More About YWF

Young, Wild & Free (YWF) is a sport climbing competition for kids. First held in 2012, the series of events ran annually until 2019, and has seen many kids raise their climbing skills in a fun and friendly environment.

YWF was re-launched in 2025, continuing on its mission to provide a supportive and exciting platform for kids to test their climbing skills. We completed eight (8) events across the Philippines, and by the end of the season, reached over 100 unique climbers and over 100 technical crew members/volunteers, on top of families, school teams, and climbing enthusiasts.

​Through a special partnership with The North Face Cup, our 2025 overall champions participated in Japan’s longest-running bouldering competition, providing a fundamental experience as the kids progress in their climbing journey.

The Dream
Filipinos have been scaling walls since the early 90’s. We’ve had athletes join Asian-level events since 1998, World Cups since 2001, and has even won medals at the Southeast Asian Games (Gold in 2011 and Bronze in 2025, respectively). However, consistent representation at professional meets has been a challenge. Since Sport Climbing’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with a growing medal count at each participation, from Paris 2024, LA 2028 and up to Brisbane 2032, interest in the sport has significantly risen.

The Philippine Climbing Community is not exempt from this growing excitement; we dream to find our first Filipino Sport Climbing Olympian. Reviving YWF, targeting youth climbers and even kids as young as 6-8 years old, will help build this base of young Filipino climbers.

YWF Milestones

  • Ran for 8 Seasons (2012 to 2019) with a comeback in 2025
  • With participants and facility partners across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
  • Over 50 technical team members and volunteers
  • Affiliated with The TNF Cup, the longest-running bouldering competition in Japan
  • Tapping and developing the next generation of Filipino climbers
Picture
2015 Poster
Picture
2025 Poster