The 2020-2021 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour partnered by Outdoor Research, the biennial UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships and the Continental Cups will also be on the calendar alongside the World Cup.

Five events are currently set to make up the World Cup - starting with two Asian events in Changchun in China from January 8 to 10 and Cheongsong in South Korea from January 15 and 17.

Champagny-en-Vanoise in France is scheduled to come up next on January 22 to 24, followed by the World Championships in Saas-Fee in Switzerland the weekend after from January 28 to 30.

For the first time the combined discipline will be held as part of the World Championships alongside the regular lead and speed events.

The break for the World Championships will then be followed by the resumption of the World Cup in North America with a potential date in Montreal from February 12 to 14 and then closing in Kirov in Russia - home of the 2019 UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships - from March 5 to 7.

Another major event, the annual UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships, will be scheduled to take place in Tyumen - the first Russian settlement in Siberia - from February 26 to 28.

Continental competitions could be held in Asia, Europe and North America with new meets expected in Canada, The Netherlands and the United States.

This will now allow more athletes to start planning their seasons and adapt their career during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some dates in the calendar are provisional and will depend on the COVID-19 situation at the time with the UIAA following the advice of the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee.

"We are very happy with how the calendar has come together and the diversity of events," said UIAA sports events coordinator Rob Adie.

"Any season with the World Championships has extra lustre and we are delighted that our blue ribbon event is returning to Saas-Fee which always offers such a special atmosphere, especially for the finals. 

"We hope to provide athletes with a final confirmation regarding the calendar at the end of October and have exciting plans in place regarding live-streaming and expanding the reach of the sport."

It is hopedd that the 2020-2021 season will start on October 24 in Michigan in the US as part of the Ice Climbing Continental Cups.

Asia will host a Continental Cup event in Tehran Iran on February 5 and 6, while Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Liechtenstein and Finland will all host European events from November 21 in Bern through to February 20 in Oulu.

It has been stressed, though, that there is no plan B for the competitions, with the UIAA admitting that international travel could hinder the running of events, suggesting that regional events rather than a World Tour could be another option.

The next UIAA COVID-19 Crisis Consultation Taskforce meeting is scheduled for the second-half of September to further discuss the fate of events.

Those on the taskforce are: UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt; UIAA general secretary Lode Beckers, UIAA Executive Board member Mahmoud Hashemi; UIAA treasurer Peter Muir, Schweizer Alpen-Club President Françoise Jaquet and German Alpine Club President Josef Klenner - with both also being a part of the UIAA Management Committee.