USAC Fundraising for Elite Athletes
USA Climbing has kicked off a campaign to raise money for youth and adult competitive climbers. As it stands, in order to represent the United States at an International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) competition, competitors must purchase an IFSC license, pay the event registration fee, and pay for all travel fees associated with getting to the competition.
American climbing competitors do not receive government funding and sponsorship of such athletes is still rare. Therefore, USA Climbing is looking to help the top US athletes showcase their skills against the world’s best by launching the Golden Ticket fundraiser.
Only 500 raffle tickets will be sold, and the winner will get to choose from a trip to the 2015 ESPY Awards, an all expenses paid San Francisco Shopping Spree, or a chance to spend 5 days in Orlando with your family.
Proceeds raised from the Golden Ticket Fundraiser will be earmarked to:
- Pay for all 2015 IFSC athlete licenses and IFSC event registration fees.
- Run the first ever US Adult Team Training Camp prior to the Vail World Cup.
- Award travel stipends to a select few athletes that want to compete internationally.
Lessons from Two Decades of Business
By: Tino Fiumara
The US indoor climbing industry is celebrating its 27th year of existence, and a handful of gyms are entering their third decade in operation. One might ask was the gym model different back then? What was it like to go through the birth of an industry that went from projects of passion to one of the most viable business models in the fitness industry? I spoke with gym owners from all corners of the United States to find out.
Tino Fiumara is an 18 year veteran in the climbing game who has supported his vertical habit through working in financial operations, teaching English, and building stuff – including creative, engaging routes. He is CBJ’s newest contributing writer.
Parallel Evolution
In the fall of 1987, Rich Johnston and Dan Cauthorn opened The Vertical Club in Seattle, WA — now known as Vertical World — recreating climbing by “gluing rocks to plywood and cinder block walls”. The climbing surface was vertical, holds were made out of real stone or wood, and the sole act of attaching holds to the wall qualified you as a routesetter, though you were probably also the gym owner, the head instructor, the desk staff, and the cleaning crew. At the same time Johnston was opening up shop in Seattle, Gary Rall was incorporating The Portland Rock Gym and opened his doors to business just a couple months into 1988. There were a handful of visionaries across the United States that were planning, building or opening up one of these ground-breaking endeavors; however most of them did not know each other, nor had they collaborated on any details of their respective operations.Challenges
Humble beginnings characterized the first indoor gyms, which faced the most basic of challenges. Before these commercial climbing centers became mainstream, there were no professional wall builders or hold makers, let alone industry associations with standards and support. What did exist was the tenacity to take a project and make it a success. “We had to scratch dirt to make it work”, said Johnston of Vertical World. Like many early gym owners, he faced bankruptcy multiple times. The pressures against climbing gyms were part market constraint and part learning how to create a successful gym model. Due to these variables, financial insecurity was a rite of passage for the Rock Gym Owner 1.0 group. The target demographic was “anyone who would walk through the doors and pay money,” recalled Stuart Cowles, owner of ClimbMax in Asheville, NC. “There were plenty of people who didn’t want to pay for rock climbing. They would pay, but almost begrudgingly so.” Many people just wanted to see what an indoor climbing facility was like, but weren’t ready to take part. As a method of grabbing attention, Cowles had a 40 foot tall Entreprise competition wall built in front of his gym on a public parking structure. He was able to get the city’s support, who provided him with “a special lease to infinity on the airspace” in front of his gym where the outdoor wall currently stands. This type of “innovation, initiative and civic responsiveness” earned Cowles the 2014 Small Business Leader of the Year Award by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. On the west coast the challenge was the same. Tom Davis of Pacific Edge in Santa Cruz felt that “the greatest barrier was educating the population as to what climbing was about and that it is accessible.” The introduction of indoor rock climbing into the public lexicon would take years.Unexpected Arisings
The pioneers of indoor climbing opened gyms for different reasons. Some were passionate climbers that wanted to share their passion with others. Some were not rock climbers but saw a logical need for a sport-specific training environment. Since the stone age of climbing gyms, the growth in the industry has been overwhelming and has resulted in some unexpected arisings. “Climbing has evolved into an activity for many, and not just a pursuit of passion. People climb now like they mountain bike, paddle board and do yoga,” said Gary Rall of Portland Rock Gym. Climbing itself is no longer enough, gyms have had to innovate and offer more to their clients. Corporate team building, weights, yoga, pilates, pro shops and concessions are becoming more and more common. In a couple of brewery-strong cities, there are gyms that within the year will have include a bar for serving beer. Not only has the general pursuit of climbing changed, but also the act of climbing. “Routesetting has evolved into movement that is an end unto itself and often not resembling outdoor movement,” relayed Rall. Though gyms were originally an indoor environment for training to climb outside, reflected in the shapes of early handholds, the activity has become a functional form of art. Setting has become a way for gyms to make a name for themselves as they market high-quality routesetting as a cornerstone of their value proposition.Advice
The progenitors of indoor climbing broke ground in the industry and almost went broke in the process. They fell in the pitfalls of under or overbuilding, educated the public as to what rock climbing could be, and created a legacy. One can imagine that they have some good advice for recent entrants to the indoor climbing game. What is clear is that climbing was never the challenge, it was refining a successful business model around a sport that no one understood. Meeting Customer Needs “The pioneers that started it also professionalized it,” stated Elaine Jewart of ClimbNorth, which opened in 1993 near Pittsburgh. “These were people that loved climbing and were able to make it into an industry.” Not a climber herself, Elaine opened her gym as a segment of her family’s gymnastics center because she read that “neuromuscularly, climbing was the closest thing to gymnastics.” Elaine may not have been a climber, but as a business woman she understood that offering complimentary sports was an element of marketing. Now we see all kinds of complimentary pursuits offered by climbing gyms, because that is what the customer demands. In meeting a client’s need for evolved services, reinvestment in a gym is essential. As a self-described student of his gym’s financial ratios, Rich Johnston outlined that “every time there was a modification made to the walls, there was immediate return on investment.” This echoed true with every gym owner I spoke with: keeping the product fresh is a responsibility to your client base, especially in the face of increasing industry competition. “Keep it clean and keep it relevant,” offered Chris O’Connell of Boston Rock Gym, who always picks away at an active list of capital improvements “to ensure a more comfortable environment … to keep the value of the experience really high.” No matter the newness or size of a gym’s walls, what goes on them is the ultimate product. Constant turnover of routes and problems, use of volumes and periodic hold-buying budgets keep aging terrain relevant and interesting. With the professionalization of routesetting, a new standard has been created that gyms can no longer ignore to stay competitive. Staff Staff are also an opportunity for a gym owner to build a team that is complimentary to his or her own strengths and weaknesses. “Don’t spread yourself too thin,” offered Rall of Portland Rock Gym. “Being the GM, the owner and the futurist are different roles. Be a good manager, be humble and be willing to let the people who work for you, who are speaking passionately, to be heard.” “My greatest assets go home and eat dinner with their families at night,”Johnston made clear. When asked how to manage the multitude of individuals that gravitate toward the climbing industry, Rich explained that “each package is tailored specifically to the employee as each individual has a different need and a different work pattern.” Subsidizing the training and certification of staff is no longer just good people management, it’s good risk management. As a gym works to fulfill its legal duty to notify clients of inherent risks and best practices, the standardization across the industry may leave laggers legally liable. Community “The growth in the industry creates enduring success by the fact that the activity breaks down social barriers common to most forms of fitness,” explained Tom Davis of Pacific Edge in Santa Cruz. “Emphasize community on both sides of the desk.” The fostering of community is just as good for the quality of a client’s experience as it is for the staff’s quality of life. Davis infers that these intangible assets cannot be substituted by purely modernizing a facility. Although the percentage of indoor climbers that pursue the sport outdoors has decreased since the inception of the climbing gym, many owner/operators feel that we should remember to celebrate the community that climbing provides. The social nature of climbing is directly tied to the heritage of the sport. Shared experienced and concern for the best product will hopefully help guide our industry as it enters this phase of unprecedented growth.Tino Fiumara is an 18 year veteran in the climbing game who has supported his vertical habit through working in financial operations, teaching English, and building stuff – including creative, engaging routes. He is CBJ’s newest contributing writer.
Refuge Bouldering Gym Opens in Vegas
Press Release:
LAS VEGAS (Oct. 14, 2014)—The Refuge Climbing & Fitness (RCF), a state-of-the-art bouldering and fitness facility located in Las Vegas with over 10,000 sq. ft. of bouldering terrain and climbing specific training systems for all ability levels, opens its doors to the public on Friday, October 17 at noon. The first new climbing gym to open in Las Vegas in nearly 20 years, RCF features cardio and strength training equipment, complimentary yoga for members, a supervised top rope area, a birthday party and special event room, corporate team building workshops as well as group and private lessons and climbing shoe rentals.
The gym is hosting members-only preview nights through Thursday, October 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. Memberships are available immediately at the gym that is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Las Vegas is an international destination for rock climbing and the city’s local climbing population has been growing rapidly because of its proximity to fantastic year round climbing,” said Jeff Clapp, Refuge Climbing & Fitness’ founder who has more than 20 years of experience building some of the United States’ most successful indoor climbing facilities including Rockreation Sport Climbing Centers in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Calif., and Salt Lake City. “My wife Beth and I relocated to Las Vegas because of the climbing and outdoor recreation opportunities. We look forward to fostering the growth of the local climbing community.”
As a part of the facility’s special events programming, RCF will host a slideshow presentation by local professional climber Alex Johnson on Friday, November 14 at 7 p.m. Johnson, a two-time World Cup Gold Medalist and five-time national champion, will showcase images of her adventures climbing around the globe. The event that is open to the public and is part of the Southern Nevada Climbing Festival is also a fundraiser for the Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council, a grassroots affiliate of the Access Fund, advocating for rock climbers in Southern Nevada by promoting responsible stewardship of local resources.
RGP Fights Poodle Security Threat
On Wednesday Rock Gym Pro blocked access to their software from computers using older versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser. The change was in response to news of a security flaw dubbed POODLE found in an outdated but still commonly used security tool used to encrypt traffic between a browser and a web site.
Earlier in the week researchers at Google had released a paper detailing the vulnerability. Computers using older versions of Internet Explorer browser (version 7 and older) could allow someone on the same network, such as a public wi-fi connection, to access and decrypt their web data.
RGP founder Andy Laakmann told CBJ that the POODLE vulnerability did not put any information on RGP servers at risk, nor did the flaw make it possible to access credit card transaction data. “At risk were those end-users of the RGP booking system or waiver system who were interacting with those services on public networks using the outdated browsers,” he said. “Any data transmitted over those public networks was exposed via the vulnerable encryption technologies before arriving at RGP’s web servers.”
In an email communication to customers RGP advised everyone still using old systems to upgrade to Service Pack 3, which will force an upgrade to Internet Explorer 8. They also urged customers still running Windows XP, which was released almost ten years ago and is no longer supported by Microsoft, to invest in new computers.
While POODLE’s impact appears limited, other recent security flaws like Heartbleed and Shellshock, combined with ever increasing numbers of credit card hacks, have highlighted the importance of keeping computer systems up to date.
SCS Open Goes To Central Rock
Press Release
Boulder, Colorado – October 10, 2014
USA Climbing, the United States National Governing Body for the sport of competition climbing announced today that it has awarded the 2015 Sport Climbing Series (SCS) Open National Championships to Central Rock Gym in Watertown, MA.
This event will be hosted by USA Climbing as part of the highly successful Ring of Fire lead climbing competition series that has been developed by the management team at Central Rock Gym over the last four years. The competition will feature the best adult athletes in the United States competing in the disciplines of Lead and Speed Climbing for a spot on the US Climbing Team and their share of a $20,000.00 prize purse.
“We established the Ring of Fire competition to give pro climbers a much needed independent series in rope climbing,” said Joe Hardy. “This new partnership with USAC is incredible because it brings so many talented people together in the name of competition rope climbing. We are incredibly humbled to have this opportunity to work with USA Climbing, and look forward to learning from their experience. If you are a competitor, you will not want to miss this joint venture. The setting, the lighting, the organization will all be mind blowing. Boston has been a hot-bed of great climbing events for years, and this partnership will build on that history.”
“I can’t express how excited we are to work with the CRG team,” said USA Climbing CEO Kynan Waggoner. “Because of our cumulative competition management experience and the diehard climbing community that exists in the Boston area, this event is going to be a great opportunity to promote our sport and the disciplines of Lead and Speed Climbing in the United States.”
Touchstone: Expanding The Empire
Touchstone Climbing Incorporated has been operating climbing gyms in the San Francisco bay area for almost 20 years, and only recently ventured south into the Los Angeles area with the opening of LA Boulders early in 2013. This initial foray into southern California was followed by the announcements this year of three additional facilities in the LA area: A traditional gym in Pasadena and another in Culver City plus a bouldering-only facility in Hollywood.
What does it take to run this empire and at the same time expand it? CBJ reached out to Touchstone to see how it’s done.