Sport Climbing federation becomes first to introduce regulations to protect wellbeing of athletes

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is focussed on enhancing the protection of the health and rights of athletes and has become the first International Federation to introduce comprehensive regulations related to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), with the implementation of a new event policy for athletes ahead of the 2024 season.

The competition policy has been developed by IFSC scientific experts and based on the findings of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s REDs Consensus Group.

With the new policy rolled out ahead of the 2024 Climbing and Paraclimbing season, set to kick off in Keqiao, China on 9th April, it will be fully implemented and operational for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and Olympic Qualifier Series.

The policy will see the IFSC working in tandem with National Federations, athletes, and an external commission of independent experts in the field of REDs.

As REDs is not currently identifiable using any single test or screening method, the IFSC’s Medical Commission, led by Professor Naama Constantini who is also part of the IOC REDs Expert Consensus Group, concluded that a more comprehensive screening procedure was required to ensure an accurate picture of an athlete’s health. 

As such, the IFSC REDs Policy will require:

• Athletes to fill out two short questionnaires aimed at accumulating personal parameters for such criteria as height, weight, heart rate and blood pressure; 

• National Federations to issue each athlete a health certificate or request more testing before providing “clearance” to the IFSC; 

• IFSC to initiate random and focussed testing of the parameters (including BMI, heart rate, and blood pressure) throughout the Climbing season. The IFSC will also store the information provided by the National Federations; 

• An External Commission to review the data of suspected cases, comparing collected data with that of the National Federation health certificates.

IFSC President Marco Scolaris notes “The new system underscores our commitment to the health of our athletes. The policy will not only help us determine which athletes are most at risk, it will also help raise awareness of the issue, provide help to those who need it, and ensure the rights of each athlete are protected. 

“The National Federations are key to the success of the new policy, as the health and welfare of the athletes fall under their jurisdiction at the national level. We look forward to collaborating with them closely on this matter.”

REDs is a syndrome that affects health and performance and is caused by a mismatch between the calories eaten and burned during exercise. It can lead to many short- and long-term health and performance issues.

While the true prevalence of REDs varies between different sports, the IOC REDs Consensus Group found that “the syndrome often goes unrecognised by athletes themselves and their coaches, and team clinicians and may be unintentionally exacerbated by ‘sports culture’ due to the perceived short-term performance gains from limiting calorie intake.”

IFSC General Director Piero Rebaudengo adds “There have been calls for Body Mass Index (BMI) to be used as a yardstick for REDs, but on its own, a simple BMI test does not provide an accurate picture of a person’s health and, importantly, would also not be legally defensible.

“In addition, BMI varies greatly from one country to another. Excluding athletes from competition based only on a BMI reading would therefore be a gross violation of their rights.”

On this basis, the IFSC set about developing a more comprehensive policy for REDs testing, one aimed at protecting the health of the athletes on the one hand, and their human rights on the other.

Great Britain’s Olympian Shauna Coxsey shared “Athlete health, wellbeing and safety has and will always remain a priority for the Athletes' Commission. The policy announced today is the start of the journey towards making our sport safer by addressing a complex and sensitive topic.

“As President of the Athletes' Commission, I will continue to work with my fellow Commission members to ensure the athlete's voice is heard and they are supported as these new policies are implemented. I would like to thank the Medical Commission and Sport Department for the hard work and dedication they have shown in developing this policy. We believe this is a positive step towards protecting athletes.”

Find the full REDs policy on the IFSC website here 

Images from top:
Pretoria (RSA), 7 December 2023: Tegwen OATES of South Africa, Alyssa MEYER of South Africa compete in the women’s Speed final during the IFSC African Qualifier in Pretoria (RSA). © The Good Beta/IFSC.
Leeds (GBR), 19th October 2023: trainer and participants of the IFSC Coaches' Course in Leeds (GBR). ©️ Jemma Mickleburgh/IFSC.
Pretoria (RSA), 7th December 2023: Jade VOGT of South Africa competes in the women’s Boulder & Lead semi-final during the IFSC African Qualifier in Pretoria (RSA). © Daniel Du Toit/IFSC
Pretoria (RSA), 9th December 2023: Alistair STUBBS of South Africa competes in the men’s Boulder & Lead final during the IFSC African Qualifier in Pretoria (RSA). © Daniel du Toit/IFSC