Rock Master Festival 2012 – all the infos for Arco

Here we are, at the starting blocks of the first Rock Master Festival in Arco, Italy. For those who haven't yet heard of this event, it's a 9 day full-immersion into climbing which combines the traditional Rock Master competition with the Arco Rock Legends Award, the exciting Rock Junior for youngsters, the Speed World Cup, the Paraclimbing Cup as well as a series of event with the world's best competition climbers and prominent personalities such as Paul Pritchard from England, Stefan Glowacz from Germany, Vladimir Netsvetaev from Russia and many more.

What makes this year new isn't so much the fact that these great events are celebrated in one single festival, but the fact that as of this year there is a special Open session at the Rock Master which gives everyone the change - both in Lead and Bouldering - to compete side by side with the super champions such as Sasha DiGiulian, Ramon Julien Puigblanque and Jacob Schubert. Furthermore, the beautiful Garda region can be explored by taking part in the so-called Experiences, which tackle via ferrata, the paths and rock climbs with the local Mountain Guides. Last but not least, a selection of the world's leading outdoor companies allow their gear to be tested free of charge at the Test Area, while the Climbing Village will act as the après-climbing meeting point with films, live music, slackline and much more. As you can see the list of things to do is a long one!

Saturday & Sunday 25-26 August 2012
Rock Junior – The climbing festival for children, split into three historic event: the coveted Under 14 International competition, the fun comp Kid’s Rock and the exciting Family Rock for the whole family. More than 300 young athletes are expected and fun for all is guaranteed!

Monday 27 August
A day dedicated to the Experiences to discover the Alto Garda region and, in the evening, watch the films which received awards at the Trento Filmfestival

Tuesday 28 August
International  Paraclimbing Cup - after last year's first-ever World Championship for the disabled, Arco now hosts a stage of the Paraclimbing world Cup. This is a great, unforgettable sports event for everyone.
Special evening – another date for your diaries, the meeting with Paul Pritchard, author of the multi-award winning Totem Pole as well as highly talented climber who after a serious accident in the 1990′s rediscovered the new dimension within the vertical world and life itself. During this special evening Vladimir Netsvetaev will receive an award. After a serious accident the 1993 Speed World Champion has returned to take part in the Paraclimbing Cup.

Wednesday 29 August
A day dedicated to the Experiences to discover the Alto Garda region and, in the evening, a meeting with the Czech climbers Adam Ondra and Lucie Hrozova. This will be followed by the screening of the new film about Adam Ondra, The Wizard’s Apprentice.

Thursday 30 August
Rock Master Lead – The competition for the champions begins at 10.00 with the Lead International Open. The best five will take part in Rock Master 2012 and compete against the world's best 8 invited athletes. The evening is dedicated to presentation the athletes taking part in this legendary competition, followed by videos and live music.

Friday 31 August
Rock Master Boulder – At 10.00 the boulderers hit the stage in the International Open and the best four qualify for the Rock Master 2012. At 12.00 it's time for the Lead specialists: every athlete can work the redpoint route and this is a unique opportunity to see the best get to grips with the hardest difficulties.
Arco Rock Legends - the climbing Oscars, decided by an international jury of 21 climbing magazines. Those in the running for the Salewa Rock Award are: Sasha DiGiulian, Dave Graham, Adam Ondra, Iker Pou e Daniel Woods, while Kilian Fischuber, Jakob Schubert and Anna Stöhr have been nominated for the La Sportiva Competition Award. The special guest during the evening celebration hosted by Kay Rush is the German climber Stefan Glowacz, who will receive the award Climbing Ambassador by Aquafil 2012

Saturday 01 September
Rock Master Lead – this is the decisive day for the Rock Master and the best climbers in the world: the on-sight round in the morning is followed by the after-work route after sunset… Fantastic.
Speed World Cup – this is the moment for the fastest climbers in the world, such as World Champion Qixin Zhong who will obviously try to set a new world record on the very same vertical piste which brought him so much luck during the Arco 2011 World Championship.

Sunday 02 September
Rock Master Boulder – after checking out the "impossible" boulder problems in the morning, the time is ripe for pure power, technique and a touch of magic! The exclusive KO formula guarantees a first-class spectacle and fun.
Rock Master Duel – an unmissable test up two identical, parallel and extremely difficult routes. The best 8 Rock Master Lead athletes take part in this comp, the one who climbs highest the fastest wins.
Rock Master Party – cutting the cake has become a must for the winners and the party is as legendary as the entire Rock Master event!

THE LEAD AND BOULDERING ATHLETES

The athletes invited and confirmed for the Lead event - and who will compete against those who qualify from the Open - are Mikhail Cherniko, Mario Lechner, Adam Ondra, Ramon Julien Puigbanque, Jakob Schubert and Jorg Verhoeven, e Barbara Bacher, Sasha DiGiulian, Angela Eiter, Mina Markovic, Johanna Schranz, Maja Vidmar and the Italian Jenny Lavardawho celebrates her 15th Rock Master. In the bouldering event the invited athletes Klemen Becan, Nicky de Leeuw, Lukas Ennemoser, Rustam Gelmanov, Lucas Preti, Jakob Schubert, Dmitry Sharafutdinov, Melissa La Neve, Mina Markovic, Alex Puccio, Katharina Saurwein and Juliane Wurm.

For all info check out: www.rockmasterfestival.com