Like any good event, the CWA Summit is dynamic. It changes from year to year in small but meaningful ways based on the feedback received from our community. As a member-based non-profit, this is your event. Because of this, the CWA works hard to meet the differing needs of all our members across the indoor climbing industry.

The first CWA Summit took place in Boulder, Colorado in April of 2007 with 175 people and 10 sponsors and exhibitors. The early days of the conference looked a lot different, with an expo hall on the pool deck of the Hotel Boulderado. Since then, the industry and the Summit have evolved to offer more sessions covering cutting-edge topics and a trade show hall with all of the industry’s latest and greatest product innovations.

The 2025 CWA Summit has the same great programming as previous years, but the schedule is a little different this year. There are exciting new opportunities to meet the diverse needs we’ve heard about in your feedback.

Let’s discuss the different aspects of the CWA Summit to understand what’s changing, and what’s not, about your beloved event.

Pre-Conferences and Certifications

The CWA has invested heavily in our certification offerings in the last four years. We’ve piloted new courses, created the Community Hub for digital learning, and moved Certification Summits around the U.S. and Canada to make them more accessible. This year, we’re offering the following certifications at the CWA Summit, many of which are new:

• Climbing Wall Instructor Provider
• Work at Height Level 1,2, and Provider
• Professional Routesetting Direct Entry

Pre-conference sessions have been a fixture of the CWA Summit in some capacity since its inception in 2007. Though they have fluctuated throughout the years, pre-conference sessions aim to provide attendees with more learning opportunities through a more in-depth and personal experience.

Pre-conference sessions are in-depth workshops that cannot be taught during the regular schedule. They are often held off-site so that people can do hands-on learning right in a climbing gym environment. Pre-conferences last a minimum of half a day—that’s more than double the length of a regular session!

The Pre-Conference lineup has been locked down! You can view in-depth descriptions of all Pre-Conferences on the CWA Summit website. We've listed them below for you, also:

• Indoor Ice Climbing: Drytooling and More
• An Experiential Approach to Climbing Programming
• Process Coaching for Optimal Athlete Performance
• Level Up: Designing Effective Climbing Training Programs
• Balancing Vision and Reality: A Strategic Approach to Building Projects
• 101 Climbing Games Preconference Workshop

Education Sessions:

For the past 10 years, we’ve had about 6 hours dedicated solely to breakout sessions and workshops, give or take 45 minutes each year.

In 2025, we’ll continue that same trend, with all of our education sessions happening on Thursday. We have also increased our education and networking time by adding community-driven sessions on Friday, known as Community Hub Sessions. These will take place exclusively on the Trade Show Floor.

“We have intentionally created these Community Hub spaces that serve as an alternative area for folks to gather, collaborate, meet up, and present ideas in a shorter fashion than a regular education session,” says Maddie Hodge, Events Coordinator for the CWA.

We introduced these community-driven sessions focused on the professional indoor climbing community’s needs at the 2024 CWA Summit. The Community Hub sessions can take many different shapes depending on the topics or ideas being presented

Trade Show Day & Connect Pass

The Trade Show has been a mainstay of the CWA Summit since its inception. It has expanded over the past four years, forcing the CWA out of the small venues in Colorado and into larger convention centers across the U.S.  The CWA Summit’s sponsors and suppliers represent the full spectrum of the industry, offering products and services from wall builders to hold manufacturers, gear makers, and more

“Our industry is growing fast thanks to the connections you can build on our Trade Show floor. The relationships you build today can help your business grow for years to come,” Tilde Bombardo, Membership Manager of the CWA, says.

This year, we've created the Connect Pass ticket. Connect Pass is a ticket to Friday-only, but it's way more than a day pass. The CWA continues to improve accessibility to all throughout the industry, and with this in mind, the ticket is only $75. As stated above, all programming on Friday, from Community Hub Sessions and the Closing Plenary, are available to attend Friday.

“Here at the CWA, we increase access, variety, and the chance to be a part of the indoor climbing industry in the best ways that fit our community.”

Purchase a Connect Pass for $75

If there’s something you want us to know, don’t be shy, this year’s changes come directly from the valuable feedback from CWA Summit attendees. We spent all summer as a team building the event based on expert guidance and feedback from our community. We will continue to adapt and improve the CWA Summit every year to meet the indoor climbing industry’s needs.

We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!