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!
Climbing gyms in many parts of the US have begun to reopen or are making plans to. The policies that gyms have created around occupancy, sanitation, and personal protective equipment are great guidelines for users. However, returning to running youth programming while keeping young climbers and... Continue Reading
The following is a letter written by the Climbing Wall Association to Members of Congress regarding COVID-19. The letter recommends the passage of high-priority financial relief measures that would help address the threat the ongoing pandemic poses to small businesses, including climbing gyms. A... Continue Reading
While shaping the CWA's Roadmap to Reopening, we’ve been monitoring the various guidance that has come from many states, counties, provinces, and countries in response to COVID-19. We’ve also been speaking to a lot of gym owners and operators and surveying the industry to gain insight... Continue Reading
As the months continue to pass, it is increasingly evident that our climbing industry is not likely to return to ‘normal’. For some, this might signal sadness and loss. For others, an opportunity has presented itself to finally address and change some very real and damaging aspects of... Continue Reading
In Part I of this article, I provided information about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements for the health and safety of employees and practical approaches to managing workplace health and safety. There are many unanswered questions and areas of legal concern, so... Continue Reading
This post is Part II of a series on communicating with customers about the new realities of running a gym in the age of coronavirus. In Part I, we discussed setting up positive, proactive communication. Despite your best efforts, it’s still possible that you’ll have members and... Continue Reading
Posted By Laura Allured, Thursday, May 28, 2020Updated: Friday, May 29, 2020 It’s an understatement to say that climbing facilities have a lot to deal with right now. In addition to contending with the financial implications of getting members and customers back, gyms have to think about... Continue Reading
This post is Part I in a series on communicating with customers about the new realities of running a gym in the age of coronavirus. As the coronavirus outbreak took hold over the last few months, gym owners everywhere have been bombarded with big questions—from navigating payroll assistance... Continue Reading
Posted By Alexandra Wojcicki, Thursday, May 14, 2020 Although our industry faces unique and unforeseen obstacles, we hope to offer some comfort in the knowledge that no one faces them alone. Your team at the CWA has been working diligently in the background to help leverage our power and... Continue Reading
Posted By Emma Walker, Thursday, May 14, 2020 When a member walks into your gym, you have no trouble engaging them—whether it’s chatting about the great weather you’ve been having, asking what they think of the new routes, or, for members you know well, checking in about how... Continue Reading
Posted By Garnet Moore, Monday, April 27, 2020 On April 21, the CWA held a Hygiene Brainstorm community call for members to share their questions, ideas, and concerns about all things hygiene related. This is one of the largest areas of concerns for gyms at the moment, and the CWA is working to... Continue Reading
In the US, the administration announced a plan for “Opening Up America” on April 16th. There is some confusion about this plan since no timeline was provided and it leaves a lot of the specifics up to individual businesses and local authorities. It is also important to note that... Continue Reading
