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!
In this most recent non-profit member spotlight, I sat down with three folks involved with the Adaptive Climbing Group to discuss how the organization has been instrumental in expanding access to the sport of climbing to those with a wide range of adaptive needs. With Kareemah Batts, our 2023 CWA... Continue Reading
Creating robust recreational and competitive programs that fit in to your gym’s culture may be challenging, but the benefits of creating and developing life-long climbers that will fall in love with climbing create great culture and contribute greatly to your gym's revenue. Continue Reading
CWA members work hard and play hard. You put in long hours, blood, sweat, and tears - working at height, setting the perfect routes, sharing your love for indoor climbing - you deserve the best gear. And you deserve a sweet discount on it. Enter Outdoor Prolink pro deals: deep discounts on... Continue Reading
Want to host a paraclimbing Competition at your gym? Learn how to prepare your gym, a budget, a marketing plan, and more. Hailey Caissie of the The Crag speaks with three experts to offer advice and guidance for your gym. Continue Reading
In the second part of our Indoor Climbing Program Assessments, we will dive a little deeper into staff assessments. Get an example rubric for evaluation, the phases of implementing an assessment, and more. Continue Reading
CWA Summit session content will be focused on core topics for different employee types, building on a theme of collaboration Continue Reading
The CWA chats with Grace Nicholas, Head of Operations at Crux Climbing Center in Austin, Texas, about the importance of being reactive to their community through innovative gym design and operations, while making climbing a more equitable, diverse sport with their expansive programming options. Continue Reading
High turnover of employees costs businesses money and time, and can lead to a further trickle down of discontent on your team. Learn some reasons why employees are leaving your climbing gym and strategies to combat turnover while building a stronger team. Continue Reading
Many potential coaches in the indoor climbing industry feel that their climbing talent or background isn't strong enough to take the step to become a coach. Chris Oshinski is here to provide some empirical evidence to correct this misconception and bolster the ranks of coaches. Continue Reading
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
