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The UIAA newsletter. October 2016


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The UIAA. Newsletter. October 2016.
Welcome to the latest UIAA newsletter. 
The 2016  UIAA General Assembly, held in Brixen (Bressanone), Italy and organised by the Alpenverein Südtirol AVS, took centre-stage this month. UIAA member federations from six continents attended the annual meeting which witnessed Frits Vrijlandt re-elected as President, the confirmation of the Strategic Plan 2017-2020 and the welcoming of five new member federations. Mountain Wilderness was confirmed as the winner of the 2016 UIAA Mountain Protection Award and Reinhold Messner awarded UIAA honorary membership. Earlier in October, the Kalymnos Climbing Festival won the UIAA Rock Climber's Award. Recently-elected UIAA MedCom President George Rodway shares the latest on the Commission's extensive work. Dates for the 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing season are confirmed. And, the UIAA launches its revamped website.
UIAA GENERAL ASSEMBLY. A REVIEW. 

The 2016 UIAA General Assembly was held in Brixen (Bressanone), Südtirol, Italy from 12-16 October. The event, the largest annual gathering of UIAA member federations and representatives, took place during the International Mountain Summit (IMS), and was organised by the Alpenverein Südtirol AVS.  The event welcomed over one hundred delegates from all continents and witnessed a number of exciting and significant developments.

Frits Vrijlandt was re-elected as the UIAA President and now starts his second four-year term.

The UIAA Strategic Plan for the period 2017-2020 was approved.

Five federations from four continents were granted full UIAA member status. 

Mountain Wilderness was announced as the fourth winner of the annual UIAA Mountain Protection Award.

Reinhold Messner was granted UIAA honorary membership.

To read the full story click here.

Additional Notes
The 2017 UIAA General Assembly will be held in Tehran, Iran on Saturday 21 October, 2017. The following year it will be held in Mongolia.
Images from the 2016 UIAA General Assembly can be viewed, and downloaded, here.
A link to core documents from the meeting will be emailed to UIAA member federations shortly.
Main image ©Stefania_Ventura
UIAA ROCK CLIMBERS' AWARD
THE KALYMNOS CLIMBING FESTIVAL (7-9 OCTOBER)
IS RECOGNISED BY THE UIAA

After considering a shortlist of several European festivals in 2016 the UIAA granted the Rock Climbers’ Award to the Kalymnos Municipality based on its excellence in meeting the following criteria – commitment to sustainable practices, support for the climbing community and experience in organizing international climbing festival events.

The island of Kalymnos in Greece is a paradise for the mind and body, in particular for rock climbers indulging in their passion. A rich blend of Greek hospitality, natural beauty and world class climbing annually draws twice as many climbers as none climbing tourists to this Aegean jewel. The Municipality of Kalymnos has worked enthusiastically and hand in hand with climbers to promote, and more importantly support, climbing tourism and the climbing community ever since the inaugural Kalymnos Climbing Festival was held ten years ago. The 2016 festival was approved by the Hellenic Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, a member of the UIAA since 1936.

Read the full story here.
MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE 2016 UIAA MOUNTAIN PROTECTION AWARD WINNER

Mountain Wilderness, a French-based project dedicated principally to the removal of obsolete manmade facilities in the European Alps, was announced as winner of the 2016 UIAA Mountain Protection Award during a ceremony held at the 2016 UIAA General Assembly.

Now in its fourth year, the UIAA Mountain Protection Award continues to grow as an internationally-recognised forum for projects, companies and initiatives which support sustainable tourist practices in mountain regions. The 2016 Award showcased 23 projects from 19 different countries on five continents. The UIAA Mountain Protection Award is partnered by Western University and Golden Rock Travel of Azerbaijan.

The UIAA also recognised the Mount Everest Biogas Project (USA) as the best new initiative and Waste Warriors (India) was confirmed as the 2016 UIAA Mountain Protection Award runner-up.

For a full profile on the work of Mountain Wilderness please click here.
ICE CLIMBING
CALENDAR DATES CONFIRMED 
The UIAA is delighted to announce the final calendar for the 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing season. The UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour will comprise five events on three continents (North America, Asia and Europe). For the first time the World Tour heads to China, home of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Following on from the World Tour, a revamped UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships will be held in Champagny-en-Vanoise, France. A week later, the same iconic ice climbing venue will host the increasingly popular World Youth Championships.

The full calendar is:

UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup
16-17 December (2016), Durango, Colorado (USA)
7-8 January, Beijing (China)
14-15 January, Cheongsong (South Korea)
20-21 January, Saas Fee (Switzerland)
27-29 January, Rabenstein (Italy)

UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships
4-5 February, Champagny-en-Vanoise (France)

Youth
14-15 December, Durango, Colorado (USA)

UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships
10-11 February, Champagny-en-Vanoise (France)

Athlete registration opens later this week. The UIAA will alert member federations and athletes as soon as the registration process opens.The UIAA will shortly announce details about its improved and more extensive live streaming and video coverage of the season.

UIAA Ice Climbing contact: Carol Kahoun, Events Coordinator. iceclimbing@theuiaa.org
UIAA MEDICAL COMMISSION
AN INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE
 
The work of the UIAA Medical Commission is respected and recognized throughout the world of mountaineering. The Commission’s mission of increasing knowledge about mountain medicine among doctors, mountaineers and lay mountain users is achieved through several different means.

In order to provide the best possible advice through its network of doctoral-level mountain medicine experts, the UIAA Medical Commission produces extensive advice and recommendation papers (translated in several languages and aimed at all types of mountain users), organizes the international Diploma in Mountain Medicine and disseminates in-depth, research articles related to specific medical subjects. The most recent was dedicated to ‘Drug Use and Misuse in the Mountains’.

George Rodway (photographed), member of the American Alpine Club, succeeded David Hillebrandt as Commission President earlier this year (David is now Commission Vice President) and shares with us more details about the Commission’s work and its plans for the near future. Full story here.
The UIAA launched its new-look website shortly after the 2016 UIAA General Assembly.  The new website, structured around the UIAA's three pillars of safety, sustainability and sport, comprises many new features including a media centre, TV page, dedicated project areas, an improved Members section and a clearer showcase of the UIAA honorary members and declarations. The website is continually evolving. Discover more here.
FROM THE UIAA NEWSROOM
 
Two youth ice climbing camps are already confirmed for 2017, one in Guillestre (France), the other in the Italian Dolomites. The UIAA Respect the Mountains Series, partnered by KEEN, concluded in mid-September with five tonnes of waste cleared by over 600 volunteers during the 9-event campaign. Registration for the 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing events opens shortly.  The UIAA was saddened to hear about the death of legendary Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei, who passed away on 20 October.  
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
4 November
UIAA MOUNTAINEERING COMMISSION MEETING
Jordan 
 
7-18 November
THE 22ND SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP 22)
Marrakech (Morocco) 
 
18-19  November
UAAA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Kathmandu (Nepal)
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The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 92 member associations in 68 countries representing about 3 million climbers and mountaineers. The organization's mission is to promote the growth and protection of climbing and mountaineering worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection.
 
The organization operates through the work of its commissions which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the climbing and mountaineering community. The UIAA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
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