Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) today signed an agreement with Jamshedpur Continuous Annealing and Processing Company Private Limited (JCAPCPL) for development of Sport Climbing.

The agreement was signed by Chanakya Chaudhary, Chairman, TSAF and Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel and Ujjal Chakraborty, Managing Director, JCAPCPL. The two organisations joined hands to nurture the budding athletes of the TSAF Sport Climbing Academy, develop the grass-root centres, foreign exposure and installation of modular climbing walls at feeder centres.

The signing ceremony which was organised in front of Bouldering Wall, TSAF office at JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur was attended by senior officials, academy cadets and children from Masti Ki Pathshalas and grassroot centers.

TSAF has played an instrumental role in the development of sport climbing in the country.  TSAF athletes are the current national champions and have represented the country at world and Asian youth championships. With support from Tata Steel Foundation, TSAF also started the first sport climbing residential academy in the country in 2020 and is building the robust grassroot development system.

Speaking on the occasion Chanakya Chaudhary said, “It is an important partnership to support and grow sport climbing at grassroot level. It shows the collective commitment of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation and JCAPCPL to provide opportunities and platforms for children to dream big and bring a positive difference in their life. By making sport climbing more accessible and widespread, it will be an additional venue for the children of local communities, especially those from marginalised & rural areas. Tata Steel Adventure Foundation, a not for profit trust, will continue working with partners to make resources available to the deserving athletes and take sport climbing to greater heights.”

Ujjal Chakraborti, Managing Director, JCAPCPL said, “As a part of our CSR initiative we wish to promote Climbing Sports for development of grassroot talent from underprivileged background, especially from Masti Ki Pathshala with whom JCAPCPL is associated since 2021. Consequently, the Company has partnered with Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) to support the cause of this Adventure Sport and prepare the young talents for the International Sporting arena.”

The TSAF Sport Climbing Academy is stitching together state-of-the-art facilities and sport science to develop elite athletes across the whole country to chase India’s Olympic dream. The academy is home to 11 national level athletes, 2 of whom have qualified for the Asian Games 2022. Over 8 of these athletes have participated in the previous editions of International championships. Their eyes are on the Olympic Games to be held at Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

With the signing of MOU, TSAF focuses on expanding the reach of grassroot development, scouting the talent pool to build the strong pipeline. The existing centers are in Pipla, Tumung, Dimna, Rajnagar, Pursudih, Bagunhathu and Tinplate. The best performing children will be trained in the academy. With two new climbing walls coming up at the center in accord with the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) guidelines, TSAF is also gearing up to host international championships at its facilities.