Brussels climbing gym cancels Youth Event over Israeli national representation dispute

Le camp de base, a climbing gym in Brussels, announced on 19 May 2026 that it will not host the final stage of the World Climbing Europe Youth Series scheduled for 30–31 May, citing the lack of a clear governance framework for Israeli national representation in light of ongoing international legal proceedings against Israel.

The newly built facility, Le camp avancé, was set to welcome young climbers from across Europe for the competition's final leg. But after months of unresolved discussions with World Climbing (formerly known as the International Federation of Sport Climbing, IFSC) and the Israeli Climbing Federation (ILCA), the gym said it could not provide its infrastructure or staff under the current conditions.

In a public statement, Le camp de base explained that it had proposed a compromise: allow Israeli athletes to compete, but without any visible national symbols. That would mean no Israeli flag, no national anthem, no official team shirts, and no national identifiers in rankings, livestream graphics, or podium protocols. The gym said that ILCA rejected the compromise on 19 May and insisted on full Israeli national representation.

"Our decision is not directed at Israeli athletes as individuals nor based on their nationality," the statement reads. "It is not the role of a venue owner to determine athlete eligibility. However, an official competition is also a space of representation. Athletes do not only compete as private individuals – they also represent a country, a federation, and a state."

Le camp de base pointed to two ongoing international legal frameworks: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings against Israel under the Genocide Convention, and the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, which found Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unlawful.

The gym argued that hosting the event with full Israeli national representation would, in that context, normalise such representation. "We cannot pretend that this representation is neutral," the statement said. "It is not."

Beyond the moral and governance issues, the gym cited operational reasons. A significant portion of its staff said they were not willing to work under the proposed conditions, making it impossible to guarantee safe staffing levels.

Security arrangements also remained unclear. The gym noted that during the IFSC European Cup held in the same facility in May 2025, private or embassy‑related security personnel had operated outside the official accreditation framework. No such assurances had been received for the upcoming event. Additionally, the gym said it had received credible reports of possible disruptions and, as the venue owner, had a duty to protect its infrastructure.

Le camp de base said it had raised the issue with the Belgian Climbing Federation (CMBel) and World Climbing for months. A discussion on national representation was planned for the World Climbing General Assembly on 23 April 2026, but this was postponed until July due to internal governance processes.

The gym called on World Climbing to adopt a clear, coherent, and public position in July or earlier, and urged federations and host venues not to treat such questions as secondary.

"We would have preferred to host a competition within a clear, fair and accountable framework," the statement concluded. "That framework does not exist today. Under these conditions, Le camp de base cannot make its climbing gym, infrastructure and staff available for the World Climbing Europe Youth Series 2026 in Brussels."

The gym emphasised that it is not refusing to host World Climbing events as such. If, after the July Executive Board vote, World Climbing adopts a framework consistent with the gym’s repeated requests, Le camp de base remains willing to host future competitions under clear, coherent, and acceptable conditions.

 

 

 

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