The IFSC Para Climbing World Cup will head to Arco, Italy over the next two days for the final stop of the 2024 Series.

The Northern Italian town will play host for the third event of the season following successful visits to Salt Lake City, USA and Innsbruck, Austria.

Nestled among limestone cliffs, Arco has a strong climbing tradition hosting many events including IFSC World Cup and World Championships over the years. The last standalone event for Para Climbing in Arco was ten years ago when the Para Climbing Cup was held in 2014.

Sport Climbing in Arco has changed in that time with the venue, the Rock Master Climbing Stadium, having had some additions and changes to the buildings and structures, such is the popularity of the sport in the region.

One of the 172 athletes from 17 sport classes looking forward to competing at home is Chiara Cavina: “I'm very excited about this last World Cup of the season being in Italy; in fact, it was the World Cup I was looking forward the most to for all the season.”

The Italian continued: “It will be absolutely awesome to be with the whole Italian team, because among team-mates we cheer for each other a lot. In addition, competing in a legendary but also newly built structure like the Rock Master Stadium in front of our amazing home crowd, it's a unique experience that I am sure I'll cherish for a long time.”

Focusing specifically on her build-up to Arco Cavina said: “Training's looking good. I feel strong both mentally and physically and step by step the hard work is paying off. The level in my category is high and this pushes me to work even harder and improve over time.”

Cavina competes in the women’s RP2 sport class which is for climbers with ‘Limited Power, Range & Stability’. There are also categories for visually impaired, seated and limb deficient climbers – all with differing severities – competing in Arco.

Speaking of her goals in front of her home crowd Cavina said: “My main goal for the event is getting to finals. I'd of course like to win this competition, since as I said it's a pretty special event.

“I know my competitors are really strong climbers, but I also believe in my climbing skills. I think I can get a good result and, depending on the circumstances, anything can happen. I'd like to go home with a medal and the satisfaction of knowing I've given everything on the wall.”

All the climbers will start leaving everything on the wall from 11:00 local time (UTC+2:00) for qualification before the finals tomorrow (Saturday 28 September) which will be livestreamed on the IFSC YouTube channel, beginning at 16:00.

News and updates about all IFSC events will be available on the IFSC website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin and Weibo.