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!
In our last blog post, we wrote about some lessons we have learned in our work supporting indoor climbing gyms and program teams in designing staff training. One of the key takeaways from our work is the power of assessment in identifying needs, means of change, and progress. With limited... Continue Reading
As indoor climbing has grown in popularity, new indoor climbing gyms are popping up in areas one wouldn’t traditionally associate with rock climbing. Based in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Annie Richman and the rest of the Shaker Rocks team have built a modern indoor rock gym that... Continue Reading
Boulder, Colo., 11/14/2022 – The Climbing Wall Association (CWA) is proud to announce Kareemah Batts as the keynote speaker for the 2023 CWA Summit. Kareemah, a cancer survivor, para-climber, outdoor enthusiast, and an equity, and inclusion professional, will highlight the climbing... Continue Reading
Facilities have long been trying to answer the vexing question of why climbers make mistakes that can result in injury. Knowing this answer would go a long way in helping climbing gyms’ risk management programs and reduce incident rates. To help understand why mistakes happen, the CWA... Continue Reading
Peer Leadership Review: Your Tool for Management Success Since joining the indoor climbing industry as an operator in 2019, my stance has been unwavering that leadership pipeline creation and succession planning are among the biggest problems for the industry. This is most apparent for gyms... Continue Reading
Last May, the Access Fund and the CWA launched a dual membership program that is designed for indoor climbing gyms to have an easier time educating their climbers on how to transition into outdoor climbing. The Access Fund and CWA Dual Membership Program is a way for indoor climbing facilities to... Continue Reading
The CWA welcomes Matt Pucak as the newest member of the staff as the Manager of Communications and Member Engagement. Continue Reading
One of the most interesting sessions, for me at least, at the 2022 Climbing Wall Association Summit was the auto belay discussion between gym owners. The session was billed as a discussion of the mitigation of risk, and I think most of us were expecting hard statistics and clear guidelines, but... Continue Reading
“Why do you throw up sometimes?” I asked my sister on our way home from school. Silence hung in the air. “I don’t know.” She breathed. In my freshman year, there was often tension between us. I needed her to know that I cared about her and that I was a safe person to... Continue Reading
Climbing is used by many of us for myriad purposes: stress relief, physical activity, pure pleasure, and so much more. Recently, our sport has gained a lot of traction for its constructive potential for neurodivergent folks experiencing a broad range of symptoms. I chatted with Molly... Continue Reading
Imagine you’re stepping into the climbing gym for the first time. What are your first impressions? The way the staff greet you, the sounds and smells emanating from the facility, the height of the walls, and the feeling of space. Above all, many new indoor climbers notice and gravitate... Continue Reading
If you think of the indoor climbing industry on the timeline of an average human lifespan, I think we are probably at the tail end of puberty. Growth is booming, but there are thoughts that aspects are plateauing. The industry’s strength has increased exponentially, but there’s a long... Continue Reading
