The European Universities Games Zagreb-Rijeka 2016 are almost finished, but for some participants the real competition is just starting. It was very interesting on Friday at the Zagreb Fair, in the hall of the climbing club Fothia, where the qualifications in sport climbing had just begun.
The competition in Zagreb will be very tense. Alexander Piratinsky, who leads the team from the Ural Federal University, followed what was happening in the introductory part of the sport climbing tournament and told us his impressions. Piratinsky has so much experience in sport climbing that he could write a book on the subject, and he says with a smile that he held all positions that exist in the sport.
The coach of the Ural team, who has half a century of experience, led the International Federation of Sport Climbing and the Russian Sport Climbing Federation. From 1982 onwards he has collected a lot of coaching experience, including managing Soviet and Russian national teams.
‘We arrived two days ago, and today it is the first time we visited the competition hall. Our impressions are very positive. It is not so easy to organize an international competition in sport climbing, but I am sure that everything will go well, as it’s obvious the organizers had put in a lot of effort,’ said Piratinsky.
The members of the team have already had a chance to tour Zagreb and have fun, while the coach himself focused on providing support to his athletes whenever necessary. Ural came to the Games with four competitors, two men and two women, but Piratinsky didn’t want to talk much about the team’s ambitions. He has been in the sports world for so long that he knows that nothing can be predicted.
One of the trump cards of the Ural team in the women’s competition is the 19-year-old Jevgenija Lapšina, the youngest member of the team, and like her coach, she is satisfied with their welcome to Zagreb.
‘I am here for the first time, the city is very nice. I like the hall and the competition. The organization is at a high level,’ said Lapšina, who likes the relaxed atmosphere in her team and in the hall at the Fair.
‘So far, so good,’ added the 19-year-old Russian, who was described by her coach as a true lioness, pointing out that she just came back after a nasty shoulder injury, for which she had to undergo surgery.
The Ural team will try to get as far as possible in what will be a demanding tournament. The competition is fierce; one of the referees, Andrea Armano, described the fierceness of the competition. Andrea, who lives in Zagreb, has been a part of sport climbing for 10 years, and she has been a referee for about a year.
‘When you’re just starting out, being a referee can be difficult, you have to have a lot of concentration and be fair. Something can always slip under the radar because you didn’t see it, but if you know what you’re doing and if you’re into the sport it isn’t so demanding,’ said Armano.
‘I am pleased that there is such a large turnout for this competition. The girls are very strong, they climb nicely, I am happy that the level of quality is so high,’ added the referee from Zagreb, who will need to be calm and observant to ensure that every competitor gets a fair treatment.
