UIAA project manager Sophie Gérard and youth commission President İsrafil Aşurlı were received at the ARISF headquarters in Lausanne by secretary general Riccardo Fraccari, who provided updates on his organisation's latest activities as well as its strategic plan for the coming years.

The UIAA representatives said they are working hard to promote their sports, particularly among youths, and revealed that it would launch its campaign for inclusion on the 2022 Games programme next year.

They also highlighted two major projects - a Lenin Peak climb and a Climbing Festival in Mongolia, which are being funded in part by an International Olympic Committee (IOC)/ARISF grant received this year.

The international governing body will be in Sochi 2014 to run a demo-zone in the Olympic Park that will give visitors the chance to try out the sports.

Ice climbing is hoping to launch a bid to join the Winter Olympics programme ©Getty Images

Ice climbing involves climbing through ice structures or formations.

These formations may be in the form of frozen waterfalls, icefalls, ice slabs or rocks covered with frozen water or ice, or artificial structures.

It is regarded as a competition sport and has its own World Cup circuit, promoted by the the Bern-based UIAA, including South Korea, Romania, Switzerland, France and Italy.

Sport climbing, which is organised by the International Federation of Sport Climbing, a separate organisation to the UIAA, had bid unsuccessfully for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

They had made the initial long list of seven sports but failed to advance to the final shortlist of three.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]