CWA and USAC Launch New Competition Advisory Committee
Boulder, Colo., Nov. 5, 2023 – The Climbing Wall Association (CWA) and USA Climbing (USAC) are excited to announce the formation of a joint committee to provide a method for indoor climbing gym operators to give feedback on hosted climbing competitions.
The new Competition Advisory Committee will provide advice on creating a sustainable competition climbing infrastructure satisfying the needs of indoor climbing facilities, competitors, volunteers, and the climbing industry at large.
The committee will not manage or work on specific competitions directly but will gather information and opinions to advise on the future of hosted climbing competitions.
The committee will be responsible for researching and understanding the climbing competition environment, developing and making recommendations regarding the needs of host facilities and supporting the sport of climbing. The committee will inform the USAC decision-making processes as it pertains to competitions that are hosted in climbing facilities.
Competition climbing is important to the indoor climbing industry and the sport of climbing as well. In addition to its core work, the committee will promote awareness of and public support for climbing competitions in North America.
The full duties of this committee will be:
- To monitor and survey the climbing industry on the current state of climbing competitions;
- To provide recommendations on optimizing competition structure in North America;
- To provide reports and feedback on the success of competitions to the boards of USAC and the CWA;
- To advise, educate, and develop resources to support competitive climbing in North America;
- To report to the Executive Directors of USAC and the CWA regarding any actions recommended by the Committee.;
- To perform such other duties as from time to time shall be requested by the Executive Directors of USAC and the CWA.
The initial committee will be composed of representatives from USAC and the CWA and up to five (5) climbing gym operators. Committee members will be recruited to represent the diversity of the indoor climbing industry in addition to representing the diversity of individuals. The initial members will be selected to represent different geographies, sizes of operations and competition-hosting experiences. The CWA encourages you to apply if you are interested in joining this committee. Members will be interviewed and accepted continuously until all spots are filled.
The first meeting of the new committee will happen before the end of the year, so applications are being accepted now. Help share the future of hosted competitions!
About the Climbing Wall Association (CWA)
The CWA is a not-for-profit (501c6) industry trade association serving the needs of commercial climbing facility owners and operators, manufacturers of climbing walls and climbing wall equipment, skilled professionals, and other key industry stakeholders. The Climbing Wall Association imagines a world where everyone has access to climbing walls and the work to achieve that mission is rooted in serving those that provide that access. As the indoor climbing industry grows, the CWA continues to lead in providing the resources necessary to nurture the sport of climbing and industry stakeholders that support it advocacy; the development of industry standards; publication of relevant industry news, data and analysis; facilitating certification and professional development programs; and producing community-building and educational events.
About the USAC:
USA Climbing is the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we promote the disciplines of Bouldering, Lead, and Speed climbing as well as the Collegiate and Paraclimbing series.
USA Climbing receives sanctioning and is recognized by:
The International Federation for Sport Climbing (IFSC)The International Olympic Committee (IOC)The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC)