Sport climbing: the new outdoor gym in Cagliari
The new open-air climbing gym S’Avanzada Climbing Cagliari in the center of the town was inaugurated on the 29th of August 2020.
The Parco Dei Giardini Pubblici in Cagliari is the oldest green area of the city between the two districts La Vega and Castello, also now home to the new and first open-air climbing gym: S’Avanzada Climbing Cagliari.
Sport climbing is a style that makes use of permanent rock anchorages to protect climbers, unlike traditional climbing or trad in which safety anchors, such as friends, also called cams, or nuts (nuts ) are removable.
From the moment the anchorage is not used to sustain the climber during his or her practice, sport climbing is considered a sort of free climbing.
Competitions at an international level are regulated by the Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), a sports federation founded in Frankfurt on the 27th of January 2007 recognized by the Committee International Olympic (CIO) and member of the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federation (ARISF) and the International World Games Association (IWGA).
Sport Climbing: categories and specialties of this discipline
Sport climbing competitions divided into two categories:
- Senior: includes the World Championship, European Championship, National Championship, World Games, and the World Cup.
- Youth: including the Youth World Championship, European Youth Championship, and the Youth European Cup.
There are three sport climbing specialties:
- Lead: is the classical climb with a rope on surfaces between 15 and 25 meters. It’s done on routes that progressively increase in difficulty, and its objective is to reach the highest point in a maximum of 6 minutes. Each shot is given a score with two values: “loaded”, if the handle is complete, and “used” when the handle includes a movement that doesn’t allow to reach the next grip. A top score is made when the climber manages to hook the rope onto the last safety carabiner called a Top, or when both hands reach the last handle. The Lead is the specialty inspired by climbing natural surfaces and can be done with a safety rope from the top or the bottom.
- Speed: the objective of this specialty is to complete a medium-high track in the least time possible. The wall is usually between 10 and 15 meters. The competition track has a timing system located at the beginning and the end of the course, also a sensor at the top, allowing the climber to stop the time. The course is done with a moulinette or top rope hanging from the top.
- Boulder: this specialty foresees climbing on a surface of a maximum of 4 meters. The climb is short but requires strength with 7-8 movements on average. The begging is in a “start” position, meaning the obligation of all fours on the handles and rapidly reaching the “top” position to then maintain it for at least 3 consecutive seconds. The climber generally has 4 or 5 minutes to complete each level of difficulty and reach the “top”. This discipline has an intermediate hold called “zone” or “bonus” giving an ulterior score, which can vary depending on the number of attempts to complete it.
Sport Climbing: the beginning of S’Avanzada Climbing Cagliari
Sport climbing is a common form of climbing and practiced all over the world. Today climbers and outdoor sports lovers can practice this sport in a new venue: S’Avanzada Climbing Cagliari.
The climbing gym has a rock wall and is inside the city’s public gardens where there are also the Civic Museums of Cagliari now hosting exhibitions by Steve McCurrurry and Back to the 80’s – The eighties inside and out of Civic Collections.
S’Avanzada Climbing Cagliari is an association affiliated with FASI (Federazione Arrampicata Sportiva Italina), initiated in 2015 by physiotherapist Robert Desogus, and Daniele Castello, a Sport Climbing instructor. Their objective is to promote sport climbing and other outdoor sports as an educational and psychophysical program.
The gym named after the historical entrance of Castello district in 2019, won a notice of Cagliari by suggesting a project including the making of an equipped area for Sport Climbing inside the Public Gardens.
The gym has a 15-meter-high wall with 15 climbing routes certified to be climbed with a rope, also a boulder area, an equipped training area, and a free body one. Materials and equipment used for climbing are all certified, the activities are done under the attentive eye of the FASI instructors.
During September 2020, it will be possible to climb from 16:00 to 22:30, and the courses will be from Mondays to Fridays.
For further information, please write to savanzadaclimbingcagliari@gmail.com, telephone +39 3488249555, or visit website savanzadaclimbing.it.
