Competition Keeps Us Honest – CBJ Podcast with Gavin Heverly

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June 28, 2024

Today’s guest is Gavin Heverly, consultant and founder of Rise Above Consulting. Gavin has been working in and around climbing gyms since the late 90s, helping grow gym communities of all sizes, from mom-and-pops businesses to multi-market gym chains. Over his two decades of managing climbing gyms, he’s become an expert in scaling, people operations, program development, risk management, and much more. Our conversation today centers on market saturation, differentiation, professionalism, and outdoor impacts as climbing grows. Thank you OnSite for your support! And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro 03:00 – Gavin’s background 08:33 – Gavin’s favorite job position 10:01 – Evolution of the GM in gyms 12:28 – New professionalism of the industry 15:20 – Negative changes in the industry 18:40 – Is the market saturated? 21:52 – Getting ready for competition 32:47 – Gatekeeping 35:58 – Diversification in the industry 41:38 – Accessibility and membership pricing 48:45 – Stewarding the sport 57:28 – Making a career in the indoor climbing industry 01:03:33 – Gavin’s contact info 01:04:40 – Closing

Abridged Transcript

RENNAK: …You’ve had just about every job under the sun in a climbing gym. What part lit your fire? We always want to progress in our career and make more money. But if that was not a factor, what job would you have? Where was the real joy?

HEVERLY: That’s a great question. I will say, I honestly really enjoy being a general manager, gym manager, or whatever the title might be, depending on who you’re talking to. It gets you close enough to being boots on the ground, really understanding what’s happening in the business, really close to the transactional level and the customer service level of the business, but still in a leadership role, which is just where my proclivity is and I happen to thrive…It’s such a dynamic role, a critical and key role to the success of the business. And it’s just a lot of fun…

Since you’ve been doing that role for over two decades now, can you speak to how the general manager role has evolved?

…I think there’s some brass tacks of running climbing facilities that, unless something super wild changes, are just going to exist. Things like customer service, things like building a staff schedule, things like keeping your gym clean, things like risk management. All of those things, while each of them have maybe evolved from a customer expectation standpoint over the years, they are things that good general managers are going to have to be able to be competent in managing…Those are functions of the job that I think have just carried through, even if maybe technology around those things has changed. Things that have evolved quite a bit, I think, is generally the level of expectation around climbing gyms. If you’re a general manager it’s the level of business, even perhaps the skillset that you need to have, the level of staff that you are managing, the amount of revenue and operating expenses you may manage. 30 years ago, these were probably pretty different from what’s happening today. I think gym managers and general managers today, generally speaking, are probably a slightly more professional breed…I think there’s been an evolution and sort of expectation of professionalism, things like managing sales, being more involved in marketing, things like that.

You speak to the new professionalism that’s taken over our industry. Is there a downside to that? I’m just curious. A lot of people talk about…how the soul has been crushed out of climbing, and that our culture is somehow being compromised in the process of this growth and professionalism. Anything you’d speak to on that?

Yeah, I think that’s a good question. I want to say first how I define culture. I define culture as values plus behavior. That to me is what equals culture, especially in a business sense or even in a community sense…I think it’s hard to say that because private equity money is coming into the industry, or because a gym chain buys another gym chain, that it’s just by default going to be bad for culture. I once had a conversation with a longtime, good friend of mine about how, “You have to support the small businessman. You’re going to ruin culture and you’re going to ruin communities if you don’t support the little guy.” And while I understand the sentiment behind that, if everybody supported the little guy, guess what the little guy would become? The little guy would become the big guy because that’s just the way that it works. And so, it’s not necessarily about whether or not you’re the little guy or the big guy or the person with the MBA or a tattooed punk rock dude like me. Those things aren’t what matter. What matters is what are your values and is your business operationalizing and living those values… And so, when I hear articles about how corporate climbing gyms are crushing the spirit of climbing, I just don’t personally agree with it. I think there are probably some corporate climbing gyms that are ruining climbing, and there are probably some tiny 6,000-square-foot gyms, owned by one person, that are also ruining climbing. I don’t think it has to do with size or how a company is funded that’s ruining the culture of climbing in our industry. I just don’t think that that’s the obvious thread.

Values plus behavior. That can come in any size.

That’s exactly right. I don’t think there’s inherent positives or negatives to focusing on sales or focusing on revenue or not focusing on those things. It’s about whether or not you do what you say, you say what you mean, and are your values and principles operationalized in your business.

Gavin Heverly leading a strategic planning session — Heverly has been working and consulting in the industry for decades and encourages gym teams to explore diversification at every level, from programming to staff and climber demographics. “We just need to lead the way to a better future for the sport,” he says. (All photos courtesy of Gavin Heverly)

…Let’s pivot. Where is the future growth going to come from? As we’re popping the new gyms up, where are all these climbers coming from? How do we maintain that? …Are we saturated? That’s a trigger word in our industry right now. But are we?

I mean, look, I kind of hate this topic. And it always comes up…The bottom line is, I hate to say it to everybody that doesn’t believe it, our industry is just not saturated at all. It’s just not. It’s hard to get really good, up-to-date data on some of this stuff. But what I can find tells me that there’s something like 200,000 commercial fitness gyms worldwide…And I think, based on the CBJ data, there’s something like less than 20,000 climbing gyms worldwide. And so, there’s so much opportunity. You’re talking about less than 10% of the saturation you see in other fitness areas. So, I don’t believe that the industry is saturated in any way, shape, or form. And I think that owners have to, and prospective owners and current owners that are looking to scale, really have to think about what is the actual opportunity, and about how they are going to execute on it and sort of diversify themselves… What I tell people all the time is, look, Starbucks isn’t stopping anybody from opening a cafe. You know what I’m saying? This industry is on a tear. Investors are sniffing around. I’ve been asked to talk about this with the Wall Street Journal, and with the BBC podcast that you and I were just in recently. The industry’s on a tear. It’s only going to keep growing. That will cap out at some point, but we’re just not saturated right now. We’re just not. People who are saying that are honestly not thinking creatively enough about how to continue to grow the industry.

A lot of times a small business will feel saturation because someone opens nearby and it puts some pressure on them. They say, “Oh, well, now we’re saturated. A bunch of my staff just got recruited over to this new gym, and I lost some membership to them.” Actually, that was my entrance to the industry. In the nineties that had already happened in Cincinnati, Ohio; a big gym opened down the street and put pressure on the little gym. But we survived. The gym that I took over is actually still there…So when you say that saturation is not even on the horizon, I kind of agree. One of my messages when I talk to these gyms is you’ve got to get ready for this. If it’s not today, it’s tomorrow. How do you get yourself ready for that competition, and how do you weather the—it’s a bit of a storm when it first happens. Would you speak to that a little bit? …What would you say to the incumbent? The gym that had the empty market for a while?

…You mentioned my career at Brooklyn Boulders earlier, which, as you can imagine, was tumultuous. But like you said, I was early on, and saw that whole life cycle of being the new gym chain that’s doing exciting things, coming into cities, doing something new. Maybe the brand that was making other people worry. Then towards the end, being the brand that was a little bit worried, because we had competition coming in Chicago, we had competition coming in Boston, competition coming in Brooklyn where you could literally walk out the door and throw a softball at the facility that had just opened. Literally. So, you know, I’ve seen the whole lifecycle of that, and I have clients now that are in a really strong and good strategic position because they’re first to market in a market. And I have clients that also have a slightly different strong strategic position because they’re second to market and get to learn about what’s working and what’s not working in the market. So, I would say being first to market is not necessarily the only way to win. There’s literally something in business called second mover advantage. And second mover advantage gives you the ability to look and see, “Hey, what did this brand do? What did they do well? What’s resonating with this market? …So, if you’re a gym and you are sitting around right now and you’re not thinking about the fact that competition is coming, I would really encourage you to do so. Because the thing that I like about competition is that it keeps us honest. Competition keeps us honest. Right? If there’s no competition for your business, you can get really lazy, you can get really apathetic. Just bad stuff can happen. Customer service maybe doesn’t have to be good. The thing I always compare it to is the $12 banana at the airport because there’s no competition. You go into the airport and want to buy a banana, and they’re like, “$12.” And you look at them and say, “Are you kidding me?” And they’re like, “Yeah, screw you. What are you going to do? Going to leave and go buy a banana somewhere else? No.” So you pay $12 for the banana. A lot of brands that don’t have competition today are maybe operating a little bit in that $12 banana space…

On the flip side of that, in every town I’ve ever lived in, and every town I’ve ever been to, you can probably think of where there’s car dealerships. Plural. Right? They’re next door to each other, literally, and across the street from each other. And they’re all still selling cars, you know? So, I don’t think that saturation is necessarily a bad thing… That was a little abstract about just how I think about these problems, so I’ll be more direct about the things that owners have got to start thinking about right now…During a BBC interview I was recently asked, “What’s the next big sort of innovation or thing that’s going to help the industry grow?” And I said, “Sales.” And she was like, “What do you mean?” And I said “Sales. It’s sales.” I think she was expecting me to talk about tech or light-up holds or, I don’t know, whatever. And it’s not. It’s sales. The challenge that most gym owners are facing right now is that opening your door and turning on the lights isn’t going to cut it anymore. Just having a gym and opening the door and being like, “Okay hopefully people show up. We post on Instagram.” That’s not going to work anymore. The fitness industry became the beast that it is today by recognizing this early on, and developing impressive data mining and sales strategies to grow, to get strategic control of their revenue. And I have a lot of clients, some of whom are decades into their businesses of running climbing gyms, and they’re just now working with me on developing sustainable ways to take strategic control over their revenue. And so, if you’re listening to this and you own a climbing gym—whether you have twelve of them or one of them or anything in between—if you’re worried about saturation, if you’re worried about competition, you’ve got to start building sustainable strategies to take strategic control over your revenue. And then the second one is going to be, there has to be diversification of offerings in our industry. This is where I think the growth is going to come from, and why I’m not worried about saturation whatsoever. So, I’m sitting in Denver, Colorado, and in 20 minutes from my house, I bet there’s 40 fitness offerings that I could go to, from yoga to Pilates to CrossFit to huge 100,000-square-foot Lifetime Fitness, to everything in between. And so if we think about this perspective for climbing, I think diversification of offerings is where things have to go. I’ll say a little bit more about that. Everybody wants to build a full-service gym or a bouldering gym. When we say full-service in our industry, we mean we’ve got top roping, we’ve got lead climbing, maybe we’ve got auto belays, we’ve got bouldering, etc. There’s usually then some fitness, and there’s youth programming, and all these things. And then the only other real option out there today, for the most part, is a bouldering gym. No rope walls. And these two offerings, honestly, are already getting a little bit tired, in my opinion. That these are the only two options. What I would really love to see is someone doing something really unique… If we want to really grow and if we want to get to saturation—which, like you said, is not even on the horizon yet, it’s just not there—we need to stop trying to be everything to everyone. Right? Figure out what you can be the best in the world at and go do that thing better than anyone else. ABC in Boulder, Colorado, is a good example. Most people know the ABC gym. It’s a very specific niche they identified early on, and they’re executing on that. And they’re not trying to be something else; they’re trying to be that thing. So, I just want to see climbing gyms that are like Chuck E. Cheeses that are just pure fun for kids and families to introduce people to climbing. I want to see gyms that find some specific aspect of our sport that they can make viable business out of. Everyone’s trying to get a slice of the pie. Very, very few people are out there trying to make their own pies. And that’s my pitch.

…Maybe I’m asking the useless question because you work with too many clients, but do you see something else? What’s the cutting edge of the innovation in terms of diversification that you see?

Yeah, I would say I’m NDA’d up on a couple of projects that I can’t talk about, but I think that we’re going to continue to see that diversification. And I’ll just reference the fitness world again. Right? There’s SoulCycle, where they do one thing. They specialize in stationary bicycle fitness experience. And then there’s, on the other end of that, maybe like Equinox or Planet Fitness or Lifetime Fitness that do everything. What we need to see in our industry is who’s going to be like Soulcycle or CrossFit or Pilates or yoga, taking a very specific aspect of what climbing might mean, or one interpretation of what climbing might mean…Who’s doing that? That’s what I want to see, more people doing that, because that’s where we’re really going to see the growth. Because honestly, even from a real estate perspective, at some point the 50,000-square-foot gyms are just going to be tapped out. Do you know what I mean? Just from a straight real estate strategy, there’s only so many places you can drop one of those and then also have it be financially viable—meaning enough members, enough revenue, and all of those things. You’re not going to be able to go build a 50,000-square-foot gym in rural towns. Those work in big metropolitan centers where you can have, you know, two or three thousand members… I would encourage anybody that’s listening, go out and find what your unique [thing] is. What’s the thing that you can be best in the world at and deliver on it. Because at the end of the day, sometimes when you try to be everything to everybody, you end up being nothing, right? You end up not talking to anybody…

Climb Insider: we know who’s going to Paris

Insider News

Climbing Business Journal

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June 27, 2024

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Just a few thoughts

It’s gonna be hard to focus on much else this next month. Yes, we need to run our gyms, continue building our new ones, take care of our staff and customers, and all that. But… climbing’s second Summer Olympic appearance is nearly here. The last qualifier in Budapest was awesome, with household names earning their ticket like Brooke Raboutou, Adam Ondra, and Alex Megos. Who’s gonna get gold? See The Freshest Job Posts Here

Community & Culture

Climb Like a Girl – Getting Your Start in This Male-Dominated Sport (Katharine Vaughan, Rockstar Volumes)
Sometimes, Buying a Threatened Crag Is the Only Way to Save It (Access Fund)
The 10 Essentials of Gym Climbing (Matt Samet, Outside)

Paris 2024

Video: Did the biggest names make it to Paris 2024? (UK Climbing)
Video: The Climber That Pushed Olympic Qualifiers To The Wire (EpicTV)
Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest – Report (Xa White, UK Climbing)
Complete list of the 34 male and female climbers who will go to Paris 2024 (Desnivel)
Youth Athletes Test Paris 2024 Climbing Walls (IFSC)

Athlete Highlights

Podcast: Jesse Grupper – Comp Climbing, Training, & His Relentless Positivity (TrainingBeta)
Janja Garnbret & Brooke Raboutou – progress through fun (Slovenian Tourist Board)
Video: Miho Nonaka – Japan’s Iconic Olympic Climber (adidas)

Comp Scene

Aug 23-24: Climb Festival New York City (The North Face)
How To Watch the IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup Innsbruck 2024 (USAC)
Para Climbing Approved for LA28 (USAC)
Video: Para Climbing in finals focus – Innsbruck 2024 (IFSC)

For Gym Staff & Managers

Community Building In Indoor Climbing Gyms – Part 3 – Youth (Bix Firer, CWA)
Chief Routesetting A USA Climbing Comp (Hayley Moran, CWA)
How Can You Drive Member Revenue? (Gavin Heverly, Rise Above Consulting)
Video: Building Projects Don’t Create A “Community” Just Because You We Say So (Chris Ryan Studio)

Training Tips

Muscular Endurance Training. What Does Pump Mean? (Dr. Tyler Nelson, Camp 4 Human Performance)
Improve your climbing technique with the Constraint-Led Approach (Lattice Training)
Pro Tips For Climbing Ridiculously Fast (Head Rush Technologies)

Head Coaching for Team ABC – Climbing Jobs Weekly 2024 June 27

Climbing Jobs Weekly

Climbing Business Journal

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June 27, 2024

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CBJ hosts the most active job board for climbing businesses and organizations. Below are the latest posts from this past week…

Head Coach ABC Kids Climbing Boulder, CO “The Team ABC Head Coach (HC) works closely with the Team ABC Director and the company Leadership Team to lead, mentor, develop and inspire a talented staff of Team ABC Coaches, a robust climbing team of ABC youth athletes and a diverse community of ABC children and families. The Head Coach proactively oversees, organizes, trains, and supports Foundational, Exploratory, and Select team programs, coaches and athletes. This person also instills, upholds, and evolves Team ABC philosophies, principles, and standards while personifying a healthy climbing team and company culture.”

JOB SEEKER TIPS:

Show Multiple Positions at the Same Company on a Resume By Matthew Zane “To show multiple positions that you have held while at the same company, you can either stack your entries, split them, put them in the prior experience section, or put them in the reverse-chronological format. If you have been at the company for a while and have moved up pretty far, you may not need to include as many entry-level positions.” Read the full article here

LATEST JOB OPENINGS

See all current jobs // Post your job FT = full time PT = part time

RECENT/TOP JOB POSTS AT CBJ	LOCATION	TYPE
Operations Supervisor at Alta Boulders	Chandler, AZ	FT – front desk
Head Coach at ABC Kids	Boulder, CO	FT – coach
Youth Programs Coordinator at Ascent	Fort Collins, CO	FT – manager
Head Routesetter at Metrorock	Boston, MA	FT – routesetter
Marketing Manager at Climb So iLL	St. Louis, MO	FT – mktg/sales
Head Coach/Team Manager at Spire	Bozeman, MT	FT – coach, manager
Level 2 Coach at Mesa Rim	Reno, NV	PT – coach
Assistant Coach at Multnomah Athletic Club	Portland, OR	FT – coach
Installation and Repair Technician at Walltopia	Pittsburgh, PA	FT – manufacturing
Assistant General Manager at The Climb	Nashville, TN	FT – manager
General Manager at Bouldering Project	Austin, TX	FT – manager
Routesetter at Bouldering Project	Austin, TX	FT – routesetter
Traveling Carpenter at Vertical Solutions	Salt Lake City, UT	FT – other
Youth Programs Director at Edgeworks	Bellevue, Seattle, Tacoma, WA	FT – manager
Head Routesetter at Half Moon	Seattle, WA	FT – routesetter
Gym Manager at Uplift	Seattle/Shoreline, WA	FT – manager

Career Centers of Climbing Industry

	NAME	CAREER PAGE	TYPE	LOCATION
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/access-fund.png	Access Fund	https://www.accessfund.org/about/careers	organization	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/wi-adventure-rock.png	Adventure Rock	https://adventurerock.com/jobs/	facility	USA - WI
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-alpine.png	Alpine Climbing Adventure Fitness	https://climbatalpine.com/about/careers/	facility	USA - CA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/american-alpine-club.png	American Alpine Club	https://americanalpineclub.org/jobs	organization	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/pa-ascend.png	ASCEND Climbing	https://www.ascendclimbing.com/ascend-jobs	facility	USA - OH, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-ascent-studio.png	Ascent Studio	https://ascentstudio.com/employment/	facility	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/bouldering-project-1.png	Bouldering Project (pick location)	https://boulderingproject.com/	facility	USA - MN, TX, UT, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ab-calgary-climbing-centre.jpg	Calgary Climbing Centre	https://calgaryclimbing.com/employment/	facility	Canada - AB
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/central-rock-gym-1.png	Central Rock Gym	https://centralrockgym.com/careers/	facility	USA - CT, FL, MA, NY, RI
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/eldorado-wall-company.png	Eldorado Climbing	https://eldowalls.com/pages/careers	product	USA - CO - Louisville
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/entre-prises.png	EP Climbing	https://epclimbing.com/na/en/ep-usa-careers	product	USA - OR - Bend
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/everlast.png	Everlast / Kumiki / Groperz / eXpression	https://everlastclimbing.com/pages/careers	product	USA - MN
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/il-first-ascent.png	FA Climbing	https://faclimbing.com/careers/	facility	USA - IL, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/on-guelph-grotto.png	Guelph Grotto	https://www.guelphgrotto.com/careers	facility	Canada - ON - Guelph
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/head-rush.png	Head Rush Technologies // TRUBLUE	https://trublueclimbing.com/about/careers	product	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tn-high-point.png	High Point Climbing & Fitness	https://www.highpointclimbing.com/employment	facility	USA - AL, TN
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/impact.png	IMPACT	https://impactclimbing.com/careers/	product	Canada - ON - Milton
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/on-junction.png	Junction Climbing Centre	https://www.junctionclimbing.com/employment-opportunities	facility	Canada - ON - London
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ma-metrorock.png	MetroRock	https://metrorock.com/	facility	USA - MA, NY, VT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/momentum-1.png	Momentum	https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/df699b76-9e67-4daa-9236-27d597e75dbf/Momentum-LLC	facility	USA - TX, UT, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/movement-1.png	Movement Gyms	https://movementgyms.com/careers/	facility	USA - CA, CO, IL, MD, OR, TX, VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/olc-architecture.png	OLC Architecture	https://www.olcdesigns.com/about-us/#teammember	service	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/onsite.png	OnSite	https://www.theonsite.com/careers	product	Canada - QC
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/organic.png	Organic Climbing	https://organicclimbing.com/pages/employment-opportunities	product	USA - PA - Philipsburg
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/va-peak-experiences.png	Peak Experiences	https://www.peakexperiences.com/employment	facility	USA - VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/salon-de-lescalade.png	Salon de l'Escalade	https://www.salon-escalade.com/vertical-jobs/recruteurs/	organization	France
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/nm-stone-age.png	Stone Age	https://climbstoneage.com/employment-staff/	facility	USA - NM - Albuquerque
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ut-the-front.png	The Front	https://thefrontclimbingclub.com/careers/	facility	USA - UT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/the-gravity-vault.png	The Gravity Vault	https://gravityvault.com/careers	facility	USA - CA, NJ, NY, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-the-pad.png	The Pad	https://www.thepadclimbing.org/employment/	facility	USA - CA, NV
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-the-spot.png	The Spot	https://www.thespotgym.com/careers	facilities	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/trango.png	Trango // Tenaya	https://trango.com/pages/careers	product	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/treadwall-fitness.png	Treadwall	https://treadwallfitness.com/careers/	product	USA - MA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/nc-triangle-rock-club.png	Triangle Rock Club (choose location)	https://www.trianglerockclub.com/morrisville/about/employment/	facility	USA - NC, VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-ubergrippen.png	Ubergrippen	https://ugclimbing.com/jobs/	facility	USA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/UK-Climbing.png	UKC (jobs in UK)	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/job_finder/	organization	United Kingdom
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vertical-solutions.jpg	Vertical Solutions // Habit // Proxy // Pebble	https://vsclimbinggyms.com/company/careers	product	USA - UT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/wa-vertical-world.png	Vertical World	https://verticalworld.com/	facility	USA - WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-vital.png	Vital	https://www.vitalclimbinggym.com/careers	facility	USA - CA, NY, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/walltopia.png	Walltopia	https://careers.walltopia.com/	products	Bulgaria

Para Climbing Added to a Paralympic Games for the First Time

Climbing Business Journal

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June 27, 2024

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Athletes, guides, coaches, officials and staff at the 2023 IFSC Para Climbing World Cup in Salt Lake City — Members of the Para Climbing community have long been dreaming of inclusion in a Paralympic Games, and that dream finally became a reality this week, when Para Climbing was approved for the Paralympics in Los Angeles. (Pictured: athletes, guides, coaches, officials and staff at the 2023 IFSC Para Climbing World Cup in Salt Lake City, held at The Front Climbing Club SLC; photo by Slobodan Miskovic / IFSC)

Earlier this month, the news dropped that Para Climbing was nearing inclusion in a Paralympic Games—the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. LA28—the organizing committee for those Games—had submitted a proposal to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to add Para Climbing to the list of 22 other sports on the program. That proposal was officially approved by the IPC Governing Board on Wednesday, June 26, marking the first time Para Climbing has ever been added to a Paralympic sports program.
“Thank you to the IPC for welcoming us as part of the Paralympic family, but thanks must also go to the LA28 organizing committee for believing in our sport and making history for the both of us,” said Marco Scolaris, President of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), following the approval. “By proposing climbing as an additional sport, they have given us another opportunity to fulfill our purpose—to make the world a better place through climbing. All of our Para athletes do this every day, and now they can do it on the world stage for all to see at the Paralympic Games.” “When I first [started] climbing at 12 years old, the idea that Sport Climbing, let alone Para Climbing for people like me, would enter the world stage on the Olympic and Paralympic scale was unimaginable,” longtime Para Climbing athlete Mo Beck said of the historic moment in a USA Climbing (USAC) announcement. “I cannot wait for the opportunity for our para athletes to amaze the world with what they can do, and look forward to growing the sport in a way that is accessible to all athletes. And to 12-year-old me, I say: ‘Keep at it, you never know what heights you’ll reach with the help of an incredible community.’ LA28, let’s go!’” More information about the approval can be found in the announcements on the IPC, IFSC and USAC websites, and additional context around the proposal can be found in the original CBJ article below.

Para Climbing Nears Inclusion at 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles

Published June 14, 2024

Para Climbing has yet to be added to a Paralympic sports program, but that first could very well take place later this month, if LA28’s proposal is approved by the IPC. (Photo of Mary Tankersley climbing at the 2023 IFSC Para Climbing World Cup in Salt Lake City, held at The Front Climbing Club’s SLC location; photo by Slobodan Miskovic / IFSC)

On Wednesday, LA28—the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles—proposed the addition of Para Climbing to the 2028 Paralympic Sports Program. The proposal marks the first time an organizing committee has proposed additional sports for both an Olympic and Paralympic sports program, and—if approved by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)—it would mark the first time Para Climbing has been added to a Paralympic sports program. According to articles on the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) website, previously—in January 2023—the IPC decided to not include Para Climbing on the initial program for the Paralympics in Los Angeles. But the IPC did leave the door open for additional sports to be added, identifying a shortlist of sports from which LA28 could consider making a selection. That selection turned out to be Para Climbing, which would join 22 other sports on the program for those Paralympic Games, if the selection is approved. A decision from the IPC is expected on June 26, when the IPC Governing Board will be reviewing and voting on the proposal.
Per the IFSC’s announcement, “…LA28 assessed the global and domestic popularity, the universality at major international events as well as the cost and complexity of the shortlisted sport,” when making the decision. Globally, Para Climbing events sanctioned by the IFSC have long been taking place in countries around the world—including in the United States, where IFSC Para Climbing World Cups stateside have been held for four straight years, first at Sender One LAX in Los Angeles in 2021 and then at climbing gyms in Salt Lake City the past three years. Domestically, at the national level, USA Climbing (USAC) has been holding Para Climbing National Championships for over 10 years, ever since the first one at Stone Summit Atlanta in Georgia. And locally, climbing gyms and organizations in the U.S. have been running adaptive climbing programs for decades. “It has been quite a journey, one led by amazing athletes, and an ongoing effort to see this day come to reality,” USAC CEO & President Marc Norman said in USAC’s announcement. “We’d like to thank LA28 for recognizing our athletes and look forward to a potential confirmation on June 26.” “I just cried at work,” added Mo Beck, a decorated Para Climbing athlete and member of the USA Para Climbing National Team. “…When we were notified by the Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee, my first thought was for our athletes and their chance to show the world what they can do,” IFSC President Marco Scolaris said in the aforementioned IFSC announcement. “My next one was to some of our crazy visionaries who first believed in the magic of Para Climbing, together with us. I am talking about pioneers like the former Presidents of the Italian and French Federations, Ariano Amici and Pierre You. We all took our first crazy step together in 2011 with Para Climbing’s debut at our World Championship and we hope that the next step will be the IPC confirmation.”
The summer Games in 2028 is the third edition to have a climbing event on the program. Sport Climbing first made its Olympic Games debut at the most recent summer Olympics in Tokyo, and this year speed climbing and bouldering/lead climbing will be split up into two competitions at the upcoming summer Olympics in Paris. Sport Climbing is already set for a return in Los Angeles, having been on the initial sports program since it was approved in 2022. More information about the Para Climbing announcement can be found on the LA28, IFSC and USAC websites.

Editor’s Note: In much of the past World Cup and National Championship reportage, paraclimbing has been written as a single word; in the LA28 proposal, it is written as “Para Climbing,” so that is how we have chosen to refer to it in this article.

“Three Separate Dreams Coming Together” Leads to Waco’s First Climbing Gym

Naomi Stevens

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June 26, 2024

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Putting up the first set at Basin Climbing and Fitness — What began as “three separate dreams of starting an indoor rock climbing gym in Waco, [Texas],” Co-Owner Jessica Colley said, has turned into the founding of Basin Climbing Fitness (pictured)—the Waco area’s first commercial climbing gym, expected to open this fall. (All images courtesy of Basin Climbing and Fitness)

Basin Climbing and Fitness Waco, Texas

Specs: Basin Climbing and Fitness, owned by Jessica Colley, Trinity Robb and Steel and Carley Ferguson, is expected to open in Waco, Texas, in September. According to Colley, Co-Founder and General Manager of the gym, “Basin is the result of three separate dreams…coming together to form one epic reality.” Colley noted that “the initial seeds” of the business were first planted ten years ago, when Robb and Colley were undergraduate students at Baylor University, located in Waco. The two future gym owners were connected by a mutual friend and realized they both wanted to start a commercial climbing gym in the city. In 2019, Robb and Colley partnered, and by 2020 the duo had gathered a team of investors, ready for the buildout of the gym.

“When the pandemic hit, we were thankfully in a position where we could hit pause on the project,” Colley said. “With rising construction costs and an uncertain future, we decided to wait until the world stabilized a bit before regrouping and moving forward.” Then in 2021, Steel and Carley Ferguson reached out after moving to Waco and beginning a climbing gym project of their own in the area. “They were under contract to buy land for a climbing gym when they learned of the project we had in progress,” Colley explained. “The four of us met and were excited to find that our separate visions aligned and that the Fergusons were the perfect fit to complete our team. We partnered together and set to work creating Basin.” According to Colley, finding a suitable location for the new gym was a hurdle—many buildings were not tall or large enough and needed “extensive, expensive structural work.” Whenever the team found a potential space that was the right size, there were zoning or height restrictions. Eventually, the team found a plot in Hewitt—a city on the outskirts of Waco—that Colley described as “a central and accessible location” with “the correct zoning, the ideal size, and height limitations we could work within and still be able to eventually add a full–height speed wall.”

The exterior of Basin and surrounding property — The chosen spot for the new gym, Colley said, “is a centrally located city in the Greater Waco Area, and it is rapidly growing. It is slated for thousands of new homes to be built over the next few years, and new businesses are popping up in Hewitt every day.”

Basin will feature 10,000 square feet of climbing on roped walls reaching 33 feet and bouldering walls reaching 14 feet. Additional planned amenities include a fitness floor, yoga studio, climbing-specific training area, free weights and machines, and programming will range from group classes to events and birthday parties. The gym will also have a training classroom—equipped with a TV, mini rock wall and anchors—intended for orientations, classes and clinics, so that instruction can take place without needing to close climbing areas.
“Empowerment through education is a major part of Basin’s mission and values,” Colley added, and one way the team plans to put that value into practice is by “demonstrating to [new climbers] that they do belong in a climbing gym, no matter what preconceptions they hold.” In addition to providing instruction at the gym, the team hopes to encourage more community members to give climbing a try through outreach, marketing, and connecting with local organizations nearby.

Fitness equipment at Basin — Accompanying the roped climbing and bouldering at Basin will be an assortment of fitness equipment and classes.

Colley recommended future gym owners “assemble a team of people whose skills and experiences complement each other,” making sure the team is aligned on the vision for the business. “This goes for your partners and your staff,” she added. Colley also emphasized the importance of being open to suggestions, advice and feedback throughout the project, sharing plans for the gym with others. “Your future customers have opinions, wants and needs. Their ideas are valuable,” Colley stated. “By learning from them, you can provide a gym that better fits their needs.” Walls: Kumiki Flooring: Kumiki CRM Software: Capitan Website: www.basinclimbing.com Instagram: @BasinClimbing In Their Words: “The biggest thing that has helped us overcome the challenges we’ve faced is definitely the community surrounding us. We have leaned heavily on the support and love of our families, who have been through the thick and the thin with us, as well as on the strength of our partnership. We have so many Wacoans that are absolutely stoked for Basin to open. Their excitement and support has been endless. Every time someone tells us they cannot wait for Basin to open or asks what they can do to support Basin, it becomes clearer and clearer that Basin already has a strong community that we are doing this for. The challenges we face pale in comparison.” – Jessica Colley, Basin Climbing and Fitness Co-Founder, Co-Owner and General Manager

33 Brands From the CWA Summit 2024 Expo Hall

Climbing Business Journal

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June 21, 2024

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The Expo Hall was the center of attention at the 2024 CWA Summit in Portland, Oregon. At the contemporary Oregon Convention Center, over 80 climbing industry brands unveiled their latest innovations and services. From eco-friendly holds and recycled materials to advanced training board systems, multiple CRM options, new fiberglass macros and elegant wood volumes, this special edition Buyer’s Guide captures a glimpse of the cutting-edge gear and timeless classics that might be arriving at a gym near you this year. BRANDS INCLUDED BELOW: Approach – Asana – Beta Climbing – Bold Climbing – Capitan – Cascade Specialty – Climbing Business Journal – Dollamur – Dreamwall – Elevate Climbing Walls – EP Climbing – Essential Climbing – Flashed – Griptonite – Grizzly Holds – Head Rush Technologies – HMH Outdoors – IMPACT Climbing – Kilter Grips – Maverick – Midnight Lightning – Monument Sports Group – Rockcity – Rock Gym Pro – Rockwerx – So iLL – Strati Climbing – The Hold Room – Trango – Treadwall Fitness – UCS Climbing – Vertical Solutions & Proxy – Walltopia SEE OTHER BUYER’S GUIDES HERE

Approach

Approach helps climbing gym operators manage the core elements of a gym’s operations. From the point-of-sale system to membership and waiver management and comprehensive calendaring, Approach’s platform was designed to streamline gym operations and help gym businesses grow. The unified platform—used by more than 130 gyms around the world—also comes with customizable business intelligence tools, as well as reputation management tools focused on amplifying a gym’s presence online.

Asana

Asana Climbing is a versatile padding source for climbers and climbing gyms that offers custom padding solutions for projects big and small. Asana also supplies a range of climbing gear, such as chalk, chalk buckets, and packs. In 2024, the company featured its new collaboration collection with The Grateful Dead. Asana is based in Garden City, Idaho.

BETA Climbing

BETA Climbing is a climbing gym management and customer interaction software, with creators based in Malta. In powering gyms with a point-of-sale solution, waiver repository, route management tool, event booker and more, the BETA software acts as an engagement platform between climbers and gym management. Beta’s migration team sets up gyms on BETA—including passes, participants, etc.—for free, helping make it a smooth transition to BETA’s software. Their system runs on the web with customer-managed accounts, so there’s no need to worry about complicated installs or buying special hardware.

Bold Climbing

Bold Climbing is a North American distributor of climbing holds, macros, volumes and a suite of other gym products, from setting hardware to air filtration systems. The company distributes grips from a robust lineup that includes 360 Holds, Artline, Blocz, Bluepill, CCE, Chapter, Formik, Menagerie, Rockcity, Rustam, Simpl. and Unit. During the Summit week, Bold featured new creations from several brands at the latest CBJ Grip Showcase.

Capitan

Capitan is an automated CRM system focused on making it easier to manage and grow a climbing gym business. The company’s web-based platform—designed to be flexible and mobile-friendly—includes a climber-specific CRM, memberships and passes, check-in/check-out and PIN tracking, document and event management, reporting and more. Capitan’s platform also has an Associations feature, for automating discounts across subgroups of customers, and this year Capitan unveiled its new automated membership referral system.

Cascade Specialty

Cascade Specialty specializes in climbing gym flooring. With beginnings in Everett, Washington, dating back to 1999, Cascade Specialty now provides roped and bouldering wall flooring to indoor climbing gyms throughout North America. The flooring company—winner of the Climbing Gym Floor Installer of the Year award last year—offers open-cell foam, carpet-bonded foam, vinyl-coated fabric, as well as carpet options.

Climbing Business Journal

Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to informing, connecting and empowering the professionals of the climbing industry. CBJ’s coverage— articles, podcasts, webinars, etc.—spans breaking news, gym developments, industry best practices, business planning, risk management, routesetting, coaching and more. CBJ also equips the industry with a popular jobs board, comprehensive gym map, data-driven reports and other tools. At the Summit, the CBJ team highlighted their latest data products—including a new interactive dashboard in the works—as well as a growing list of member benefits. CBJ also organized the CBJ Grip Showcase in Portland, hosted by Portland Rock Gym, and was the CWA Summit’s official media partner for a second straight year.

CWA Summit 2024 Climbing Business sJournal booth

Dollamur Sport Surfaces

Dollamur Sport Surfaces creates bonded mats for indoor climbing environments. As an international manufacturer of climbing flooring, the company showcased at the Summit its 1 3/8-inch to 2-inch foam cushioning, available in eight colors. Dollamur can provide multiple surfaces throughout a gym, from carpet-bonded foam to vinyl floors.

Dreamwall

Dreamwall is a team of experienced professionals specializing in the design, manufacturing and installation of climbing walls. The company’s design process begins with an analysis of the unique space, then moves into engineering structures that meet international and local safety and quality standards, followed by an installation that brings all the pieces of the puzzle together. Dreamwall has completed projects in over a dozen countries worldwide.

Elevate Climbing Walls

Elevate Climbing Walls is a custom climbing wall manufacturer. Elevate not only has its Legacy Panel system—hand-sculpted with a focus on quality and durability—but now the Evolution Panel, a smooth panel designed with routesetting in mind and a modern finish. Elevate can assist with the design, build and operations of a climbing wall and facility.

EP Climbing

In addition to building walls equipped with Mozaik XP Surface Technology, EP Climbing provides remodels, consultations, routesetting, staff training, maintenance and inspections that help gym operators keep their climbing facilities operating safely and successfully. EP also produces holds, macros and volumes, with an improved hold material that’s now more wear resistant. EP’s dual-tex macros were in action on boulder #6 at the CBJ Grip Showcase, and so was the Titan Boulder that will be seen at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Essential Climbing

Essential Climbing is a distributor of Axis, Captain Crux, Chapter, eXpression, Kumiki Climbing, Lapis, Squadra and Vezi climbing holds, macros and volumes. At the Summit, the company showcased fresh grips from each brand, including shapes in Vezi’s Otium range and dual-tex eXpression creations. Essential also brought Squadra fiberglass macros and a selection from Axis’s Easy Rider and Disc Fiberglass lines, among other shapes.

Flashed

Flashed is a homegrown, Calgary-based brand selling products for climbers—crashpads, chalk, chalk bags and other climbing accessories—as well as padding systems for climbing gyms. This year, in Portland, the Flashed team highlighted their Mg2+ seawater chalk—a by-product of the salt industry designed to be eco-friendly—samples of their commercial flooring solutions, and stylish crashpads from the Artist Crash Pad Collaboration Project.

Griptonite

Griptonite is growing a climbing gym ecosystem that uses wireless route tags, smart hangboards, digital and print signage, and an accompanying app—all engineered to help inspire new climbers, retain regular customers, and take care of a gym’s bottom line. Griptonite’s technology includes an events platform—with live leaderboards, digital scorecards, and functionality for comps and leagues spanning one or more gyms—as well as training and community engagement tools and a complete gym analytics dashboard.

Grizzly Holds

Grizzly Holds, a Canadian climbing hold company that hit the ground running in 2018, featured in Portland some of their latest new sets of grips poured by Aragon: the Ripple Effect Macros, the Carbons and Flakes series, among others. The Ripple Effects, in particular, were featured at the CBJ Grip Showcase and are now available to order online.

Head Rush Technologies

Head Rush Technologies produces and distributes magnetic braking auto belays from their factories in Colorado, France and the UK. At the Summit this year, Head Rush displayed the TRUBLUE iQ+ Auto Belay with catch-and-hold technology, their TRUBLUE SPEED Auto Belay, as well as the No Delay Belay Service Plan. The TruBlue iQ+ Auto Belay is currently $4,399-4,599; the TRUBLUE SPEED Auto Belay is currently $2,799-2,899.

HMH Outdoors

HMH Outdoors is a brand-building network that handles distribution, sales and marketing for industry businesses serving climbers and climbing gyms. The HMH family of brands includes 8B+, Butora, Climb Lab, Harness Consulting & Marketing and Maxim Climbing Ropes, equipping climbing facilities with rental shoe fleets, ropes, air filtration and hold cleaning technology, HVLS fans, and other essential products for gyms and climbers.

IMPACT Climbing

IMPACT Climbing is an Ontario-based climbing wall builder that designs and constructs all types of walls, from full climbing gym builds to single walls. IMPACT supports gym owners at every step of a project, helping them craft a business plan (with a business planning calculator), providing guidance on the best design for their unique space, and offering advice all the way through construction, so the gym can be opened with confidence.

Kilter Grips

Kilter Grips—a climbing hold and training board company that’s been a longtime staple in the CBJ Grip List, with over 20 awards in ten years—exhibited at the Summit their vacuum-thermoformed comp set macros, dual-tex Kaijus, and a variety of other new shapes from Kilter and Urban Plastix. Their fresh grips were also on display in Portland at the official Summit afterparty. Kilter is based in Colorado, with holds distributed internationally.

Maverick

Maverick Climbing was recently launched by Jerad Wells and helps gym owners access high-quality climbing wall design and construction services. The Maverick team has over 75 years of combined industry experience in climbing gym and wall design, engineering, manufacturing and installation. Maverick works with gym owners at each step of the process, with a focus on matching the wall design and build to their unique space and business plan, and also offers operational and marketing consulting post-build.

Midnight Lightning Climbing

Midnight Lightning, a Squamish-based chalk, accessories and soft-goods brand, manufactures its line of products to be eco-conscious. At the Summit, the Midnight Lightning team displayed their Seawater Sourced chunky and powder chalk. They also brought their new Approach Hat, Low Waste Liquid Chalk, Chalk Socks and the Chalktopus—a cute, octopus-looking product that fits inside a chalk bag, similar to a chalk sock.

Monument Sports Group

Monument Sports Group provides professional insurance services for sporting and recreational facilities and events. As the provider of general liability and other CWA insurance programs, Monument helps operators understand the unique risks that come with running a climbing gym, while negotiating the best pricing for climbing facilities.

Rockcity

Rockcity is a climbing hold brand manufacturing PU and PE grips, fiberglass macros, and plywood volumes. The company is well-known for supplying grips that have been set at many an IFSC event of late as well as the Olympics in Tokyo and (soon) in Paris. Based out of the United Kingdom, Rockcity is distributed by Bold Climbing in North America.

Rock Gym Pro

Rock Gym Pro—which has won the Climbing Gym Management Software of the Year award for three years straight—is a longstanding, all-in-one CRM/POS software that enables gyms to integrate digital waivers, manage memberships, check in customers, book events online and create advanced reports. In Portland, the Rock Gym Pro team led the “Unlocking the Value of Customer Data” presentation, which delved into some of the latest industry insights in payments and check-ins and presented methods for analyzing customer data.

Rockwerx

Rockwerx, based in Barre, Massachusetts, has long been installing durable, custom climbing walls across North America, providing indoor and outdoor walls for projects big and small. Rockwerx offers a full-suite of climbing products and services that includes custom climbing walls, modular panels, Kidwerx, volumes, consulting and flooring.

So iLL

So iLL is a North American climbing shoe, hold, apparel and training gear company. At the Summit, the company showcased its new climbing shoe line, following years of design and testing. They also shared a glimpse of their LED system board—with translucent holds shaped by Jason Kehl—as well as a selection of macro grips from their various hold lines.

Strati Climbing

Strati Climbing produces safety flooring for commercial gyms, home climbing walls, recreational facilities, and colleges and universities. Strati also offers re-covering services focused on breathing new life into gym flooring, with cordura/ballistic, vinyl and carpet-over-vinyl options. In addition, the Albuquerque-based company produces rubber fitness flooring roles and tiles; training area mats; and padding for posts, railings and walls.

The Hold Room

The Hold Room is a one-stop shop for routesetting gear and climbing grips, with a lineup that includes over nine makers of climbing holds, macros, volumes and setting tools. Their booth in Portland showcased lines from Elevation, SupR, Thrive Climbing and Unleashed Climbing. SupR, in particular, won the CBJ Grip Showcase for a second time in a row.

Trango

Founded in 1991, Trango is a company of climbers who design products for several climbing disciplines. Trango distributes gear like training equipment, climbing shoes and their new crashpads, in addition to a wide variety of grips under the Trango Holds name, following the Trango-eGrips merger two years ago. Trango Holds exhibited their dual-tex Loaves line at the CBJ Grip Showcase in Portland. Trango distributes Tenaya products, as well.

Treadwall Fitness

Treadwall Fitness, based just outside of Boston, produces rotating climbing walls and other training equipment. They recently announced the Treadwall Flow, which combines their longstanding Treadwall and grips from Kilter. Other products by Treadwall Fitness include the Boulderboard Training Stations, Laddermill Ascenders and Ledgewall Climbing Panels.

UCS Climbing

UCS Climbing is a sports flooring provider based in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Their division of roped and bouldering flooring offers padded surfaces for indoor and outdoor walls, in addition to drag pads and training wall flooring. With digital printing capabilities, UCS can customize most equipment to fit a gym’s brand and color-scheme needs.

Vertical Solutions & Proxy

Vertical Solutions was started in 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where its flagship The Front Climbing Club gyms are located. The company offers a variety of services for new climbing gym projects, providing its signature walls, flooring, holds through Proxy Climbing, training boards and gym furniture. Additionally, Vertical Solutions equips new builds with hardware and staff training through its partnership with Petzl USA, as well as workout equipment selection assistance and pricing through its partnership with Freemotion Fitness.

CWA Summit 2024 Vertical Solutions booth

Walltopia

Walltopia—winner of the Climbing Gym Wall Builder of the Year award for three consecutive years—is a Bulgarian climbing wall company that also creates and distributes training boards, flooring, grips, hardware, safety devices, gym software and active entertainment products. The company had another large booth at the Summit, showcasing a bit of everything on a massive screen. Holdtopia’s The Moon and The Nose macros also made an appearance in Portland, at the CBJ Grip Showcase. These macros are made of 100% recyclable thermoplastic and designed to be fully recyclable at the end of their lifespan.

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Climb Insider: last chance for Paris and other stuff

Insider News

Climbing Business Journal

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June 20, 2024

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Just a few thoughts

Interesting and inspiring stuff below. Community grants and data about outdoor participation. Videos about new gear, new moves, and how to block holds. A comp series expands, and keynote announced. But… what’s really on our minds… WHO IS GOING TO THE OLYMPICS??? Aspiring athletes have one more chance, and it begins today in Budapest. Boulder qualification is over by the time you read this, so get up early these next few days and watch it live. See The Freshest Job Posts Here

Community & Culture

Podcast: Addressing the Entire Climbing Cycle – Chris Klinke (John Burgman, CBJ)
Podcast: When childbirth and rock climbing intersect with K’mae (Mario Stanley, Sends And Suffers)
After Giving Up His 2020 Olympic Dreams for Family, Campbell Harrison Is Going to Paris (Holly Yu Tung Chen, Outside)
2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report (OIA)
GCI’s Community Grants Announced (Global Climbing Initiative)

Comp Scene

Jun 20-23: Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest (Olympics.com)
Jul 7-14: 2024 Youth National Championships Tickets On Sale (USAC)
Last Step On The Road To Paris (IFSC)
7 US Climbers Competing at the Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest (USAC)
Who Benefitted from the Routesetting at the Shanghai OQS in Boulder & Lead?(Inside Climbing)
Para Climbing Nears Inclusion at 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles (CBJ)

For Managers

Safeguarding Operational Guidelines (ABC Walls)
CWA’s Garnet Moore Announced As A Keynote Speaker at 2024 Conference (ABC Walls)
ASCL Adds Events in AR, KY, OR, TN and VA for 2024 Season (ASCL)
Video: Why Neox is not a GriGri (Hard Is Easy)

For Routesetters

Podcast: Jack Masel ft. host Niklas Held (Climbing Curated)
Video: The Best move of the World Cup season? (Impact Route Setting)
Video: Fontainebleau – PU Climbing Holds (Rockcity)
Video: The Art of Tasteful Blocking (Trango)

Manage Austin Bouldering Project – Climbing Jobs Weekly 2024 June 20

Climbing Jobs Weekly

Climbing Business Journal

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June 20, 2024

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CBJ hosts the most active job board for climbing businesses and organizations. Below are the latest posts from this past week…

General Manager Bouldering Project Austin, TX “The General Manager is responsible for managing all aspects of operations, programming, and facilities of the Bouldering Project. The GM supervises the gyms’ management team, supporting employees at all levels of the organization in their roles and responsibilities. The GM is responsible for the continued development, improvement, and implementation of the systems, operations, and safety procedures at the gym. It is of paramount importance that the GM establishes and maintains a culture of collaboration, respect, quality-obsession, and safety among the gyms’ staff and community.”