2020 UIAA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

TO BE HELD ONLINE

On Friday 5 June, the UIAA Management Committee (MC) held its second online meeting in the space of five weeks. Its most significant outcome was the decision to host this year’s UIAA General Assembly online. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GA, originally scheduled to take place on 24 October in Antalya, Turkey (and organised by the Turkish Mountaineering Federation), will now be held virtually. Voting procedures will also be conducted online.

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COVID-19

UIAA MEMBERS RESPOND TO EASING OF LOCKDOWN MEASURES; UIAA OFFERS FURTHER GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES FOR CLIMBING COMMUNITY

The UIAA remains committed to providing its members and the wider climbing community with the latest information and guidance regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the past few weeks the following updates have been made:

• The dedicated Covid-19 Crisis Consultation (CCC) Taskforce held its second online meeting on 14 May. A report can be found here. The Taskforce focused closely on the impact of relaxation measures in different countries.
• An online form has been created to facilitate the process for members to provide updates regarding Covid-19 and its impact on their activities. This form also provides the opportunity for members to provide information on specific subjects, such as huts and access. The UIAA will use any information provided to report on any trends and offer general guidance. The first responses received are available to view here,
• With the support of its Medical and Mountaineering Commissions, and adapted from guidelines produced by the German Alpine Club (DAV), the UIAA has created some general recommendations for climbing during Covid-19 and visiting mountain regions. These are intended only as guidance and must only be followed if they are fully compliant with policies and rules set by competent government and regional authorities. Please note these guidelines will be subject change. The UIAA Mountain Protection Commission is currently working on adding its own recommendations to the guidelines.
• The UIAA Covid-19 website page continues to provide updates from Commissions on the progress of projects and activities and members on measures implemented in their own countries. 
• The UIAA has launched a Covid-19 fundraising page. Currently the fundraising is open to general donations. Any money raised will be placed in a central fund for the CCC Taskforce to nominate specific causes which require the most support. Donors can also specify where they would like any donation to be sent (a specific area, cause, project or entity). In the coming weeks, the CCC will identify specific projects to support and make direct fundraising a possibility.

Further Reading
UIAA & Covid-19

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MOUNTAIN PROTECTION

IMPACT OF COVID-19, PARTNERSHPS AND GLOBAL GUIDELINES LEAD AGENDA OF LATEST MPC MEET

The UIAA Mountain Protection Commission (MPC) hosted its annual meeting on Friday 29 May. As has become the norm during Covid-19, the meeting took place online. Nine members of the MPC from as many countries and five continents participated supported by UIAA Executive Board members Lode Beckers and Hélène Denis.

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SUPPORTING MEMBERS IN ISSUES OF ACCESS

MEETING REVIEW

The months of May and June are traditionally busy with UIAA Commission meetings. Despite the restrictions placed on travel during Covid-19, the UIAA has been able to host a number of important online meetings throughout the past six weeks. In fact many Commissions and groups have met more frequently and with more members present. Proof that the dedication of the volunteers working within UIAA Commissions is as strong as ever.

On the weekend of 30-31 May, the UIAA Access Working Group (WG) met. Last year Access became closely integrated into the UIAA Mountaineering Commission (MountCom). Developing a workflow and a close relationship with MountCom was one of the main subjects of the latest meeting.

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SAFECOM TO LAUNCH NEW MISUSE RESOURCE

COMMISSION HOSTS A SERIES OF ONLINE MEETINGS

The UIAA Safety Commission held an internal meeting meeting on 19 May, to discuss working group updates and plan for its first virtual Plenary meeting. During the session, SafeCom agreed to launch a Safety Label misuse page. Conducted online, the internal meeting was followed by the annual plenary meeting held together with climbing equipment manufacturers (UIAA Safety Label Holders) and representatives from accredited laboratories, on 8 and 9 June. A report from this second meeting will be published shortly.

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2019 UIAA ANNUAL REPORT

AVAILABLE ONLINE

The UIAA has published its 2019 Annual Report. The report can be downloaded below. The UIAA Office is currently investigating the possibility of making print copies available to members.

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CLIMBING HIGHER THANKS TO VERTICAL-LIFE

ENHANCEMENTS TO COVERAGE OF UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR

This season’s UIAA World Ice Climbing Tour continued to feature some star-studded performances from many of the world’s leading climbers. However, there was also a notable development away from the ice, with the introduction of Vertical-Life’s (VL) results system helping to shape and improve coverage and live data from the competition.

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