Ep 2: Maya Witters - Former world cup judge on IFSC Controversies

That's Not Real Climbing

Maya is an outspoken IFSC volunteer + judge currently living in Japan who has helped out with world cups in Edinburgh, Morioka, and Hachioji. She has some great behind-the-scenes context into world cups, what team Japan is like behind the wall, and she has some spicy takes on the IFSC organization (even got blocked once by their social media)…

Guest links:

https://www.instagram.com/mayasounds

Reference links:

Japanese outdoor climbers Sachi Amma (@sachiamma) and team Rokdo (@rokdo_team)

Timestamps of discussion topics

0:00 - introduction

4:16 - why she got into volunteering

9:13 - how can other get involved in volunteering at world cups?

15:51 - downgrading Yoshiyuki for stepping on a bolt

18:02 - it’s not easy for Matt Groom

22:37 - getting blocked by IFSC on social media

25:17 - who is the IFSC?

28:20 - the IFSC’s PR problem

32:09 - has the Eurosport deal been positive?

37:22 - full time athletes and money troubles

41:28 - world cup prize money

43:43 - why does team Japan’s make-up vary so much year to year

48:04 - what makes team Japan so dominant?

54:35 - addressing routesetter flack

58:10 - how much experience do Japanese comp climbers have outdoors?

1:02:02 - thoughts on Chaehyun’s skipped clip controversy

1:08:39 - athlete quirks from isolation

1:13:33 - favorite athletes?

1:16:02 - English training for the Japanese youth team

1:18:54 - where has Kai Harada been?

1:20:07 - final thoughts, growing pains

1:23:27 - outro