Worldcup bouldering Munich 2013

Before i go into detail about this fantastic event. I would like to try and describe how nice it felt to be able to climb amoung the best in the world! It was a dream come true to participate here in this famous arena (Olympia stadium 1972)i would advise everyone that has the chance of doing this, to go for it!
It is a wierd feeling warming up with Sachi, Killian, Hojer etc.
The power and body-control they have is impressive, as is the professionalism of the team and support surrounding them. We in belgium have a very long way to go!
I finished 51st of the 65 participant wich isn't great of course but slightly better then i expected.
On 4 of the 5 selection boulders i felt i could move and with more experience and some luck in getting the right boulders that suit your style i feel i could actually make it into a semi-final!

As it stands now Belgium has almost no chance of making a final in a senior world cup boulder event.
For this i blame the lack of funding and private sponsorship.
If in the future we want to change this we need an official Belgium team (not only youth) with the necessary support, trainers, physio, facilities and of course funding! This is actually all very possible but the first major hurdle in the way is unity!
Nico, nat and i talked a lot about it and have good ideas...but we need back up!
Now i will try draw you a blue print of these world cups...
Bouldering is so varied that within the disciplines you need time to gain experience.
The specific setting of boulders here is so different of what we are used to that it makes it very hard to read and flash them.
I would estimate for an athlete to preform well in this specific event they would need 2 to 3 years of adapting to the format and style of climbing. So my advice to the the two federations would be to make up a team of 10 men and 5 woman and give them the nessersary tools to make a good performance possible.
With a National team you can also catch the attention and support of private sponsors!

Although for me this experience in the world cup is very positive, there are of course also dark sides to it such as rumors of cheating, substance abuse, weight issues...
For next year they might introduce a minium BMI check, and those with a low BMI might be excluded from the comps.
Read up on ifsc plans for bmi:
http://www.laurasnider.com/outdoor/too-thin-to-win

Lastly we also visited the Boulder-welt gym! Really unique styles, lots of different holds a competition wall and system board. Good training for world cup climbing!