the results for each round of the competition (including the final or super-final round), a complete copy of the results shall be immediately issued to:

         a)      President of the Jury;

         b)      Category Judge;

         c)   ICC Delegate;

         d)   Team Managers -or in the case of a team not having a team manager, a nominated team competitor;

         e)   Press office;

         f)      Public information operator.

8.      COMPETITION STARTING LISTS

8.1.  The starting list of the opening round shall be compiled and announced during the technical meeting on the day preceding the competition, in accordance with the regulations governing such lists and:

         a)      Issued to those listed in 7.9 above;

         b)      Published on the official notice board and on other notice boards (e.g.  the principal hotels at which the team managers and competitors are staying).

         The starting list for each following round of the competition shall be compiled within 30 minutes of  the completion of the previous round of a competition, in accordance with the same regulations as above.

8.2.   Each starting list shall also contain information on the next round of the competition including:

         a)       Opening and closing time of the isolation zone for the next round of the competition;

         b)      Starting time of the next round of the competition;

         c)   Any other information approved by the ICC and/or the President of the Jury.

8.3.   Method of Compiling Starting Lists:

         a)      Where the opening round of a competition takes place on a single route, the starting order for this round shall be determined by random selection;

         b)      Where the opening round of a competition takes place on two or more parallel routes, the competitors shall be allocated to each route of this round in accordance with:

         Firstly, their respective positions in the current World Cup Ranking (WCR); i.e. in sequence, the WCR ranked competitors shall be allocated successively between the routes.  Not ranked competitors shall then be allocated to each route by means of random selection such that an equal (or approximately equal) number of competitors are allocated to each route.  Following this allocation procedure, the starting order shall then be determined by the random selection of competitors allocated to a route.

         c)      Starting order for the rounds following the opening round:  Except as specified below, the starting order shall be determined by the reverse order of the ranking of the previous round (i.e. the first shall start last).  In the case of tied competitors from a previous round, the starting order between them shall be made through random selection.  In the specific case of a super-final, the same starting order as the final shall be adopted.

9.      VIDEO RECORDING OF COMPETITION ROUTES

9.1.   Each competitor's attempt on a competition route shall be video-recorded by an experienced camera operator.   At least one (and preferably two) video camera  per route shall be used. It is advisable that the camera operator is assisted by a national judge.

9.2.   The position of the video camera(s) shall be determined by the President of the Jury in consultation with the Category Judge and International Forerunner.  Particular care will be taken to ensure that the camera operator(s) are not disturbed in carrying our their duties and that no-one is allowed to obscure the camera view of each route.

9.3.   A television monitor connected to a video recording system shall be provided for play-back of any incident for judging purposes.  No-one other than the President of the Jury and the Category Judge appointed to a route shall have access to the play-back system. The play-back monitor shall be placed such that the judges can observe play-back material and discuss any incident without the video re-play being seen by anyone other than the judges and without the judges being overheard or interrupted during their discussions, but conveniently close to the judges' table.

9.4.   The ICC office shall also be provided with a video playback machine and a television monitor to enable the judges to replay video recordings of incidents occurring during the competition.  No-one other than the ICC officials shall have access to the ICC office and/or the video recording made during the competition.

9.5.   No-one other than the ICC officials shall have the right to observe any part of any video recording of the competition.

9.6.   At the end of each round of the competition, the video tapes shall be given to the ICC Delegate for return to the ICC Secretariat.

9.7.   No recording shall be made of these video tapes except on the specific authorisation of the ICC.

9.8.   All competition video tapes are to be used solely for the purposes of judging the competition and for ICC training courses.  Under no circumstances shall they be made available to any non-ICC personnel.

10.   MEDICAL FACILITIES

10.1. The member federation/organiser shall arrange for a skilled and experienced medical team to be available throughout the whole of the competition (starting when the isolation zone opens, until the last compeittor has completed his/her attempt on the route).  During every competitor's attempt on a route, at least two qualified, experienced and equipped members of the medical team should remain within, or in very close proximity to, the competition area in order to provide a rapid response following any injury or need for medical attention.

10.2. As a minimum, a private and easily accessible medical room should be provided and equipped to deal with non-major ailments and injuries.

10.3.   Arrangements should be made and tested in practice to ensure that any serious accident to a competitor, official, member of the public and/or any other person will be dealt with in an efficient and professional manner.

11.    DRUG TESTING

11.1. The member federation/organiser shall arrange for drug testing to be carried out in compliance with the national regulations governing international sport in their country, the IOC Medical Code, and the ICC's regulations concerning drug testing.

12.   TELEVISION COVERAGE

12.1. The ICC reserves the right to appoint an organisation to provide television coverage of the competition.  In which case:

         a)   The ICC shall be entirely responsible for all costs incurred in providing such coverage;

         b)   The member federation/organiser shall provide free access to the ICC's nominated television organisation and shall provide all reasonable assistance in enabling that organisation to provide professional coverage of all aspects of the competition.  The conditions underlying this appointment shall be specified in the agreement between the ICC and the federation/organiser.

12.2. Where the ICC elects not to exercise its right to appoint an organisation to provide television coverage, the member federation/organiser shall comply with the relevant sections of the agreement between the ICC and federation/organiser.  The federation/organiser shall be required to keep the ICC fully informed of all arrangements in respect to television coverage.

13.    MEDIA FACILITIES

13.1. Press Office:  The member federation/organiser shall provide a Press Officer, a separate press office and appropriate staffing to service the needs of the press personnel registered and having official status at the competition.  The press office shall be equipped to provide journalists, other media personnel and the ICC Delegate with the following facilities:

         a)      Appropriate working space;

         b)   At least two telephones;

         c)   At least one telefax machine;

         d)   At least one photocopier machine.

         e)   Full and relevant background information on the competition;

         d)      Copies of the starting lists, interim and final results and, at the completion of the competition, the updated World Cup and Continuously Updated World Ranking.

13.2.  Interview Area:  The member federation/organiser shall provide a separate, reasonably quiet and comfortable area/room to enable interviews to take place.  This facility should be in reasonably close proximity to the competition climbing wall area.

         NOTE:  Interviews by public address, press and/or television interviewers in front of the climbing wall during the competition (or carried out in such a manner as to delay the competition) shall not be permitted.

13.3.  Photographers:  Dedicated space shall be provided on each side of the competition area to accommodate photographers.  Where possible, elevated areas shall be provided to enable photographers to obtain non-ground based pictures.

         NOTE:      Under no circumstances shall photographers (professional or amateur) or any other non-authorised personnel be permitted to enter the competition area except with the specific approval of the President of the Jury.  Any flash or other photography that might be liable to distract or interfere with a competitor during their attempt on a route shall not be permitted.

13.4.  Television Camera Crews:  With the approval of the President of the Jury, television camera crews may be permitted to operate in the competition wall area.  They shall be allowed to do so on the understanding that:

         a)   They do not distract or interfere with a competitor during their preparation for, or their attempt on, a route;

         b)   They do not distract or interfere with the belayer and her/his assistant;

         c)   That any mechanical equipment used to support camera crews and equipment does not interfere with the competitors and/or belayers.  Special care shall be  taken to ensure that any fall does not result in a competitor coming into contact       with any television personnel, television cameras or associated equipment.

         d)   That all camera crew personnel obey immediately any instruction given to them by a Category Judge and/or the President of the Jury;

         e)      Television camera crews may operate from the top of the wall subject to the approval of the President of the Jury, no use of excessive or changing lighting patterns, or any activities which might interfere with a competitor during their attempt on a route, shall be permitted.

         f) Interviews:  Article 13.2 above shall be observed at all times.

13.5.  Access to the Isolation Zone:  Television camera crews and photographers may only be allowed into the isolation zone (but not the transit zone) with the specific permission of the President of the Jury. Whilst in the isolation zone, each camera crew and photographer must be accompanied and supervised by an official of the member federation/organiser to ensure that the security of the isolation zone is at all times maintained and that competitors do not suffer any unwanted interference or distraction. 

14.   INSURANCE

14.1.  The member federation/organiser shall ensure, and provide evidence, that the insurance cover for the competition is in strict compliance with all international and national regulations regarding sporting events.

15.    AWARD CEREMONIES

15.1. The competitors award ceremony at the end of the competition shall comply with the basic IOC protocol for such events.

15.2. Unless specifically authorised by the President of the Jury, all competitors shall attend the opening, award and closing ceremonies.  Failure to observe this regulation shall make a competitor liable to a 'Yellow Card' sanction, or in the case of the three best ranked competitors of each category, to a 'Red Card' sanction.

16.   COMPETITION COST, PRIZE MONEY AND AWARDS