The Inside Climbing Podcast

I am joined by Natalie Berry and Tyler Norton to talk about our experiences watching the first Pro Climbing League event.

We talk about the format and the effect on the routesetting, the show and our experience both in person and remotely. We compare it to IFSC/World Climbing events and discuss what World Climbing could take from the PCL.

Natalie Berry is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic Traveller UK, and New Lines Magazine. She was previously the editor at UK Climbing and a GB Climbing athlete. She won the British Lead National Championship in 2011.

Tyler Norton was the host of the Plastic Weekly podcast, a podcast with John Burgman focused on competition climbing before it stopped in March 2024.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:42) - Speed resetting
• (05:20) - Routesetting and the format
• (09:04) - Athlete interactions
• (16:20) - Racing/Execution format
• (23:11) - Changing the format
• (29:56) - Storytelling
• (35:46) - Experience at the venue
• (40:34) - What we liked about the event/format
• (46:24) - Prize money
• (50:57) - (Lack of) sponsored clothing
• (53:39) - Judging
• (57:04) - Athletes mics
• (58:57) - Michaela Kiersch's interviews
• (01:00:58) - What could the IFSC/World CLimbing take from the PCL event?
• (01:11:04) - Athlete numbers in World Cups and PCL
• (01:14:48) - Outro
• (01:15:08) - Aftershow

Links:
Natalie's Instagram
Plastic Weekly Archive
Pro Climbing League
Replay on Red Bull TV
Interview with Charlie and Danaan, founders of the Pro Climbing League

Support:
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