The Climbing Wall Association's blog is a place for indoor climbing professionals to find useful and relevant information from industry and business experts. Stay on top of best practices, thought leadership, and trends by subscribing to our newsletter!
When this writer started in the climbing world, there was no local indoor climbing gym and there was no Climbing Wall Association. I learned how to climb from someone from Utah with what I understood to be a lot of experience. I was given use of a seventeen-year-old harness, some nuts and... Continue Reading
Over the last decade, many people have asked me how to be a better leader. There are a million ways to answer that question; be humble, ask questions, listen twice and speak once, etc. etc. etc. Many of the answers are cliché, but sometimes a cliché is accurate. Any success that I... Continue Reading
It’s a bluebird autumn day, golden leaves are raining from every direction, and I’m filled with joy as I drive home from my first yoga for climbers retreat at the Red River Gorge, Kent. While driving, I thought about where my professional coaching journey began and how far it has... Continue Reading
Leaving after eight years at Amazon, I considered myself an expert at moving cardboard boxes around in cavernous warehouses. Unfortunately, that left a few notable gaps in my expertise as I started working as the Retail Director for Summit Climbing Yoga and Fitness. After spending a few days... Continue Reading
Pittsburgh might not be the first place you think of when you picture climbing. You might have some preconceived, and outdated, notions about the city, owing to its history as the Steel City prior to deindustrialization, images of frigid wind whipping off its famous three rivers, or even its... Continue Reading
CWA Summit attendees can sign up for this brand new opportunity to network, conversate, and learn from their peers Continue Reading
When checking my email some weeks ago, a name popped up in my inbox that I did not recognize. It was from a person promoting an accessibility event at their climbing gym. The person is not in management or even a gym employee; she is a volunteer, and she wanted me to know about the great work... Continue Reading
Coach at Momentum Indoor Climbing. Credit: Jake Byk/CWA at Momentum Indoor Climbing “You can’t grow as an athlete if you’re spending your focus on healing.” I’ve heard a lot of wisdom from my older sister over the years, and this bit of advice stood out. Sarah... Continue Reading
In our last blog post, we wrote about some lessons we have learned in our work supporting indoor climbing gyms and program teams in designing staff training. One of the key takeaways from our work is the power of assessment in identifying needs, means of change, and progress. With limited... Continue Reading
As indoor climbing has grown in popularity, new indoor climbing gyms are popping up in areas one wouldn’t traditionally associate with rock climbing. Based in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Annie Richman and the rest of the Shaker Rocks team have built a modern indoor rock gym that... Continue Reading
Boulder, Colo., 11/14/2022 – The Climbing Wall Association (CWA) is proud to announce Kareemah Batts as the keynote speaker for the 2023 CWA Summit. Kareemah, a cancer survivor, para-climber, outdoor enthusiast, and an equity, and inclusion professional, will highlight the climbing... Continue Reading
Facilities have long been trying to answer the vexing question of why climbers make mistakes that can result in injury. Knowing this answer would go a long way in helping climbing gyms’ risk management programs and reduce incident rates. To help understand why mistakes happen, the CWA... Continue Reading
