The holiday season is in full swing, and for many it’s a time to focus on family, friends, and community.Here at CBJ we’d like to take a moment to thank our team for their hard work and dedication all year: Joe Robinson, who leads our editorial and data analysis; Naomi Stevens, who handles our gym writeups, social media, and more; John Burgman, who hosts podcasts, writes breaking news as well as many features; Jamie Strong, who crafts many of our graphics and brings marketing wisdom; Scott Rennak, who directs our operations, customer service, and sales; Amalia Wompa, who collected data and photos this summer; our team of awesome contributors including Holly Yu Tung Chen, Jonathan Littauer, Louie Anderson, Jason Chang, Jackie Hueftle, Jason Pill, and Emma Walker; and special thanks to Gavin Heverly for sharing his vast expertise through our webinars this year. You all rock, we couldn’t do it without you!We wish you a happy holidays!See The Freshest Job Posts Here
CBJ hosts the most active job board for climbing businesses and organizations. Below are the latest posts from this past week…Inside Account ManagerHead Rush Technologies
Louisville, CO
“The Inside Account Manager is responsible for retaining, supporting, and growing our existing customer base via consultative customer service, cross selling product lines and providing program offerings to existing Head Rush Technologies (HRT) customers. This will be achieved via a combination of inbound and outbound telephone calls and emails within the assigned region(s). Customer call points will focus on existing HRT direct customers and span commercial climbing gyms, family entertainment centers, rec centers, adventure parks and zipline facilities.”
JOB SEEKER TIPS:
The Most Important Personal Skills
By Matthew Zane
“Important personal skills to have include communication, leadership, and problem solving skills. Personal skills are also called soft skills, people skills, or interpersonal skills and are a person’s attributes or traits that relate to social interaction in a variety of ways.”Read the full article here
Earlier this year, the Austrian gym chain Boulderbar opened its sixth location, a bouldering facility in the city of Leonding that doubles as a hotel. (All images courtesy of Boulderbar Linz)
Boulderbar Linz
Leonding, Austria
Specs: Last February, Boulderbar opened its sixth location in Austria with Boulderbar Linz. The company’s first facility opened in 2012 in Vienna and, according to Boulderbar stockholder Stefan Kieninger, quality locations, partners and amenities helped enable the business to expand throughout Austria. February wasn’t necessarily an ideal time for the Linz facility to open, but rather the time everything fell into place. “It just took years to get a good location in this area,” Kieninger said.
Boulderbar Linz’s city, Leonding, “is in the center of the metropolitan area Linz/Traun/Wels,” a location the owners felt was worth the wait: “[The gym] is close to Plus City—one of the biggest shopping malls in Austria—and it is easy to reach, even by public transportation,” explained Kieninger. Boulderbar built the facility from the ground up to include 2,100 square meters of indoor bouldering and, as an added touch, 400 square meters of outdoor bouldering around the building’s exterior. “We also have large roller doors to let the birdsong and fresh air into the hall,” Kieninger added. Other climbing and fitness amenities include a campus board, Kilter Board, Moon Board, training area and yoga room. There’s also a dedicated children’s area, climbing shop, and spacious bar/café in the facility.
The outdoor bouldering wall at Boulderbar Linz was included because the location had the space and the operators felt “climbing is the most beautiful outdoor sport, even on artificial holds,” said Kieninger.
Perhaps the most unique feature of Boulderbar Linz, however, is more than a gym amenity, and it started as an idea stemming from regulations in the chosen area for the facility. “[We] were not allowed to build just a bouldering gym,” Kieninger stated. With a site located minutes from the Linz Airport, the Boulderbar team decided to fuse two business concepts together in dedicating a portion of their facility to an enclosed hotel with 63 rooms, which opened in early June. Although it’s not the first climbing gym in a hotel—BaseCamp Reno bouldering gym in Nevada, as one example, is located inside the Whitney Peak Hotel, with a famed climbing wall on the outside—it is nevertheless a relatively rare combination. Kieninger said the team used a “very modern and open concept for the hotel,” with “stunning rooms, a great view, and a lot more.”
The bouldering walls at the Linz gym go up to 4.5 meters and are spread out across multiple floors.Walls: DCD
Flooring: Polskok
CRM Software: Flash
Website: boulderbar.net/linzInstagram: @Boulderbar_Linz
In Their Words: “Boulderbar is more than a climbing gym. It’s about creating a social meeting place for climbers to connect, compete and celebrate their love for bouldering. We aim to create a space where everyone feels welcome, valued and inspired. With our commitment to diversity and respect, we create a place where climbers of all backgrounds and levels can come together and reach new heights.” – Julia Tran, Marketing Manager at Boulderbar Linz
First edition, second printing of I Routesetter. This high quality, hard-bound book provides an introduction to routesetting and a good overview of information setters need to know including basics and helpful tips and inspiration from pro setters. It was written by Belgian setters and gym owners Jan De Smit and Nataleigh Bell with help from other setters.
Through settercloset.com we are taking pre-orders for this book for the first bulk shipment to the United States. This book is good for individual setters but also can be sold in retail shops and if you are interested in a wholesale retail purchase please check out with the “retail bulk” product and we will reach out.
The preorder period is December 2023–January 15 2024. After preorder we will get the order in for shipment from Belgium and then will send the books out when we get them, which should be early February 2024.
This pre-order is only for US customers. For all other interest please visit iroutesetter.comCBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Diguilian Will Be One Of Three Prolific And Legendary Climbers To Share Their Stories During The Event
Boulder, Colo., 12/18/2023 – The Climbing Wall Association (CWA) is excited to announce Sasha DiGiulian as the opening keynote speaker at the 2024 CWA Summit. Two more keynote speakers are planned and their announcement is forthcoming,
DiGulian will set an exciting tone for the indoor climbing industry’s premier event, kicking off festivities with a welcome message and sharing her inspiring story of success as an athlete, activist, entrepreneur, and more.
Sasha is without question one of the most decorated female climbers in the world, constantly pushing the boundaries of what most think possible.
In addition to her climbing talent and background in the sport, Sasha has also embarked on successful business ventures, including being a founder of SEND Bars, a performance protein bar company based on her homemade recipes, and participating in a multitude of philanthropic endeavors.
Her story, mindset, and experience make her a perfect fit for the main stage at the 2024 CWA Summit.
“We are so honored to have Sasha as our keynote speaker at the CWA Summit,“ says Garnet Moore, CWA Executive Director. “Sasha’s story can inspire anyone, not just due to her amazing climbing achievements. She is clearly one of the greatest to ever participate in the sport, but what makes her so special is her ability to find the time, energy, and grit to continue to diversify her skills, push the limits of what is possible in climbing and business,
and be a true advocate for the sport of climbing, especially for women in sport. Her accomplishments, positive attitude, and poise helped to bring rock climbing to the mainstream and solidify it as a true sport.”
When she is not at the crag, Sasha believes in the transformative power of sports on youth and female development. As a woman making a career within a traditionally male- dominated space, she stands for equality in sport, access, pay, and treatment of female athletes.
To further this message, Sasha founded Female Focused Adventures, a production company that centers around storytelling in the female adventure space. Its aims to empower female content creators, striving to bolster the access and experiences of other women in the outdoors. Sasha has served as an advocate for the climbing industry by serving on the Board of the Women’s Sports Foundation and as a Global Athlete Ambassador for Right to Play, Up2Us Sports, and the American Alpine Club.
Sasha is dedicated to the sport of climbing and sharing its values with a wider and more diverse population. Her TV/film presence expanded with the premiere of her new series, No Days Off, on Outside + and Red Bull TV, captivating viewers instantly.
Her next film, Logical Progression, will be released in 2023 on HBO, and her most recent expedition, RAYU, will be released at Telluride Film Festival and available on Reel Rock. Her first book, Take the Lead: Hanging On, Letting Go, and Conquering Life’s Hardest Climbs was released by St. Martin’s Press on September 26, 2023 with a nationwide book tour to coincide.
In addition to climbing, Sasha has a column with Outside Magazine and has been a published writer by other publications, including National Geographic, Rock and Ice, SELF, Seventeen, and CRAVE. She graduated from Columbia University in New York City, having studied Nonfiction Writing and Business.
In addition to climbing, Sasha has a column with Outside Magazine and has been a published writer by other publications, including National Geographic, Rock and Ice, SELF, Seventeen, and CRAVE. She graduated from Columbia University in New York City, having studied Nonfiction Writing and Business.
Sasha will also be on-site during the 2024 CWA Summit, allowing for one-on-one interaction with attendees. She will be one of three CWA keynote speakers, with a pair of closing plenary keynote speakers announced in the coming weeks.
Learn more about DiGiulian and her story on her website at http://sashadigiulian.com.
The 2024 CWA Summit will take place in Portland, Ore. from Wed., May 15 through Fri., May 17th, 2024. Pre-conference workshops, featuring certification courses and exclusive professional development workshops, will take place May 13-15. You can view a full breakdown of the schedule, pricing, registrations, book your hotel stay, and learn more at www.cwasummit.org.
More details on the 2024 CWA Summit will be announced in the coming weeks, including information on session speakers, learning tracks, event highlights, new content, and more.
About the 2024 CWA Summit
The CWA Summit is the indoor climbing industry’s premier conference strategically designed to provide professional development, networking opportunities, industry related news, and inspiration to continue to move the industry forward.
Hosted by the Climbing Wall Association, the 2024 CWA Summit will be hosted in Portland, Ore., at the Oregon Convention Center from May 13-17, 2024. The CWA looks forward to welcoming attendees representing climbing facilities of all sizes, colleges and universities, recreation centers, military installations, top manufacturers, and more. The CWA Summit includes 14 pre-conference workshops and certification events, deep dives into the industry’s most important content in education sessions, the best networking experiences, the indoor climbing industry’s top trade show, and so much more.
For more information and ongoing updates, visit the CWA Summit Website. About the CWA
The CWA is a not-for-profit (501c6) industry trade association serving the needs of commercial climbing facility owners and operators, manufacturers of climbing walls and climbing wall equipment, skilled professionals, and other key industry stakeholders. The Climbing Wall Association imagines a world where everyone has access to climbing walls and the work to achieve that mission is rooted in serving those that provide that access.
As the indoor climbing industry grows, the CWA continues to lead in providing the resources necessary to nurture the sport of indoor climbing and industry stakeholders that support its advocacy; the development of industry standards; publication of relevant industry news, data and analysis; facilitating certification and professional development programs; and producing community-building and educational events. The CWA is the industry thought leader of professionalism, legislative action, and healthy growth of the sport of indoor climbing; protecting the interests of all who support the industry.
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
SEE GRIP SHOWCASE CHATTANOOGA RESULTS
Indoor climbing is defined by the holds used on each route and the movements routesetters produce with them. It’s a constantly evolving space, with never-ending innovations in functionality and artistry of the holds, macros and volumes.
CBJ Grip Showcase events celebrate this innovation. We are routesetters, and we love holds!
The third and final Grip Showcase of 2023 was held on December 15th at Synergy Climbing and Ninja in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the official afterparty of the Indoor Climbing Expo. Thanks to routesetters Davis Stewart, Teryn Schwind, Chris Little and Langdon Johnson.
Each route is set with holds from a single brand, and you are invited to vote on your favorites! We will use a 5-star rating for each brand/route, and the winner will receive the Grip List Showcase Award.
Learn more about past winners and Grip Showcase history here.
The Chattanooga event would not be possible without the generous support of these brand sponsors:
Access Fund, climbing’s foremost advocate for protecting America’s climbing, and KAYA, the nation’s fastest growing digital guidebook platform, have teamed up!
KAYA and Access Fund have partnered to help protect our natural climbing resources by providing greater oversight, facilitating more LCO partnerships, and collectively fundraising for stewardship initiatives. As climbing rapidly grows, KAYA understands the increasing risks imposed on outdoor climbing sustainability. The goal of the collaboration is to support Access Fund’s mission of protecting America’s climbing by educating climbers on stewardship best practices and ensuring that climbers respect access sensitive areas.
Climbers who opt-in to communication from Access Fund via KAYA will receive push notifications regarding local area access news and national level updates. Additionally, users are given the opportunity in-app to commit to The Climbers Pact, donate directly to Access Fund, or to become a KAYA PRO member and donate a portion of their membership to Access Fund.
Access Fund is working to provide their LCO network with opportunities to connect with KAYA to provide greater oversight, moderation, and insight to protect specific areas. In turn, KAYA is providing a platform for these climbing organizations to communicate directly with climbers, host events, share revenue, and fundraise to support stewardship efforts.
We are so pleased to be working together to help educate climbers with stewardship principles and promote sustainability to protect the places we play and love.
Discover what our team accomplished this year in partnership with climbing organizations around the world.
Invested in the growth of 21 climbing leaders in Kenya and Malawi through in-depth Climbing Leadership Fund trainings.
Sent more than $25,000 in gear to climbing organizations creating positive impact in Egypt, Panama, Thailand, Kenya, Brazil, Malawi, Colombia, and Nepal.
Awarded our first community grants to the following 9 projects:
Rope safety skills for Indigenous honey harvesters in India
Waste management and environmental education in Ecuador
Belay platforms for erosion mitigation in the Philippines
Leave No Trace workshops in Mexico
Drill and inclusive bolting education in India
Women’s climbing festival in Peru
Wilderness first aid certification in Brazil
Rebolting education in Mexico
Powerstar film in India
Published 5 best practices chapters on responsible tourism, route naming, climbing festivals, protecting animals, and building bridges with rural communities.
Thank you for your continued support as we embark on 2024! We rely on donors like you to make each of these initiatives possible. Every little bit helps. To learn how you can support any of our program areas, click the button below.
SupportCBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Salt Lake City, UT – December 14, 2023 – USA Climbing is proud to announce that the USA Climbing National Team Trials and Paraclimbing National Championships will once again be combined into one National Team-qualifying event for our Elite and Paraclimbing series for the 2024 season.
This is the second year in which these events will be hosted in the same location, both being hosted at Sportrock Climbing Center’s newest facility in Gaithersburg, MD, March 5-10. The National Team Trials will be the second and final selection event for the Elite series whereas the Paraclimbing Nationals is the sole selection event for the Paraclimbing series. By the conclusion of both events, top athletes will be designated to represent the U.S. at international World Cup and Paraclimbing World Cup events sanctioned by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC).
This year’s National Team Trials event will be held on March 5-8, highlighting all three climbing disciplines: Boulder, Lead and Speed and the stakes could never be higher. The top two (2) ranked U.S. athletes after the conclusion of this event will join those athletes who are already selected to the U.S. National Team in 2024. Athletes from the newly formed National Team will begin their quest of competing on the IFSC World Cup circuit, some with the opportunity of competing at the Olympic Qualifying Series in search of the two (2) remaining Olympic quota spots for Team USA.
“Sportrock is ecstatic to be partnering with USA Climbing once again to showcase climbing at the highest level,” said Jeffrey Shor, Director of Marketing for Sportrock. “We are committed to facilitating the progression of the sport in all aspects. This is why we built the Sportrock Performance Institute in 2020, and invested in full 15m speed lanes with IFSC regulation holds. It’s why we are so dedicated to our youth teams and to the craft of routesetting. Hosting high-level competition climbing was at the forefront of the planning process for our newest project, our uber modern facility at the Rio complex in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Every angle of the gym had this purpose in mind and this March we cannot wait to show it off to the climbing world!”
“We are thrilled to be able to bring these two events together once again,” said John Muse, Vice President of Sport for USA Climbing. “We are also very pleased with the new scheduling format and hope that it will allow more spectators and competitors to be a part of both of these amazing events.”
The 2024 Paraclimbing National Championships, to be held March 9-10, will directly follow the National Team Trials events, where the top three (3) ranked U.S. athletes per gender in each category will go on to represent the U.S. as a part of the Paraclimbing National Team. Paraclimbing has seen a massive leap in growth over the past several years and this year’s National Championship event is sure to be even bigger and more competitive than ever before.
Registration will be available on Wednesday, December 20. Information regarding lodging and spectating will also be shared closer to the events.
About USA Climbing: USA Climbing is the national governing body for competitive climbing in the United States, supporting athletes, coaches, and events across the country. As a nonprofit organization, USA Climbing’s mission is to promote the growth and development of climbing while advocating for the sport’s values of inclusivity, sportsmanship, and environmental responsibility. For more information contact:
Patrick Bodnar | Marketing & Communications Director | patrick@usaclimbing.org
To learn more about USAC, visit usaclimbing.org. Follow USAC on social media @usaclimbing
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Today the inaugural Indoor Climbing Expo kicked off in Chattanooga with roundtables, a seminar, and an expo hall filled with great products, services and friends. It’s not too late to join the party! Friday night features the CBJ Grip Showcase at Synergy!This week our Gym List Awards recognized the new North American climbing gyms that opened in 2023, as well as the top wall builder, floor installer, and management software.Four more athletes earned their tickets to Paris 2024 at last week’s African continental qualifier, leaving only next spring’s qualification series in Shanghai and Budapest as the last chance to make it to this Olympic Games.See The Freshest Job Posts Here
CBJ hosts the most active job board for climbing businesses and organizations. Below are the latest posts from this past week…
Invested in the growth of 21 climbing leaders in Kenya and Malawi through in-depth 
Sent 
Awarded our first 
Published 5 
Salt Lake City, UT – December 14, 2023 – 
This year’s National Team Trials event will be held on March 5-8, highlighting all three climbing disciplines: Boulder, Lead and Speed and the stakes could never be higher. The top two (2) ranked U.S. athletes after the conclusion of this event will join those athletes who are already selected to the U.S. National Team in 2024. Athletes from the newly formed National Team will begin their quest of competing on the IFSC World Cup circuit, some with the opportunity of competing at the Olympic Qualifying Series in search of the two (2) remaining Olympic quota spots for Team USA.
“Sportrock is ecstatic to be partnering with USA Climbing once again to showcase climbing at the highest level,” said Jeffrey Shor, Director of Marketing for Sportrock. “We are committed to facilitating the progression of the sport in all aspects. This is why we built the Sportrock Performance Institute in 2020, and invested in full 15m speed lanes with IFSC regulation holds. It’s why we are so dedicated to our youth teams and to the craft of routesetting. Hosting high-level competition climbing was at the forefront of the planning process for our newest project, our uber modern facility at the Rio complex in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Every angle of the gym had this purpose in mind and this March we cannot wait to show it off to the climbing world!”
“We are thrilled to be able to bring these two events together once again,” said John Muse, Vice President of Sport for USA Climbing. “We are also very pleased with the new scheduling format and hope that it will allow more spectators and competitors to be a part of both of these amazing events.”
The 2024 Paraclimbing National Championships, to be held March 9-10, will directly follow the National Team Trials events, where the top three (3) ranked U.S. athletes per gender in each category will go on to represent the U.S. as a part of the Paraclimbing National Team. Paraclimbing has seen a massive leap in growth over the past several years and this year’s National Championship event is sure to be even bigger and more competitive than ever before.
Registration will be available on Wednesday, December 20. Information regarding lodging and spectating will also be shared closer to the events.
About USA Climbing: USA Climbing is the national governing body for competitive climbing in the United States, supporting athletes, coaches, and events across the country. As a nonprofit organization, USA Climbing’s mission is to promote the growth and development of climbing while advocating for the sport’s values of inclusivity, sportsmanship, and environmental responsibility. For more information contact:
Patrick Bodnar | Marketing & Communications Director | 
