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The Climbing Wall Association's blog is a place for indoor climbing professionals to find useful and relevant information from industry and business experts. Stay on top of best practices, thought leadership, and trends by subscribing to our newsletter!

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Boost Your Setting Team's Creativity with These 5 Exercises
Boost Your Setting Team's Creativity with These 5 Exercises

A participant competes in a 'dyno' competition at The Crag Nashville. Photo by Kyle Somers. New climbers frequently ask my team, “Hey, how do you guys know where to put the pieces?” There’s also “Hey, are you just making it up or do you draw a map?” And my personal... Continue Reading

Date posted10/18/2021


10 Tips to Merchandise Your Retail Shop
10 Tips to Merchandise Your Retail Shop

A key component to having a successful retail operation is how you merchandise your store. Merchandising is the art of laying out your store and making your store shoppable while thinking about how it looks to your customers. Of course, your shop should look neat and clean, but most importantly... Continue Reading

Postedby Todd McCormick
Date posted10/12/2021


CWA Now Offering Canadian Insurance
CWA Now Offering Canadian Insurance

The Climbing Wall Association is excited to announce that ClimbInsure has been selected as our partner in Canada to create the first insurance program designed for Canadian climbing facilities. This partnership will help support the industry’s long-term goals of increasing access to... Continue Reading

Date posted10/5/2021


Commercial Gyms Need Chief Routesetters
Commercial Gyms Need Chief Routesetters

USA Climbing athletes compete in the IFSC World Cup in Salt Lake City in May 2021. It’s hard to make someone do something exactly the way you want them to. People like to simplify things, even if in the end they’re making it harder on themselves. At least, that’s what chief... Continue Reading

Postedby Jake Byk
Date posted10/4/2021


Monument Sports Group Adds New Hire
Monument Sports Group Adds New Hire

The CWA's exclusive US insurance partner, Monument Sports, is excited to announce the hiring of Rebecca Bennett as their Claims and Risk Management Manager. Rebecca brings with her over 15 years of insurance claims handling experience. During her time at Markel Insurance Company and James River... Continue Reading

Date posted09/30/2021


(Route)Setting Good Standards: Prevent Burnout, Support Your Team
(Route)Setting Good Standards: Prevent Burnout, Support Your Team

In many industries, especially during the pandemic years, there has been a big focus on employee wellness programs to decrease mental stress, increase physical activity, and improve overall morale in the workplace. In routesetting, while there has definitely been improvement in what gyms offer... Continue Reading

Date posted09/20/2021


Member Spotlight: ABC Kids Climbing - An Olympic Gym
Member Spotlight: ABC Kids Climbing - An Olympic Gym

ABC Kids Climbing in Boulder, Colorado, has built something truly special. It was the first, and to date, the largest climbing gym dedicated to training youth athletes. It also trained two of the four Olympians on Team USA who competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games. The gym started inside the... Continue Reading

Postedby Jake Byk
Date posted09/15/2021


CWA Team Adds Membership Coordinator
CWA Team Adds Membership Coordinator

Please join the CWA in welcoming the newest addition to our growing team – Quinn Gordon, our membership coordinator. Quinn (he/him) has spent much of his professional experience in the public sector, working for local, state, and federal governmental entities. In each of these roles, he... Continue Reading

Postedby Jake Byk
Date posted09/8/2021


Learn Some Rock Gym Pro-gramming Tips
Learn Some Rock Gym Pro-gramming Tips

Now that climbing is an Olympic event, many new and returning climbers are eager to get involved in instruction and youth programs! Since Rock Gym Pro is the primary operating software for many climbing gyms across the country, let's dive into the following functions to help build and organize... Continue Reading

Date posted08/31/2021


Coaches: Here’s A Climbing Game That Invents Itself
Coaches: Here’s A Climbing Game That Invents Itself

Creating new games and activities for a climbing program re-energizes participants, coaches, and brings a creative experience to climbing skills. It gives coaches new activities that they can use throughout the season with their teams, sparking creative thinking and group bonding. The... Continue Reading

Date posted08/20/2021


Your Team Is More Valuable Than You Think
Your Team Is More Valuable Than You Think

Nelli Crofts' designed hoodie for sale inside Momentum Indoor Climbing in Sandy, Utah. If you walk into the Momentum Indoor Climbing Sandy gym near Salt Lake City, you’ll notice a rack of apparel items for sale near the front desk. It caught my eye immediately – the material looked... Continue Reading

Postedby Jake Byk
Date posted08/20/2021


What the Supply Chain Crunch Means for Your Gym's Retail Shop
What the Supply Chain Crunch Means for Your Gym's Retail Shop

Running a successful retail shop in typical times takes some planning, foresight, and organization. A year and a half into a pandemic, that job has gotten a bit trickier. Here's why... When gyms shut down (and restrictions were placed on brick-and-mortar stores) for several weeks, or in some... Continue Reading

Postedby Todd McCormick
Date posted08/10/2021