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!
Turnover rates in any service industry are relatively high. One saving grace for indoor climbing gyms is that your employees are likely passionate individuals who truly care about climbing and want to make a positive impact. However, this also means staff may tolerate working conditions that are... Continue Reading
At the 2025 CWA Summit, we’re debuting a new concept: the Community Hub Live Meetups on Friday morning. These sessions are not like other Education Sessions. They are developed by people like you. And not just the universal you, but you, the person reading this. (In media, this is called... Continue Reading
Over the last few decades, indoor climbing gym facilities have evolved into spectacular spaces. If a climber from the 1990s traveled to the future and stepped into even the most modest of our modern-day climbing gyms, they’d likely pass out at the sight of it. Despite facility... Continue Reading
This article is brought to you by Catalyst Sports With more eyes on climbing than ever before, climbing competitions are one area of the indoor climbing industry that has exploded in popularity over the last few years. From recreational gym competitions, sanctioned youth and collegiate... Continue Reading
Rock climbing is what brings our indoor climbing gym communities together, and for good reason. Climbing is fun, challenging, fosters social interactions, trust building, healthy competition, and fitness. The sport’s popularity is snowballing in large part because of the inherently... Continue Reading
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... Continue Reading
What goes up, must eventually come down. If there is one law of physics that rock climbers are always acutely aware of, it is the law of gravity. This law also applies to chalk–a necessary evil for indoor rock climbing. Regardless of size, all indoor climbing gyms face the same problem... Continue Reading
Climbing facilities face various challenges, from consistent operations that keep up with industry trends to finding new ways to engage members. You may not realize that the CWA has a network of committees working behind the scenes to address the issues you deal with daily. These committees are... Continue Reading
As we read in Part 1, so much of what routesetters are responsible for impacts the experiences of competitive athletes training in the commercial gym space. Article At A Glance Writer: Andrew Carter Smith, Head Coach at Triangle Rock Club in North Carolina. He specializes in content... Continue Reading
This year, the Climbing Wall Association (CWA) and USA Climbing (USAC) formed the new Competition Advisory Committee, to include indoor climbing gym operators in discussions of the industry, the future of competition climbing, and how to strengthen collaboration. “It has been a pleasure... Continue Reading
As a former sprinter (in the sports of swimming and track and field), I am completely fascinated by the sport of speed climbing. Speed climbing is arguably the fastest race-based event between two or more humans. The current world record for men’s speed climbing is 4.74 seconds, and the... Continue Reading
Spire Climbing + Fitness, located an hour and a half drive from Yellowstone National Park, is nestled into the beautiful and outdoor-centric community of Bozeman, Montana. This indoor climbing gym decided to utilize its community to build exactly what its community needed. Through trial and... Continue Reading
