From 20 January to 24 January, the PROZAP climbing event, also known as the Asian Climbing Cup, took place in Ho Chi Minh City. It brought together 124 climbers from the region.

An experience filled with new discoveries

Three teams from Hong Kong FIS participated: one from middle school and two from high school. Most of the students were experiencing this type of international competition for the first time. This was a double novelty, as many had only started climbing since September.

In addition to the sporting competition, this Zone Asia-Pacific project (PROZAP) was an opportunity for wonderful cultural discoveries. The students stayed with host families, went on a boat trip to discover another side of the city, and participated in an urban orienteering race in the bustling Cho Lon district, just a few days before Tết (Lunar New Year).

From a sporting perspective, after a necessary adjustment period for some during the first day (the highest part of the climbing wall reached 16 meters, more than twice the height of our wall at Jardine's!), our students demonstrated excellent qualities. Our middle schoolers managed to raise their level on the second day, competing with the teams that were ahead of them in the rankings, while our high schoolers comfortably settled in the middle of the pack (Team 1) or just behind for Team 2.

Thursday, January 23rd, the day of the finals and the final rankings, will remain a testament to our progress.

Our FIS middle school team scored as many, if not more, points than many teams, but the delay accumulated on the first day left them in 17th place. Our high school Team 1 managed the end of their competition perfectly, maintaining their 8th place. As for Team 2, they performed well and managed to overtake Ho Chi Minh in the final moments, climbing up to 10th place.

Beyond these results, what will be remembered by all, I believe, are the progress made, the experience gained, and the great moments shared together.

Congratulations to Malo Faure, Minami Fujisaki, Chloé Tang, and Tesnim Triki from the middle school, and to Maxime Boulay, Arthur Schindler, Elouan Barbarella, Ethan Mang, Noémie Pace, and Alma Schwab, our high school students!