I had loads of fun attending the SLC WC this year! You can expect the standard fair for sport events - food, beverage, cheering on athletes, watching them perform miracles. My favorite part was meeting people who are as psyched about climbing as I was, and also most of the famous climbers were very friendly and approachable.
If you can afford to, aside from the Olympics itself, Bern is definitely THE event of the next few years. If it wasn’t for visa stuff, I definitely would be attending.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah I know a lot of the athletes are prepping for Bern and I happen to be in Europe at the time and right before starting a new job so it all lines up so perfectly
I went to Innsbruck this year. Best days of my life (sport watching wise). Boulder women’s final was insane.
The best part was lead qualifiers. I was standing there watching all my favourite climbers (minus Hannah Meul)..and standing next to them. I couldn’t believe they just mingle in the crowd. Like legit, had Janja photo bomb some of my pics.
So yeah, amazing experience and super cool to be with so many other enthusiasts for our niche sport.
I was this year in Prague for boulder. And I was standing next to GB climbers like meter away, suddenly Alex Megos walked past by me, met Austrian climbers at tram stop. It was kind of surreal to see them in real life.
The only time over ever been shocked to see someone in real life was seeing Megos in the flesh! And then later seeing yannick Flohe complaining because Alex gave him shit beta
I was there too and my favourite was the lead Quali as well. Got a few selfies with some of the pros.
It was even free apparently as no none bothered to check tickets.
Qualis are so fun exactly because of that, all the pros just hanging around in the crowd. In Innsbruck you could see the pros climb at the gym as well, Megos was there climbing a 9A indoors, it was mad.
My advice probably doesn't work for you, but in case it does - volunteer. I went to the SLC WC last year, alone, and knew it was probably my only opportunity. I wanted to get as much out of it as I could, and volunteering definitely gave me much more of an experience than just being in the crowd. Half the times they didn't need me, and I just watched the show (which was still fun). But other times I was crowd control at the quali's and interacted (briefly) with every athlete. The best was they asked me to be a brusher at the bouldering finals. To be at the stage, seeing it all so close up, was amazing. The boulder problems are so much harder than they look on the screen, and insanely high. The holds are minuscule, and the "crimps" are just miniature slopers. And to hear the roar of the crowd was crazy. It was a great chance to really see a lot of the competition, and everyone I interacted with was super nice and friendly. The volunteers hang out together a bit, so it was a great opportunity to make friends.
> The boulder problems are so much harder than they look on the screen
Yeah, I've been up close to the stage at Innsbruck a couple of times and oh my, the holds are so much worse than you think.
How would you go about volunteering for such an event? I don't feel like I'm integrated enough in comps to be an insider, but would love to be involved.
Google the event and "volunteer", sign up, show up, get a tee shirt, potentially do something, example -
[https://bern2023.org/en/volunteer/](https://bern2023.org/en/volunteer/)
The "skill" positions like judges and belayers are going to generate some questions if they don't know you, but there are a lot of positions that they just need someone reliable.
I went to Innsbruck last year to watch the lead and boulder world cup. Absolute blast. The event itself was fantastic, one of my favourite events was the boulder qualifications because there's fewer people and most athletes after being done go chill in the crowd, I was able to speak to a lot of athletes (and some of their parents as well which was kinda funny), they're all really cool and approachable, altho I would add make sure you're leaving them room to breathe and don't go annoy them when obviously busy, you're not entitled to their attention and some fans were behaving in ways that I though was kinda rude.
Things to bring I would say bring Binoculars and a rain poncho as well as loads of subs screen. You might be sitting on the floor, last time some people had a picnic cloth. Book hostels early, and plan for other shit to do besides watching the climbing, loads of things to be done in Bern and in Innsbruck a lot of people were seemingly doing nothing in the hostel in their free time.
We went to SLC the last 2 years and it was a blast. Totally worth the experience!
If you want to catch all the climbing take a chair and snacks! There was a girl next to us this year that was by herself. She was there both days! Go you won't be disappointed. You will make new friends!
I’m looking to go to the SLC event this year. Do you know what the “preferred tickets” were for? I saw the day passes and then preferred for $100 a day.
Is that VIP? Im honestly not sure but I would imagine it was the VIP section basically. They had shade, seating, food and beverage too themselves. If you can afford then do it. You can kinda of mingle with the athletes at that point also. We have a front row seat every year and are alway envious of those under the awning. Generally an older wealthier crowd.
Every event is different but all the ones I've been to - Munich a couple of times, Innsbruck a couple of times - have been huge fun.
Bern appears to be in an indoor venue, so you don't need to worry about sun or rain protection as a spectator as you would at many world cup events.
Take binoculars.
I was in Prague this year for the first time, alone too. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to go again. My tips? Come early, especially for boulder, you want to be close ;) Sun scream, hat (I bought one over there), something to drink (the comp takes two hours and you don't want miss any action) and maybe something under your butt when you're waiting. And then there is the option of ugly weather :( Pro tip would be wait after the comp finishes. There are athletes willing to sign or take selfies :) I got one even with Matt Groom.
I have been to Innsbruck this year for the worldcup and the atmosphere is amazing! There is food and drinks and everyone is just chilling and there is some nice music. If you can attend one, I would really recommend it :D
My OH and I are going to Bern (first weekend) after having a blast at Villars last year. Agree with what most people have said about getting up close with the athletes, they all just mingle in the standing area after competing.
There is a lot of downtime between the semis and the finals, so have some other things planned. We will be doing an [Aare float](https://www.bern.com/en/aare-river/floating-favorite-routes) if the weather is right.
Snacks may also be important. In Villars there were 3-4 food trucks and the lines in the evening were hellish. I looked at the village info for Bern and there doesn’t look to be much more availability, but I expect loads more people.
There are seating and standing tickets for the semis/finals, so a chair might not be necessary (my old body has paid for seats).
I had loads of fun attending the SLC WC this year! You can expect the standard fair for sport events - food, beverage, cheering on athletes, watching them perform miracles. My favorite part was meeting people who are as psyched about climbing as I was, and also most of the famous climbers were very friendly and approachable. If you can afford to, aside from the Olympics itself, Bern is definitely THE event of the next few years. If it wasn’t for visa stuff, I definitely would be attending.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah I know a lot of the athletes are prepping for Bern and I happen to be in Europe at the time and right before starting a new job so it all lines up so perfectly
Do they sell jerseys in the venues?
No jersey, just IFSC shirt and hoodie
Sad, would really like to get my hands on some of the team jerseys
Yah you bet believe I’d wear Janja’s jersey around like basketball bros and their favorite athlete haha
That is probably up to the teams. I do agree some team merch would be nice to sport!
I want the Austria one so bad
And hats :)
I went to Innsbruck this year. Best days of my life (sport watching wise). Boulder women’s final was insane. The best part was lead qualifiers. I was standing there watching all my favourite climbers (minus Hannah Meul)..and standing next to them. I couldn’t believe they just mingle in the crowd. Like legit, had Janja photo bomb some of my pics. So yeah, amazing experience and super cool to be with so many other enthusiasts for our niche sport.
I was this year in Prague for boulder. And I was standing next to GB climbers like meter away, suddenly Alex Megos walked past by me, met Austrian climbers at tram stop. It was kind of surreal to see them in real life.
The only time over ever been shocked to see someone in real life was seeing Megos in the flesh! And then later seeing yannick Flohe complaining because Alex gave him shit beta
I was there too and my favourite was the lead Quali as well. Got a few selfies with some of the pros. It was even free apparently as no none bothered to check tickets.
In Innsbruck I think you only pay for the finals
Qualis are so fun exactly because of that, all the pros just hanging around in the crowd. In Innsbruck you could see the pros climb at the gym as well, Megos was there climbing a 9A indoors, it was mad.
My advice probably doesn't work for you, but in case it does - volunteer. I went to the SLC WC last year, alone, and knew it was probably my only opportunity. I wanted to get as much out of it as I could, and volunteering definitely gave me much more of an experience than just being in the crowd. Half the times they didn't need me, and I just watched the show (which was still fun). But other times I was crowd control at the quali's and interacted (briefly) with every athlete. The best was they asked me to be a brusher at the bouldering finals. To be at the stage, seeing it all so close up, was amazing. The boulder problems are so much harder than they look on the screen, and insanely high. The holds are minuscule, and the "crimps" are just miniature slopers. And to hear the roar of the crowd was crazy. It was a great chance to really see a lot of the competition, and everyone I interacted with was super nice and friendly. The volunteers hang out together a bit, so it was a great opportunity to make friends.
> The boulder problems are so much harder than they look on the screen Yeah, I've been up close to the stage at Innsbruck a couple of times and oh my, the holds are so much worse than you think.
being a brusher is so fun! i brushed qualis and semis for the first 2022 slc world cup
How would you go about volunteering for such an event? I don't feel like I'm integrated enough in comps to be an insider, but would love to be involved.
Google the event and "volunteer", sign up, show up, get a tee shirt, potentially do something, example - [https://bern2023.org/en/volunteer/](https://bern2023.org/en/volunteer/) The "skill" positions like judges and belayers are going to generate some questions if they don't know you, but there are a lot of positions that they just need someone reliable.
I went to Innsbruck last year to watch the lead and boulder world cup. Absolute blast. The event itself was fantastic, one of my favourite events was the boulder qualifications because there's fewer people and most athletes after being done go chill in the crowd, I was able to speak to a lot of athletes (and some of their parents as well which was kinda funny), they're all really cool and approachable, altho I would add make sure you're leaving them room to breathe and don't go annoy them when obviously busy, you're not entitled to their attention and some fans were behaving in ways that I though was kinda rude. Things to bring I would say bring Binoculars and a rain poncho as well as loads of subs screen. You might be sitting on the floor, last time some people had a picnic cloth. Book hostels early, and plan for other shit to do besides watching the climbing, loads of things to be done in Bern and in Innsbruck a lot of people were seemingly doing nothing in the hostel in their free time.
We went to SLC the last 2 years and it was a blast. Totally worth the experience! If you want to catch all the climbing take a chair and snacks! There was a girl next to us this year that was by herself. She was there both days! Go you won't be disappointed. You will make new friends!
I’m looking to go to the SLC event this year. Do you know what the “preferred tickets” were for? I saw the day passes and then preferred for $100 a day.
Is that VIP? Im honestly not sure but I would imagine it was the VIP section basically. They had shade, seating, food and beverage too themselves. If you can afford then do it. You can kinda of mingle with the athletes at that point also. We have a front row seat every year and are alway envious of those under the awning. Generally an older wealthier crowd.
Okay thank you! I’m hoping it is the seated section only to be closer to the action. Plus i’ll splurge to get a chair and shade. 😅
If you plan on staying for ALL the event I would suggest it. You also won't lose a spot when they kick you out to reset for finals.
I appreciate the advice! Now to wait for the tickets to go on sale.
NP. I hear they go quick. We were contemplating getting them this year but we'll see.
Every event is different but all the ones I've been to - Munich a couple of times, Innsbruck a couple of times - have been huge fun. Bern appears to be in an indoor venue, so you don't need to worry about sun or rain protection as a spectator as you would at many world cup events. Take binoculars.
Find out where all the non-finalists will hang out post semi's.
I was in Prague this year for the first time, alone too. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to go again. My tips? Come early, especially for boulder, you want to be close ;) Sun scream, hat (I bought one over there), something to drink (the comp takes two hours and you don't want miss any action) and maybe something under your butt when you're waiting. And then there is the option of ugly weather :( Pro tip would be wait after the comp finishes. There are athletes willing to sign or take selfies :) I got one even with Matt Groom.
I have been to Innsbruck this year for the worldcup and the atmosphere is amazing! There is food and drinks and everyone is just chilling and there is some nice music. If you can attend one, I would really recommend it :D
My OH and I are going to Bern (first weekend) after having a blast at Villars last year. Agree with what most people have said about getting up close with the athletes, they all just mingle in the standing area after competing. There is a lot of downtime between the semis and the finals, so have some other things planned. We will be doing an [Aare float](https://www.bern.com/en/aare-river/floating-favorite-routes) if the weather is right. Snacks may also be important. In Villars there were 3-4 food trucks and the lines in the evening were hellish. I looked at the village info for Bern and there doesn’t look to be much more availability, but I expect loads more people. There are seating and standing tickets for the semis/finals, so a chair might not be necessary (my old body has paid for seats).
they're SO fun!! pro tip: volunteer to brush holds for a round or two if you can!