Kingdom Climbing Gym
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Specs: Kingdom Climbing Gym, a mixed-discipline gym with a focus on sport climbing, is planning to open in Siem Reap, a city in northwestern Cambodia, by the end of 2025, dependent upon funding. Founded and owned by Jen and James Festeryga, Kingdom Climb will be a ground-up build with 162 square meters (1,744 square feet) of floor space and 441 square meters (4,747 square feet) of climbing wall surface. Originally from Ontario, Canada, James and Jen have lived in Cambodia for almost four years and have a strong desire to increase the accessibility of the sport in the region, in addition to providing a place for the current and next generations of climbers to train. James stated there are currently six open climbing gyms in Cambodia with differing amenities and target audiences, one of which they own—Phnom Climb in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s largest city, located about a five-hour drive south of Siem Reap.
After moving to Siem Reap in October 2021, Jen and James did some research on climbing gyms in the city and found an outdoor wall, held down by sandbags and constructed of scaffolding. The scaffolding wall was put up by Japanese climbers in 2012 and has since grown and functioned as one of the only walls in town. While James said the wall was “really cool,” it had definitely begun to show its wear after about ten years of operation. Eventually, the lease for the property was up, and funding for the wall had come to a halt.
When the scaffolding wall closed in 2022, resources such as holds and hangboards were split between Seam Rorn and Sry Kimsroy, two heads of the sport in the city, who both pursued opening their own gyms. Seam Rorn owned property where a gym could be built, and he had the means to transport the scaffolding wall onto the land, but “we dreamed up bigger plans together,” James said. “I partnered with him and tried to help him build the facility, and then we ran into the issue that building a climbing gym is actually really expensive and takes a lot,” he added. James and Seam Rorn then had to make the hard decision to pause construction, starting a crowdfunding campaign for Kingdom Climb to see what would happen.
As it turned out, many climbers were interested in the project. “There are a lot of climbers in Siem Reap who want a gym to exist in their city,” James said. The team recruited Miriam Itin, a resident of Cambodia for over ten years, to be their general manager and a temporary fundraising coordinator after finding her approach aligned well with the team’s goals. “She has a real vision for underprivileged kids and people whose family situations don’t necessarily allow for them to do sports,” shared James. With Itin on board, the team is now raising money, hoping to finish building the gym and open by the end of the year.
An important component of Kingdom Climb’s vision is to increase the accessibility of climbing in their region. The management team is looking to partner with local schools and associations, as well as create sponsorship opportunities for children and athletes from overflow funding. “This is really in our heart and really important to us that it’s a mixed community. Everyone is welcome,” Itin said. “Also, we have in our heart to make it accessible for people with disabilities.” James mentioned that Cambodia has a history of accidents from land mines remaining from past wars; as a result, there are thousands of victims without the same opportunities as able-bodied Cambodians. He hopes to help those with disabilities to do more sports and become more integrated into the community.
Kingdom Climb will feature campus boards, hangboards, a semi-regulation 10-meter speed wall, and potentially a spray wall of some kind, in addition to auto belay, lead, top rope and bouldering climbing options. The multi-story facility will also have an entire floor for exercising, with yoga mats and weights, that’s being designed to support the gym’s goal of training and coaching kids. Many climbing holds are coming from the wall that closed down in 2022, which are older and used but still high quality, said James.
James and Jen have already invested $90,000 into the project and, at the time of the interview for this article, are looking to fundraise at least another $75,000 to finish basic construction needs, help with running a smooth operation, and fund youth scholarships. Kingdom Climb is still seeking donations; their main fundraising platform is on Khmer Care, and donations can also be made on Buymeacoffee.com or by scanning the QR code below. “I keep saying it, hoping one day it will be true: I would rather 5,000 people give $10 each than have to find 50 people who will give $1,000 each,” James said. “It seems so simple when you break it down like that.”
Walls: Owner/contractor
Flooring: Owner/contractor
CRM Software: BETA
Website: https://www.kingdomclimb.net/
Instagram: @Kingdom.Climb
In Their Words: “When I moved to Cambodia, I did not intend to be working with climbing gyms at all. I just Googled, ‘Where’s the climbing gym?’ because I like going to climbing gyms. So, it was just meeting the people and seeing the need and realizing, ‘Oh, this is where we fit.’ Because my wife and I, we want to work, we want to do things, but we didn’t want to take jobs that a local could or should be filling. So, it was just where we fit.” – James Festeryga, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Kingdom Climbing Gym
