Got your tickets to Vertical Pro?

CBJ Press Release Service
-
0
Got your tickets to Vertical Pro?

From Route Setting to Workforce Shortages: Vertical Pro and Partners to Provide Expertise.

Friedrichshafen—This year’s Vertical Pro promises to showcase all of the subtle synergy between the areas of rope access technology, rescue from heights, bouldering, sport climbing, and high ropes courses from November 24 – 25th, 2023. Along with a diverse range of opportunities for testing and tryouts, a comprehensive program of conferences will take center stage at this two-day professional event. “Assembly, rescuing, fastening, inspecting, securing – all these are tasks that people perform while climbing,” explained project manager Sharon Kommer while expressing her excitement about the third edition of this event, which will provide climbing professionals from various industries the opportunity for an interdisciplinary meetup this coming November. In addition to the German Alpine Club (DAV), the International Adventure Park Association (IAPA), and the DRK Mountain Rescue Württemberg, the Professional and Interest Association for Rope-supported Work Techniques (FISAT) will once again be a partner in the program of events. Vertical professionals from the sports and recreational climbing industry will convene at Vertical Pro’s “Halls & Walls,” the DAV’s international climbing hall meeting, to talk about everything to do with boulder holds, wall elements and climbing hall accessories. Get Tickets To Vertical Pro Here

Route Setting: Creative and Functional

What does it take to create lastingly attractive routes and boulders in artificial climbing facilities? This is the question that the DAV’s panel discussion will seek to answer while shedding light on the central tasks and concerns of climbing and bouldering halls – from organization to equipment. The DAV program’s other presentations will also revolve around sport and fun on the wall, with experts on hand to provide insights and inspiration for creative route setting and to address the role of social media, too. The panels will also explore the topic of inclusion and the requirements for target group specific route setting for people with and without disabilities. The goal, of course, is affording climbing fun to all.

Adventure Parks, Climbing Gardens & More: IAPA Event Program

The shortage of skilled labor is affecting the outdoor sports and adventure industry, too. This November, speakers  from the IAPA will talk about possible solutions to this challenge. Presentations on inspection and maintenance will also be on the program. From zip lines and safety harnesses to IT solutions, the prestigious IAPA Innovation Award, which will once again be presented at Vertical Pro this year, will highlight the industry’s ingenuity.

Safety First: FISAT and DRK Mountain Rescue

Whether at work or in leisure time, safety and hazard prevention on and around ropes will be of paramount importance at Vertical Pro. The program of events will showcase the professional expertise of FISAT and others in the context of commercial applications and that of DRK Mountain Rescue Württemberg in matters related to rescuing at height or in rugged terrain. Together with co-exhibitor Tyromont, the mountain rescue service’s supplier of technical equipment, these high-altitude professionals will provide skillful demonstrations of operations and rescue scenarios at the container tower and obstacle course. The third Vertical Pro is to take place on November 24 and 25, 2023. Opening hours: Friday, November 24, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, November 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are available online (single-day for 42 euro, and two days for 49 euro) at www.vertical-pro.com. Find out more on Instagram at @verticalpro_official and #verticalpro. Get Tickets To Vertical Pro Here
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

Not Your Traditional Rec Center Wall

Naomi Stevens
-
0
Not Your Traditional Rec Center Wall
ROX Climbing Gym building exterior
Lake Nona Performance Club in Orlando was blueprinted to showcase ROX Climbing Gym, a complete climbing space inside the recreation center that includes 42-foot roped walls and a plethora of boulders. (All images courtesy of OLC Designs)

ROX Climbing Gym at Lake Nona Performance Club Orlando, Florida

Specs: ROX Climbing Gym is the indoor climbing portion of the Lake Nona Performance Club in Orlando, Florida. “Lake Nona is an active community that is continuing to grow,” Molly Smeltzer, the Director of Operations at the club, stated. “The market and the location were perfect…Lake Nona Performance Club’s mission is to provide health and wellness to anyone at any level, and when determining the comprehensive programs, we knew that including a climbing wall would expand fitness offerings to families, college students, beginner and advanced climbers.” The club opened in August 2021, and the design of the entire facility—including the climbing space—was led by Denver-based OLC Designs. OLC has worked on climbing facilities in the past—such as Übergrippen Denver—and for the climbing area’s design the company collaborated with Jerad Wells, Director of International Sales & Business Development at Eldorado Climbing, another Colorado brand.
Atomik Climbing Holds
According to Hervey Lavoie, Senior Principal of OLC, one aspect the design team focused on was making the climbing walls stand out to passersby. “We couldn’t hide it away in the back corridors of a club; it needed to showcase itself to people outside the building as well as people in the building,” Lavoie said. Also important was designing the climbing area to be a separate, standalone climbing gym within the club—something less common for recreation centers in the U.S., where there may be only a small wall or single tower. “Contrary to a lot of our other projects over the years, this climbing facility needed to be more than just a cool looking thing in the lobby that nobody used. It needed to be positioned so it could be utilized by a large population of users, and that it could be developed/designed to have sustainable appeal to that market,” said Lavoie. “We knew that we needed to have a substantial area for [the climbing walls], that it had to be more than just a single spire,” he added.
Bouldering walls at ROX
Eldo Walls manufactured the bright orange climbing walls at the gym and provided the flooring underneath.
The completed ROX Climbing Gym covers 7,500 square feet of floor space and comprises the bulk of a two-story lobby in a three-story building, with 13’6” boulders, 42-foot lead walls, top rope climbing, and auto belays. Lavoie said the wall was designed to be a “vertical canvas of a variety of holds designed to challenge the climber and…be used by the full range of climbers, from beginners to experts.” Club members can access the climbing via a climbing wall add-on, or individuals can purchase climbing-only memberships. Classes at the gym cover belaying, bouldering and lead climbing, as well as advanced movement and technique. ROX also hosts youth training programs, college student nights, competitions, and bouldering leagues.
Roped climbing walls at ROX
The central pillar of ROX is the focal point of the club’s two-story lobby, visible to visitors walking by the building.
Architect: OLC Designs Walls: Eldorado Climbing Flooring: Eldorado Climbing CRM Software: RGP and Club Automation Website: lakenonaperformanceclub.com/program/rox-climbing-gym/ Instagram: @RoxClimbingGym In Their Words: “Define who your target audience will be and plan accordingly. If you’re focused on members of the recreation center only, come up with how climbing integrates with the rest of the center. This will inform how large of a space you may need. If you are planning on attracting people outside of the recreation center, plan to make yourself available for them by looking at climbing wall trends in open hours, rates, possible separate entrances, room for specific training for climbers, and a separate birthday/special event/team training area.” –  Molly Smeltzer, Director of Operations at Lake Nona Performance Club

How to Host the Perfect Reel Rock Screening

Reel Rock
-
0
How to Host the Perfect Reel Rock Screening
2022 Reel Rock 17 screening in Seattle
Reel Rock film screenings have become an annual tradition at climbing communities worldwide, a marquee event that brings folks together with the year’s biggest stories in climbing. (Pictured: a Reel Rock 17 screening in Seattle last year; all images courtesy of Reel Rock)
Nothing brings people together quite like a movie night—it’s a classic community builder for a reason. And when the event includes some of the year’s best climbing films and takes place at a rock gym, it’s a surefire way to get people stoked about coming back to the gym to get strong for their own climbing objectives. Reel Rock has been specializing in exactly that concept since 2005, when Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen—the names behind smash hit climbing documentaries like Valley Uprising, The Dawn Wall and The Alpinist—founded the now-iconic film tour. Every year, climbers across the country gather at their local gyms and theaters to celebrate, as Reel Rock puts it, “the human side behind the sport’s greatest adventures and achievements.”

Why host a screening?

Hosting a Reel Rock screening offers your facility the chance to build a tradition, and it helps that the film tour is part of the national climbing scene, thereby connecting your customers to the greater community. And while any rad climbing film will likely draw an audience, there are advantages to using an established series: once you’ve signed a contract to host a screening, Reel Rock is ready with marketing materials to help you get the word out, including an electronic press kit and access to their poster files, logo, film descriptions, and high-resolution images. Showings are typically hosted by climbing gyms, student groups, nonprofits and retail shops, and the event can be anything from a low-key movie night to a fundraiser for conservation or improvements at the local crag. Hosts can also enlist local sponsors to help promote the event and cover licensing fees. There’s tons of room for creativity to hold an event that suits your community. “It’s turned into a beloved community event,” says Bend Endurance Academy’s Ann Leitheiser. Her facility isn’t alone—hundreds of gyms around the U.S. hosted a screening in 2022, whether at their own facilities or at another local venue. Jason Henrie of Flagstaff Climbing echoes that sentiment: “It’s a holiday everyone looks forward to,” he says, adding that they eventually sought out a larger venue to accommodate the growing number of climbers who wanted to attend.
Reel Rock screening at Onsight Climbing Gym
You’re never alone when it comes to hosting a Reel Rock screening. Hundreds of climbing gyms in North America put on the show each year, and Reel Rock always provides support. (Pictured: a Reel Rock screening at Onsight Climbing Gym in Knoxville, Tennessee)

What makes a great screening?

Like any event that gets climbers excited, you’ll need a few key elements: a comfortable venue, snacks or drinks, and a way to keep folks entertained before and after the showing. If you’re comfortable with your ability to draw a bigger crowd than can easily fit in your gym space, it’s likely worth partnering with a local theater, brewery, or other large event space—the more tickets you sell, the bigger those margins get. On the other hand, plenty of gyms host Reel Rock screenings in their own facilities with borrowed screens, projectors and speakers. The key is to make sure there’s plenty of seating, which can be accomplished in a number of ways: “We always have ‘BYOS,’ or ‘bring your own seat,’ and the filmgoers set up their camping chairs, blankets, crash pads, etc., on the mat,” says Lisa Hill of Knoxville, Tennessee’s Onsight Rock Gym. “Some people sling their hammocks on the wall for the films, too!” And while the movies themselves get folks in the door, you’ll need a way to keep them engaged throughout the show. “This year, we’re planning a ‘bat hang’ competition and a sort-of flash comp where you buy your right to send and win raffle tickets,” Hill adds. “It also doesn’t hurt that Reel Rock tends to bring in members of the community that have not been to the gym before, so it gets us some exposure, as well.” Climbing comps are popular additions to Reel Rock screenings, but less logistics-heavy offerings can entice folks, too: consider securing a handful of donations from local outdoor shops and running a raffle to benefit your local Access Fund chapter, asking some climbing trivia questions in exchange for punch cards or day passes to your facility, or bringing in your local route developers to talk about what’s going on at the crag and how folks can get involved. A happy hour before or after the show is also a great way to get attendees to mingle and meet new climbing partners. Local breweries and kombucha makers are often willing to pitch in or offer discounts for community events, particularly if there’s a nonprofit element. Again, the food and drink don’t need to be anything fancy; the idea is to encourage folks to stick around, talk about the films, and maybe find someone to meet up and swap belays with at your facility. While teaming up with other local businesses and nonprofits in your community is a great way to incentivize the screening and draw in different kinds of audience members, it’s not imperative. Not every gym has the bandwidth for coordinating a large event; simple screenings can also be a blast, build community and attract new members—as long as everyone is sharing the stoke!
RR13 screening in Jakarta
There’s no limit on what a Reel Rock screening can look like. Climbing gyms and communities come in all shapes and sizes, and you can tailor your Reel Rock screening to the scale that best fits yours. (Pictured: a Reel Rock 13 screening in Jakarta, Indonesia)

What should I know before I get started?

First of all, you’re far from alone, even if you’ve never hosted any kind of film screening before. “The folks at Reel Rock are very helpful, and they want your event to succeed,” says Flagstaff Climbing’s Henrie. Hill of Onsight Rock Gym agrees: “They even sent some killer Reel Rock swag to include in our raffle!” Once you’ve committed to a screening, gyms who’ve hosted Reel Rock before recommend identifying your goals for hosting. “Consider putting profit lower down on that list,” says Jacob Yufa of Teton Rock Gym, a small nonprofit facility in Driggs, Idaho. In locations that don’t yet have large climbing communities or that haven’t screened the films before, it takes time to build a large turnout—but “we think it’s a valuable part of building community and well worth the effort,” Yufa says, adding that Reel Rock has been “willing to work with us since the beginning to make sure we were able to bring the festival despite our small size.” Put aside a budget for your screening, and know that the licensing fee to host a screening is an investment; this idea is something each of the five facilities we talked to for this article noted as a factor to consider when deciding whether to host the festival. But as Yufa points out, it’s not prohibitive, even for a small facility with a correspondingly small budget. “Start promoting early, and try to screen it during the national tour,” says Kellina Breakfield at The Commons in Boise, Idaho. After the national tour, she says, many of your potential guests may have already seen the films; this way, you’ll catch them while everyone’s talking about Reel Rock. Breakfield adds that their screening is one of their biggest events of the year. Once you have promotion underway, you’ll want to think about logistics. If you’re hosting the event at your facility and don’t already have A/V equipment, consider checking with a local community college or university, who can often rent their gear and a student tech for a reasonable fee. Most importantly, do a test run of the equipment and the film files before you’ve got a gym full of people excited to see the year’s biggest climbing stories. On the night of the big event, don’t forget to have someone capture candid photos throughout the screening. Not only will your guests be excited to catch a glimpse of their favorite moments on your social media channels or through a follow-up email campaign, but it’ll also make it that much easier to promote your new Reel Rock screening tradition next year.

Important Information and Dates

This year’s Reel Rock tour kicks off February 16, 2024 in the film company’s hometown of Boulder, Colorado—the main window for the global tour will run for approximately 6 weeks, until the virtual screening in late March. Many gyms and event producers elect to host their screenings outside this initial tour window depending on their specific goals. If profit is a top priority, we suggest hosting your screening during this window. However, if community building, member appreciation or new member acquisition is your primary objective, then there’s no rush to complete your screening—anytime throughout the spring, summer or fall months is a possibility. Interested in bringing Reel Rock to your community? Click here to learn more and book your Reel Rock 18 screening!  
This story was paid for by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

When the Crisis Arrives, Will You Be Ready?

Climbing Business Journal
-
0
When the Crisis Arrives, Will You Be Ready?
Mastering Business Risk, Safety, & Crisis

Business predictably has risks, so be prepared.

In this seminar we will talk about some of the common but less discussed business risks as well as strategies to mitigate them: protecting your business from competition, staff safety and risk management training, managing HR crises, and more. Additionally, we will provide and detail how to use a framework to proactively plan for risk, review and revise that plan, and take action when risk is encountered. Attendees will walk away with a framework with which to identify, categorize and manage risk. Ready to learn more? Join us Thursday, October 26th at 11:00am MDT for “Mastering Business Risk, Safety & Crisis”. This is the latest webinar in our Climbing Gym Management Series with host Gavin Heverly of Rise Above Consulting. CBJ Members: RSVP Here For Free Access** Not a Member? Purchase Access Here for $59
Eldorado Climbing

Miss our previous webinars?

No, you didn’t! Recordings of our earlier sessions are accessible 24/7 with a Plus or Premium membership or individual purchases of $59. Here’s what some attendees said: “There were definitely a lot of takeaways, which we are already implementing into our processes.” Andrew Kozak, Vice President, Sportrock “Fantastic webinar! We’re going to share with other staff who couldn’t attend.” Patrick Bodnar, Marketing Manager, The Spot “Really well done and put together nicely!” More webinar excerpts here **Live webinars are offered as a FREE member benefit to staff of CBJ member businesses at the Biz level and above. Each staff member must RSVP, although managers can RSVP for multiple staff. The on-demand video recordings are available to staff at Plus or Premium member businesses and individual purchasers. Questions about accessing these recordings? Email us at info@climbingbusinessjournal.com. Not a member yet? No problem, RSVP and be sure to enroll 48hrs before each webinar:

Previous webinars

Make Next Year Your Best Ever Build Programs Your Customers Will Love Sales Strategies To Launch Strong And Keep Growing Building Loyalty Through Customer Service Design Hiring and Retaining Your All-Star Team Setting Your Culture Up For Success Launching Your First Climbing Gym

Is Your Gym on Our Map?

Climbing Business Journal
-
0
Is Your Gym on Our Map?
Is your gym missing at CBJ?
Image by Climbing Business Journal
Have you checked out the CBJ Gym Map lately? Is your gym on there? CBJ’s map is the most comprehensive source of climbing facility and wall locations and specifications around the globe. We’re proud of this industry resource we’ve steadily built over the past 10 years. But we could not do it without YOU! We’d really appreciate it if you took a moment to look up your gym(s). Any locations missing? Or need to update your details? Please add or update your gym listing(s) here. The dataset behind the map also powers our annual Gyms & Trends Report and Gym List Awards. So, we sincerely thank you for your help making these industry resources the best they can be! Add or Update Your Gym Here

Climb Insider: gym manager resource extravaganza

Climbing Business Journal
-
0
Climb Insider: gym manager resource extravaganza
image of annie sanders climbing in competition

Just a few thoughts

This week a plethora of great resources for gym managers and staff. Podcasts about the recent auto belay settlement and opening a training-focused gym. Events for risk managers and coaches. Articles about accessibility, hosting a speed comp, retail brands, and affinity groups. A video series from a German gym and builder. And the freshest new hold shapes. Good luck to all the athletes in Idaho for US Nationals! See The Freshest Job Posts Here

Community & Culture

Atomik Climbing Holds

Comp Scene

For Gym Managers

For Routesetters

Training Tips

Manage Pacific Edge – Climbing Jobs Weekly 2023 October 12

Climbing Business Journal
-
0
Manage Pacific Edge – Climbing Jobs Weekly 2023 October 12
image of pacific edge CBJ hosts the most active job board for climbing businesses and organizations. Below are the latest posts from this past week…
Manager Pacific Edge Santa Cruz, CA “Pacific Edge is a thriving business and community- we hold a special place in the hearts of thousands of California climbers.  We have grown consistently for decades. You would be joining a management team consisting of one owner, one General Manager, one Assistant Manager, and six coordinator level team members.  The Gym runs with about 10 full-time and up to 25 part time staff. If you are an experienced manager who loves people, loves climbing, and are excited to share that passion, this could be THE job for you.”
Elevate Climbing Walls

JOB SEEKER TIPS:

​Top Tips for How to Ace Your Online Video Job Interview By Randall Hansen “The ideal scenario for your interview location is a secluded room in which you can shut out distractions (and noises), control the lighting, and display a generic background. Ideally, you’ll want to have some diffused lighting so as not to create shadows or glare, plus a plain wall as your backdrop. You should also have a location in which you can be seen on camera from about the waist up.” 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
Assistant Coach and Routesetter at Gecko Phoenix, AZ FT – coach, instructor, routesetter
Manager at Pacific Edge Santa Cruz, CA FT – manager
Front Desk Staff at Ascent Studio Fort Collins, CO PT – front desk
Events and Partnership Manager at The Spot Front Range, CO FT – manager
Chief Executive Officer at Colorado Mountain Club Golden, CO FT – manager, other
Head Setter/Assistant Coach at Gravity Vault Montclair, NJ FT – manager, routesetter
Shift Leader at Gravity Vault Upper Saddle River, NJ PT – front desk
Head of Youth Programming + Head Comp Coach at The Cliffs Queens, NY FT – manager
Head Setter at Hub Mississauga, ON FT – routesetter
Gym Supervisor at Multnomah Athletic Club Portland, OR FT – other
Assistant Manager at Doylestown Rock Gym Doylestown, PA FT – manager
Routesetter at Sportrock Alexandria, Sterling, Gaithersburg, VA/MD FT – routesetter
Head Routesetter at Edgeworks Tacoma, WA FT – routesetter
Wall Installer – Level 1 at EP USA FT – manufacturing

Career Centers of Climbing Industry

NAMETYPELOCATION
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/access-fund.pngAccess Fundhttps://www.accessfund.org/about/careersorganizationUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/wi-adventure-rock.pngAdventure Rockhttps://adventurerock.com/jobs/facilityUSA - WI
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-alpine.pngAlpine Climbing Adventure Fitnesshttps://climbatalpine.com/about/careers/facilityUSA - CA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/american-alpine-club.pngAmerican Alpine Clubhttps://americanalpineclub.org/jobsorganizationUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/pa-ascend.pngASCEND Climbinghttps://www.ascendclimbing.com/ascend-jobsfacilityUSA - OH, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-ascent-studio.pngAscent Studiohttps://ascentstudio.com/employment/facilityUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/bouldering-project-1.pngBouldering Project (pick location)https://boulderingproject.com/facilityUSA - MN, TX, UT, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ab-calgary-climbing-centre.jpgCalgary Climbing Centrehttps://calgaryclimbing.com/employment/facilityCanada - AB
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/central-rock-gym-1.pngCentral Rock Gymhttps://centralrockgym.com/careers/facilityUSA - CT, FL, MA, NY, RI
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/eldorado-wall-company.pngEldorado Climbinghttps://eldowalls.com/pages/careersproductUSA - CO - Louisville
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/entre-prises.pngEP Climbinghttps://epclimbing.com/na/en/ep-usa-careersproductUSA - OR - Bend
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/everlast.pngEverlast / Kumiki / Groperz / eXpressionhttps://everlastclimbing.com/pages/careersproductUSA - MN
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/il-first-ascent.pngFA Climbinghttps://faclimbing.com/careers/facilityUSA - IL, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/on-guelph-grotto.pngGuelph Grottohttps://www.guelphgrotto.com/careersfacilityCanada - ON - Guelph
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/head-rush.pngHead Rush Technologies // TRUBLUEhttps://trublueclimbing.com/about/careersproductUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tn-high-point.pngHigh Point Climbing & Fitnesshttps://www.highpointclimbing.com/employmentfacilityUSA - AL, TN
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/impact.pngIMPACThttps://impactclimbing.com/careers/productCanada - ON - Milton
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/on-junction.pngJunction Climbing Centrehttps://www.junctionclimbing.com/employment-opportunitiesfacilityCanada - ON - London
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ma-metrorock.pngMetroRockhttps://metrorock.com/facilityUSA - MA, NY, VT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/momentum-1.pngMomentumhttps://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/df699b76-9e67-4daa-9236-27d597e75dbf/Momentum-LLCfacilityUSA - TX, UT, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/movement-1.pngMovement Gymshttps://movementgyms.com/careers/facilityUSA - CA, CO, IL, MD, OR, TX, VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/olc-architecture.pngOLC Architecturehttps://www.olcdesigns.com/about-us/#teammemberserviceUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/onsite.pngOnSitehttps://www.theonsite.com/careersproductCanada - QC
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/organic.pngOrganic Climbinghttps://organicclimbing.com/pages/employment-opportunitiesproductUSA - PA - Philipsburg
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/va-peak-experiences.pngPeak Experienceshttps://www.peakexperiences.com/employmentfacilityUSA - VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/salon-de-lescalade.pngSalon de l'Escaladehttps://www.salon-escalade.com/vertical-jobs/recruteurs/organizationFrance
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/nm-stone-age.pngStone Agehttps://climbstoneage.com/employment-staff/facilityUSA - NM - Albuquerque
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ut-the-front.pngThe Fronthttps://thefrontclimbingclub.com/careers/facilityUSA - UT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/the-gravity-vault.pngThe Gravity Vaulthttps://gravityvault.com/careersfacilityUSA - CA, NJ, NY, PA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-the-pad.pngThe Padhttps://www.thepadclimbing.org/employment/facilityUSA - CA, NV
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-the-spot.pngThe Spothttps://www.thespotgym.com/careersfacilitiesUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/trango.pngTrango // Tenayahttps://trango.com/pages/careersproductUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/treadwall-fitness.pngTreadwallhttps://treadwallfitness.com/careers/productUSA - MA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/nc-triangle-rock-club.pngTriangle Rock Club (choose location)https://www.trianglerockclub.com/morrisville/about/employment/facilityUSA - NC, VA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/co-ubergrippen.pngUbergrippenhttps://ugclimbing.com/jobs/facilityUSA - CO
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/UK-Climbing.pngUKC (jobs in UK)https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/job_finder/organizationUnited Kingdom
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vertical-solutions.jpgVertical Solutions // Habit // Proxy // Pebblehttps://vsclimbinggyms.com/company/careersproductUSA - UT
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/wa-vertical-world.pngVertical Worldhttps://verticalworld.com/facilityUSA - WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ca-vital.pngVitalhttps://www.vitalclimbinggym.com/careersfacilityUSA - CA, NY, WA
http://climbsesh2024.flywheelsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/walltopia.pngWalltopiahttps://careers.walltopia.com/productsBulgaria

Justin Salas on Visual Impairment Accessibility in Climbing Gyms (Checklist Included)

Emily Chen-Newton
-
0
Justin Salas on Visual Impairment Accessibility in Climbing Gyms (Checklist Included)
Matt Fredrick (left) stands beside Justin Salas holding Salas’ wrists, guiding his arms and hands through the movement sequence of the climb in front of them at the 2023 Paraclimbing National Championship in Austin, Texas. (Image credit: Emily Chen-Newton)
Matt Frederick (left) stands beside Justin Salas holding Salas’ wrists, guiding his arms and hands through the movement sequence of the climb in front of them at the 2023 Paraclimbing National Championship in Austin, Texas. (Image credit: Emily Chen-Newton)
Climbing gyms can be more accessible for visually impaired (VI) climbers, especially when you make it part of your plan from the beginning. World-class blind climber Justin Salas served as an accessibility consultant for Oso Climbing Gym (open since 2020) in Dallas, Texas, and recently explained his accessibility blueprint in an interview with Climbing Business Journal. If you’re “implementing accessibility into design from the ground up, it’s always going to be more beautiful,” says Salas. Chris Whittaker, Oso’s founder, added that “you tend to get better results” when you include some kind of constraint in a creative process, whether that process is designing a gym or setting a route. “[Because] there are so many different versions of what adaptive means, [you] have to be really intentional in your design process, making sure that you’re thinking about everything,” Whittaker shares. Salas, whose visual impairment is caused by an optic neuropathy, encourages gym owners, designers and managers to consider how the extra elbow grease put into an accessible design will pay off in the end: “Maybe you have to work a little harder in your creative pursuits to try and accomplish the goal, but it also ends up making a product that’s beautiful.” It can be tempting to think of beauty as a purely visual experience. But with his list of visual impairment accessibility principles and tips, Salas reminds us that, particularly when it comes to climbing, beauty is also about texture, shape and flow.
Justin Salas catches his breath on an exercise bike in Oso climbing gym’s training area. (Image credit: Justin Salas)
Justin Salas catches his breath on an exercise bike in Oso climbing gym’s training area. (Image credit: Justin Salas)

The Principles

Consider Your Colors

Visual impairments (VIs) occur on a spectrum. So, while color choice might not make a difference to all VI climbers, it can be critical for many. Try to organize your gym with distinctly different colors next to each other. If, for example, your free weights, plates and equipment are mostly black, then light gray mats on the floor would be best. Or, if your flooring is black, then go with a bright color for your plates. The same rule applies to routesetting; whenever possible, try to increase the contrast between colors. Oso, for example, stopped using orange holds entirely. The color is so similar to pink, red and yellow, it was too difficult to maintain high color contrast with orange in the mix. By not using orange holds at the gym, they’re now able to maintain better color contrast between all their routes. This same principle should be applied to the wall color itself. Salas suggests thinking about the wall “almost like a canvas for the routesetters.” By offering a blank canvas, setters can actually have more freedom, their art is clearly on display, and VI climbers can follow the routes more easily. Online there are plenty of color-blindness-friendly design tips and resources.
OnSite

Synchronize Shapes

When Justin Salas talks about accessibility, he speaks about creativity, ingenuity and integration, and gyms ideally being “functionally accessible and elegant.” One solution he offers for achieving that balance is to set routes with holds of a similar shape (and color). Coordinating shape and texture gives you a route that a VI climber can follow with their fingers, while still being eye-catching for sighted climbers glancing around the gym—a functionally accessible and elegant solution. Salas acknowledges that all gyms have budgets that can limit hold variety. At the very least, he suggests prioritizing “the cruxes to have similar holds, so it’s easier to follow those particular moves if you can’t see and you’re memorizing.” Additionally, non-textured bolt covers are an excellent way to make sure blind and sighted climbers alike are not stepping on or grabbing bolts.
A climber with a turquoise hoodie and bright red ponytail reaches high to grab a lumpy yellow hold resembling a loaf french brioche bread. The yellow holds below her share this shape and texture as a prime example of setting similar holds together. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)
A climber with a turquoise hoodie and bright red ponytail reaches high to grab a lumpy yellow hold resembling a loaf French brioche bread. The yellow holds below her share this shape and texture as a prime example of setting similar holds together. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)

Consistent Lighting; Avoid Shadows

The more visual variables you can take away, the better. So, just as keeping your wall color consistent is preferable, so is having consistent lighting. As Salas says, “If you are dealing with a visual impairment and there’s bizarre, crazy shadows being cast across the walls, it’s like perfect camouflage.” Window film treatments or shades can greatly improve the VI accessibility of your space, “even if it sounds like a luxury,” says Salas.

Consistent Sound; Avoid Speaker Blast Zones

We’ve all been in this situation before: A climber is trying to communicate at the top of a wall, but you can barely make out their words because they’re near the gym’s speakers. Now, imagine you or your climbing partner has a visual impairment and the verbal cues being garbled by the speakers are even more vital. This type of scenario can be “nerve-wracking” at best, according to Salas, and dangerous at worst (even for sighted climbers). He recommends, in general, having more speakers at a lower volume instead of just a few blasting on high. If you place your speakers in “key areas with lower volume, you hear the music well, but it’s not overpowering each space,” Salas explains. Because walls and other hard surfaces reflect sound, a climbing gym can pose a distinct acoustical challenge. You could hire an acoustic consultant, but a good basic rule is to keep your speakers 2-3 feet away from the nearest wall or put a sound absorption panel behind the speaker. These simple adjustments can reduce sound reflection and, in particular, help keep the bass under control.
Rockwerx

Intuitive Flow and Organization

When you’re setting a problem or working out the sequence of a route, you’re finding the most intuitive flow. That’s the same mindset you need when designing the layout of your gym. It’s important for people with VIs to be able to memorize key pathways in a space. Salas points out how Oso’s layout is easy to remember because “the gym kind of flows between its segmented areas.” Simple shapes like squares and circles often work best. “Essentially, if you were ever lost in [Oso] or if you were having a hard time locating a bathroom, you just make one big loop and come back to the front desk,” Salas says. Oso’s layout is just one example. The general principle to keep in mind here is that “simple is more elegant, but it’s also more useful,” summarizes Salas. He advises thinking about the natural flow of traffic in a gym and grouping areas and equipment together that are often used simultaneously. For instance, you could include cubby areas near the climbing walls for easy access to gym bags and water bottles while climbing. Salas gives the example of the training area at Oso, where “the hangboards are right next to free weights, which is important if you’re training fingers and you have to put more or less weight onto a harness.” With a sensible layout and clear organization, climbers are more likely to put equipment back where it belongs, making life easier for VI gym members as well as the gym staff tasked with keeping the weight room clean and organized.
This picture shows the training room at Oso featuring a light gray floor that helps ensure the black free-weights and plates are more visible. The cushioned seats on the equipment are bright yellow, making them less likely to become trip hazards. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)
This picture shows the training room at Oso featuring a light gray floor that helps ensure the black free-weights and plates are more visible. The cushioned seats on the equipment are bright yellow, making them less likely to become trip hazards. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)

Disability Awareness

Staff education is most beneficial when it involves “real-world training,” says Salas, and not just a slideshow. You could even try giving the employees at your gym “first-hand experiences,” he explains, by having them take turns being blindfolded and leading each other around the gym. “That kind of stuff is invaluable,” he says. Overall, facilitating an “open dialogue” among staff members around disability topics is important, according to Salas, so they can become comfortable talking about such things. Hiring more people with disabilities will also allow for this dialogue to develop organically within your gym. And actively bringing up these topics in advance will help prepare staff for when people with disabilities come into the gym—which is undoubtedly already happening. One in four Americans lives with a disability, according to the CDC. Many resources are available online, and you might even have accessibility advocates or programs in your area. Catalyst Sports and Paradox Sports are two such programs operating in the U.S.
Atomik Climbing Holds

The List

As you incorporate accessibility into your gym’s design and operations, below is a quick checklist from Salas to consider: 1) Train staff to work with climbers with disabilities—experienced paraclimbing athletes as well as newcomers. 2) Try to have consistent, bright lighting. 3) Wide and easy to memorize lanes/pathways are extremely important. 4) Put light-colored flooring with dark-colored free weights/plates, and vice versa. 5) Include bright-colored or reflective tape on any steps. 6) Have the cubby area on the same floor and in the same space as the climbing area. 7) Have ample top ropes for climbers who because of health conditions cannot risk big falls. This consideration can include having top rope anchors above some bouldering sections that can be used upon request. 8) Have ramps where possible (keeping in mind not to create a tripping hazard). 9) A consistent climbing wall color allows holds to stand out. 10) When setting routes, don’t put similar-colored routes next to each other. 11) Try to keep the shape/texture of holds within an individual route similar. 12) Avoid speaker blast zones, so the music is not overwhelming in particular areas. 13) Use non-textured bolt covers when possible. 14) Increasing your hold budget can help routesetters to not be limited by supply when making color choices. 15) Choose an accessible location, so climbers who rely on public transportation can reach your gym independently. 16) If your gym is not near a public transit line, consider creating a fund (from a portion of membership dues) for gym members with disabilities. These funds can be distributed directly into a member’s rideshare app and used for transport to and from the gym.
One climber makes her way up a boulder problem of large bubbly green holds as another climber looks on. This photo shows off the setting technique of placing contrasting colored climbs near one another, with iceberg shaped pink holds to her right. There are plenty of downclimbing-holds on the wall, ensuring safety for those who can’t risk big falls. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)
One climber makes her way up a boulder problem of large bubbly green holds as another climber looks on. This photo shows off the setting technique of placing contrastingly colored climbs near one another, with iceberg shaped pink holds to her right. There are plenty of downclimbing holds on the wall, ensuring safety for those who can’t risk big falls. (Image credit: Oso Climbing Gym)

Well Worth the Investment

When talking to CBJ, Salas made it clear that while he doesn’t believe you absolutely must have a person with a disability as your consultant, if you do, you gain much more than just another advisor. The cultural fabric of the team gains one more layer of nuance and complexity, bringing it closer to truly representing today’s diverse climbing community. And as paraclimbing engagement has exploded in recent years, there is a growing population of climbers with disabilities fully qualified and ready for hiring. There is potential for a cultural shift when you “have a literal ambassador for the disabled community bringing something amazing to the table,” says Salas, “[because] having someone in your presence who deals with any particular type of disability…all of a sudden you bring them into your team and you see how they do their day-to-day lives…it could potentially be really eye-opening to the team.” Justin Salas is a climber who is blind. But, there are also climbers who are deaf, climbers who are stroke survivors, climbers who use wheelchairs, and so on. The important thing to remember is that they’re all climbers—or in the case of a first timer, they could be, if the doors were opened a little wider (metaphorically and literally). To open those figurative doors, consider the needs of all climbers across the adaptive community. Depending on the size of your gym, this could mean seeking guidance from a handful of para athletes, crowdsourcing suggestions online, or hiring a consultant who is tapped into the adaptive climbing community. In any case, bear in mind Salas’ words: “Accessibility seamlessly integrated into design, I think, is the way forward and always should be the prevailing thought.”

Competition Setting Workshop Registration Now Open!

CBJ Press Release Service
-
0
Competition Setting Workshop Registration Now Open!

Competition Setting Workshop

In this workshop hosted by Kilter, you will learn the ins and outs of high level routesetting. How to create a great, well balanced youth semi-final mock round. How to set, tweak and tackle youth routesetting with a french style training camp. We will touch on everything, planning, setting, tweaking, marking… with one goal in mind; the highest quality training camp we can offer. We will have multiple opportunities to discuss with the athletes, creating a space to exchange valuable knowledge and get feedback. The Kilter workshop will be with Sarah Filler and Pierre Despagne in collaboration with the Routesetting Institute.

4 Day Workshop Oct 25th to 28th 9am to 5pm $550/Setter 8 spots 3762 Puritan Way, Erie, CO 80516 Sign Up Now
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

What Has Approach Been Up To for Climbing Gyms This Year?

Approach
-
0
What Has Approach Been Up To for Climbing Gyms This Year?
Authored by Andrew Potter As a growing software company in the climbing industry, most of our focus at Approach has been on building a better product for our gym operators and onboarding new partners. We have not spent much time letting the world know what we are up to, so we wanted to take an opportunity to catch everybody up.

New Features

Over the past twelve months, we’ve been busy expanding our development, support, and success teams to help serve our growing client base. In addition, we have been growing our product and its available features. Our list of new feature additions is long, so we are going to focus on our team’s favorite features by popular vote.
Store Credit
Store Credit “keeps money from leaving the business and also gives the customer an incentive to come back again.” (All images courtesy of Approach)

Store Credit

Store credit is no different than what you see when you walk into Home Depot. If a customer is looking for a refund for a partially used membership or expired punch pass, in most cases it is more beneficial for the business to offer store credit instead of a refund. This service keeps money from leaving the business and also gives the customer an incentive to come back again.
Customer Forms and Questionnaires
Forms and Questionnaires come with multiple question format options, to better serve customers’ individual needs.

Customer Forms and Questionnaires

This feature allows gym operators to create custom forms that ask multiple-choice, choose one, and fill-in-the-blank questions. After a customer books, say, a birthday party and fills out that form online, their answers are displayed inside the event for easy staff access. This feature is great for asking customers what T-shirt size they prefer, if they have food allergies, or if they want pizza and cake to be provided for the party.
Enhanced Portal Customization
Portal Customization allows you to make the customer journey easier on customers and trackable for the marketing team at your gym.

Enhanced Portal Customization

We made customizing your customer portal easy. From the colors and transparency on the page to your fonts and button shapes, it’s all customizable. We even made it easy to grab embed URLs if you want to focus on promoting a single membership or event. Our team integrated with Google Analytics and Meta Pixel if you are a marketing wizard and are looking to follow customer journeys. Lastly, we built a deep linking feature that allows a customer to add a promotional item directly to the cart.
Customer Support Chat
The Support Chat streamlines customer-staff interactions, helping the staff at your gym respond to customer questions and concerns.

Customer Support Chat

This feature is a game changer for gyms that require membership change requests to be submitted. Through the portal, customers can go to the support section and click on the customized options that their gym has created. A few examples would be membership change requests, youth program inquiries, private events questions, or customer complaints. Once a gym customer starts a ticket, it goes straight to the main app. This automation means that those requests do not get lost in a form or email somewhere; rather, front desk staff or on-duty managers at your gym can respond to the requests immediately. They can chat back and forth with the customer, and when the issue is resolved they can close out the ticket. It maintains a record of the conversation in the main app for you to look back at in the future.
Promo Codes
There are tons of other new features at Approach, including Promo Codes for, say, member discounts at your online store.

Other Additions

Here’s a list of other recently released features that you may not know about:
  • Future Membership Holds
  • Enhanced Checkout Screen
  • Age-Restricted Memberships and Passes
  • Quickbooks and Quickbooks Classes
  • Customers Updating Their Primary Billing Card Online
  • Enhanced Kiosk App
  • Promo Codes
  • Pass Expiration Dates
  • Guest Checkout for Gift Cards
  • ACH
  • Enhanced Staff Permissions
  • Sounds for Customer Check-In
  • Rolling Booking (so you only load what you see on the calendar—yes, that means the calendar is fast)
So, if we have built all these features in one year, the natural question has to be: What’s next? We have been focused on making a partnership with Approach even more compelling by building and integrating more services, to become a single-source solution for all your climbing business needs.

Gym Management Tools

Let’s start with our most recent addition: Reputation Management. This new capability empowers our gym partners to manage their online reputation from a single location. Whether your business is listed on Instagram, Facebook, Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, or any other source, this tool seamlessly pulls in all reviews and comments about your business to one place. It also offers key insights about consistently used words, terms, phrases, etc., and aggregates your star score across all platforms to know how well your business and staff are performing. Further, using our embedded Reputation Management platform gives the social media marketing team at your gym the opportunity to plan and schedule when content will go out ahead of time and where, alleviating the frustration of switching back and forth between social media channels.
Climbing in the gym
The Route Setting Management tool in the works at Approach will give setters new ways to manage their craft and more information on the key product gyms sell to customers. (Photo by Tara Shupe Photography)
Next is Route Setting Management. (Full disclosure, this product has not been released yet and is in the beta stage. We have a goal to release it by the end of the year, but the world of building software is ever-changing, and it can be very hard to predict timelines on new products.) This tool aims to enable the management team at your gym to better manage the overall health of your most important product: climbing. Every aspect of setting routes—from the time it takes to difficulty and density—all have important pieces of data associated with them that when looked at properly and adjusted accordingly can help improve your product. The Route Setting Management feature is designed to: show you exactly how long it takes the setters at your gym to set and strip routes; identify exactly how many routes there are at any given time, how long those routes have been active, and set dates for when they are scheduled to come down; notify members of when their favorite routes will be removed and when new ones are added; and examine the level of difficulty on the routes across the gym. In addition, we will be tracking what was supposed to be set versus what went up on the wall. Along with the typical data that managers of routesetting programs would like to see, we will also be pushing routesetting data to the front desk staff. Imagine the customer experience that can occur when a climber checks in at the front desk and the staff member immediately sees the projects the climber wanted to share on their profile. Routesetting in many ways is the lifeblood of a facility and its primary retail, so why shouldn’t the front desk staff have intimate knowledge of the retail in the gym and the preferences that customers have shared around what they want to buy? Routesetting is being designed as a tool focused on making gyms more efficient and improving their product for their clients. Marketing, too, is something every gym must tackle. But knowing where, how, and what avenues are most effective for gym marketing remains elusive to many businesses. Keep an eye out for how Approach is tackling this issue in the near future. The treadmill at Approach continues. If you don’t know what I mean by that idea, read this article: https://www.approach.app/posts/story.

About the Author

Andrew PotterAndrew Potter is an American entrepreneur and founder or co-founder of multiple companies (including ROKC climbing gyms and Approach), and community is the heart of his mission. Conceptualized in 2014 during his third tour in Afghanistan with the 75th Ranger Regiment, ROKC began as a dream to make climbing available to everyone in Kansas City. After dealing with the struggles of operating a multi-facility climbing gym company, Andrew co-founded Approach with the hopes that he could ease the pain that he went through for other gym owners. His goal of providing enterprise-level products for small business owners is still his focus today. Aside from business, Andrew is still an avid climber and loves surfing on jugs in the Red River Gorge. Most importantly, Andrew is a loving husband and father to three children.  
This story was paid for by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
1...464748...275Page 47 of 275