XVI Plenary Assembly

The XVI Plenary Assembly of the IFSC was initially scheduled to take place in Cyprus. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was first postponed and subsequently moved online, finally happening on 13 and 14 November 2020.

A Plenary Assembly in writing first took place on May 29 — also in the form of a teleconference — approving the 2019 audit and financial reports, and the 2020 budget.

The Assembly opened with a video message from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who congratulated the IFSC and its delegates for overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic and their ability to organise a virtual congress.

The Assembly first voted to ratify the addition of four new National Federations – Fiji, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda – bringing the total number of members to 94: eight in Africa, 23 in Asia, 44 in Europe, three in Oceania and 16 in Pan America.

IFSC Secretary General Debra Gawrych presented a long-term roadmap for the future of Sport Climbing, unveiling the IFSC Strategic Plan 2020-2028. The document was revised after the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and is the final outcome of a process that covered most of the IFSC Season 2019 season, with events such as the XIV IFSC Plenary Assembly in Tokyo, Japan, the National Federations Workshop in Arco, Italy and the I Climbing Summit in Torino, Italy playing crucial roles in the definition of the vision, mission and key objectives.

The IFSC Plenary Assembly voted to assign the 2023 IFSC Climbing and Para Climbing World Championships to Bern, Switzerland.

The President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, Francesco Ricci Bitti, also addressed the delegates with a video message.

Finally, the Assembly has ratified the newly formed Para Climbing Committee of the IFSC.

Following a unanimous vote by the XIV Plenary Assembly — held in Tokyo in March 2019 — the prior Para Climbing Commission was disbanded, and the Committee was appointed later in 2019. Two athlete representatives were elected during the IFSC Para Climbing World Championships Briançon 2019, with two coaches, two experts, and one route-setter selected by the IFSC Executive Board.

The IFSC Para Climbing Committee members are as follows: