Masters of Stone raise 10,000 euros for Climbers against Cancer

"Obviously we do not have stone here, but we’ve got loads of coloured plastic. And here we do not have a master here either, but I reckon that between the 12 athletes and we might have enough age and experience together to create one master." This, in brief according to Alexander Megos, was Masters of Stone, the very particular bouldering comp that took place on 23 November at Nürnberg in Germany with the ambitious aim of raising 10,000 euros for CAC - Climbers Against Cancer, the not-for-profit charity founded by John Ellison that raises awareness and funds for cancer research through the worldwide climbing community.

The other "Masters" invited to solve the 4 problems were Germany’s Alma Bestvater and Afra Hönig, Austria’s Jessica Pilz, France’s Melissa Le Nevé and Ukraine's Ievgeniia Kazbekova, while in the male lineup Alex Megos was joined by teammate Phillip Martin, Dutchman Jorg Verhoeven, Italian Gabriele Moroni, Japan’s Tsukuru Hori and Israel’s Alex Khazanov. The comp unfolded in front of a 600-strong crowd tightly packed into the E4 climbing gym, and was streamed live to more than 40,000 spectators online.

The competition was won by Jessica Pilz and Alma Bestvater who placed joint-first after having flashed 3 of the 4 blocks, while Kazbekova styled for third. Khazanov stole the show in the men’s event, while Hori placed second and Moroni proved his enduring power by placing third.

Significantly, the athletes donated all the prize money provided by the sponsors Scarpa and E9 to CAC. "It was a meaningful gesture" explained official photographer Eddie Fowke who witnessed the unscripted scene "When the whole podium gave up their prize money and donated it to Climbers against Cancer it was really a touching moment." Masters of Stone indeed, and also masters in life.

Links: E9, SCARPA , www.climbersagainstcancer.org, www.boulderhalle-e4.de