Team Austria

DM:  Anna and Kilian, are you guys both sponsored by the Austrian Army, as well?

AS:  Yep, we are.

DM:  That’s a foreign concept.  And they’re like your most important sponsor, is that right?  Can you talk a little bit about that?

AS:  Basically, the Army just sponsors us and it’s like our job.  So, we have a 40 hour week.  We go there each morning when we’re at home.  We go there at 7:30, say “good morning.”  We have to give them our weekly plan, what we are doing, like the training plan.  And whenever we go on a competition or on a trip like this, it’s a free trip.  It’s not a free trip, but we get the time…we can go on the trip.

KF:  So, we are actually working right now.

AS:  Yep.

KF:  We don’t have our guns with us, but we are working.  [laughter]

MB:  So, when you show up at 7:30 in the morning, do you have to be wearing a uniform?

AS:  No.  No uniform.

DM:  Just La Sportivas.  [laughter]  Do you have to sign a contract with the Army, for a specified time?

KF:  Yeah, it’s a special thing.  The Germans have it and the Austrians have it.  It’s a special department just for sportsmen.  We’re there usually with only Olympic sports people.  Anna, me, and another climber are the only athletes who are not Olympic but still can join the Army.  They pay us, we are insured there, we are getting paid a pension, and we can do whatever we want.  That’s the good thing.  It’s not a lot of money, but…

DM:  Good for ya’ll.  That’s fascinating.

CF:  You guys could ask Cody what’s the difference between the American support system and the Austrian support system.

CR:  Not just in Austria, but in Europe in general, particularly in Austria, there’s a lot more social infrastructure for sport.  There’s a national sports council in Austria, and from that national sports council they recognize competitive climbing as a sport.  Through that there’s funding, like the alpine club in Austria.  Pretty much everybody in Austria is a member of the alpine club.  The alpine club has more members than the soccer clubs have.  You get helicopter insurance…you know, people who are hiking, people who are skiing.  It’s a country in the middle of the Alps – everybody belongs to it.  So, you have that social infrastructure that supports things like competitive climbing.  Someone like Kilian and Anna, when they are winning the World Cup, it’s in the newspaper.  It’s on the radio.  It’s something that has a lot of exposure.  That’s the advantage…Austria only has eight million people, a strong economy.  That’s the advantage of having the autonomy of being a small country that is in the mountains.  Skiing is a huge sport in Austria, as well.  Basically, competition climbing I would say is kind of following the model of ski racing.

DM:  Which is a good model…the best model to follow in Austria.

CR:  Economically speaking, yeah.  If you compare it to what the Americans get; to be a competitive climber if you’re from America, it has to be your 100 percent passion, otherwise it’s not worth it.

CF:  If you look at the rankings from most any competition, but especially the recent world championships in Arco and Italy, for sure the Austrian support mechanism is the most effective.  You can argue if it’s the best or the worst, but I think in the women’s lead competition, what was it, five out of six?

AS:  Five out of eight.

CF:  Five out of eight of the top places were Austrian in the women’s division.  In the men’s it wasn’t quite so staggering.  But, the Austrians, they all wear a purple uniform when they compete, and in a place like Arco… [Kilian is laughing about the uniforms]  Well, it is what it is, Kilian.  They’ll be walking through the streets and it’s like a purple wave.  It’s almost the same when it’s time to give the awards.  There are just purple jerseys popping up everywhere.  In addition to having really talented climbers, the system they have in place is really impressive.

DM:  It would seem the system would breed the climbers.  Out of a country with only eight million people, to have that much success, it seems if you ask the “chicken or the egg” question, it’s the system that’s producing…

CF:  Yeah, and it’s the geography.  Austria is near the Alps and it’s the history and the culture.  Climbing’s a big-time sport in Austria.  And it’s been fun for me to go and document.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was with Kilian and Anna when they won the World Cup in Munich, and immediately after we went to this huge interview.  They were on a sports TV show, where the TV show covers things like Formula One and soccer news.  So, right in between these huge, popular sports you have climbing.  In America, climbing is always random adrenaline addicts on a desert tower and you never get any real news.

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>>> Ostatak interviewa: ode