The International Federation of Sport Climbing has postponed its 2020 Plenary Assembly ©Getty Images

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has postponed its 2020 Plenary Assembly until November due to coronavirus.

Limassol in Cyprus was due to host the gathering between March 13 and 14 but a number of delegates had announced their intention not to travel.

New dates of between November 9 and 15 have been tentatively set following an IFSC Executive Board teleconference.

The delay to the meeting means it will take place after sport climbing's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

"This difficult decision comes after the IFSC HQ was notified with a number of withdrawals that have reduced the number of participants by more than 30 per cent so far, and as an inevitable consequence of the travelling restrictions that many countries have already applied," the IFSC said.

Marco Scolaris, the IFSC President, added: "The health and safety of our member federations' representatives is our main concern at the moment, and by taking this action we prevent any risk of quarantine that could have been applied to them if the Plenary Assembly had taken place.  

"Thanks to the tireless work of our office, we can guarantee that the loss contingencies caused by the postponement are under control.

The meeting will now take place after climbing's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images
The meeting will now take place after climbing's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

"I would like to take the opportunity to publicly thanks the Cyprus Mountaineering, Climbing and Orienteering Federation and its President, Mr Pavlos Georgiades, for being extremely cooperative all along this complicated process."

The IFSC were due to discuss preparations for Tokyo 2020 at the Assembly, as well as Dakar 2022 and Paris 2024.

A strategic plan for the governing body, stretching from 2020 to 2028, was also on the agenda.

Climbing has already been affected by the virus as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic test event has been scaled back and will not feature athletes.

Three competitions have been cancelled in China where the virus originated – the IFSC Asian Championships in Chongqing, and World Cups in Chongqing and Wujiang.

The IFSC sent 10,000 masks to China to help authorities deal with the crisis.

There have now been more than 95,000 cases around the world, and more than 3,200 deaths.

More than 80,000 of the cases are in China itself.

The International Olympic Committee has reiterated its commitment to hold Tokyo 2020 as planned.