We return to Switzerland for a Boulder World Cup for the first time since 2022.
This isn't the first time the World Cup has visited Bern for a World Cup. Bern held a Lead World Cup back in 2007 and, most recently, the World Championship in 2023.
Switzerland has hosted Boulder World Cups since Grindelwald, a town near Interlaken, held one in 2006. The town of Meiringen held Boulder World Cups from 2016 to 2022 as part of the Haslital Mountain Festival.
The competition will be held indoors in the new BERNEXPO Festhalle. No problems with any inclement weather this weekend. The venue holds up to 4,700 people and has been purpose built to host sport events. Both the semi-final and final will be streamed live on SRF, national German-speaking TV in Switzerland.
The prize money is higher in Bern than at many other World Cups this year. First place takes home €6,000, with €4,000 for 2nd and €2,800 for 3rd, reducing down to €1,000 for 8th place. This is compared to the base level of €3,690 for first place, €2,460 for second, and €1,722 for third, reducing down to €615 for 8th place.
Who to watch out for
Many of the athletes from Prague are heading to Bern for the next World Cup, with 170 athletes from 41 countries, 91 men and 79 women. We will again have two qualification groups for each gender. Nineteen 2024 Olympians are registered to compete.
Yannick Flohé is registered to compete for the first time in a Boulder World Cup this year. Manuel Cornu also returns to compete in Bern. As does Paul Jenft and Jongwon Chon.
Toby Roberts is registered to compete, but neither Max Milne nor Hamish McArthur will be competing in Bern. Both British women finalists in Prague, Erin McNeice and Emma Edwards, are registered.
The same Japanese team for both men and women are registered for Bern. Daiki Sano will be hoping to capitalise on his good form from Prague, where he won the qualification round to progress to the final.
The Japanese athletes need to win a medal to put themselves in priority for selection for one of Japan's five World Championship places. The selection criteria mean that athletes who win a medal are given priority. So far, Sorato Anraku, Tomoa Narasaki, Meichi Narasaki, Sohta Amagasa, Mao Nakamura, and Melody Sekikawa have won medals. The rest of the spots are decided using the World Cup Series ranking.
All the finalists from Prague are registered for Bern. Naïlé Meignan, who did not compete in Prague, is replaced by Zélia Avezou in Bern. Meignan won the European Championship last year, so has a named spot in the Boulder World Championship this year.
Who can win the series?
Sorato Anraku can win the Series in Bern if he finishes higher than 5th. He has a lead of 960 points, and only the best 5 scores are used to calculate an athlete's score in the Series.
Oriane Bertone also has a commanding lead in the women's series over Mao Nakamura by 830 points. If Bertone wins in Bern, she will win the series. If she finishes second, Nakamura needs to win to keep the series alive going into Innsbruck.
Routesetters
- Head Routesetter: Rémi Samyn (France)
- Sergio Verdasco (Spain),
- Cai Luyuan (China)
Schedule
Friday 13th June
- 09:00 Women’s Boulder Qualification
- 15:30 Men’s Boulder Qualification
Saturday 14th June
- 10:00 – 12:30 - Women’s semi-final
- 17:00 - Women’s Final
Sunday 15th June
- 10:00 – 12:30 - Men’s semi-final
- 17:00 - Men’s Final
Where to watch
Watch in the UK and Europe on Eurosport, Discovery+ and Max. The finals are hosted by TV Azteca in Mexico and Globo in Brazil. Elsewhere, you can watch on the IFSC YouTube channel. You can still watch the semi-finals on the IFSC YouTube channel in Mexico and Brazil.
