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!
Photo credit: Rich Crowder In the more than a decade since the start of the CWA Summit, the event has never been projected to be this large. The event continues to grow over time, much like the indoor climbing industry itself. With that in mind, we highlight a rather topical session at the CWA... Continue Reading
You have grown your youth program, interviewed many coaching candidates, and finally hired new coaches. Instead of throwing them in the fire and hoping they don't get burned, put the same care and attention into your coaches as you do into preparing your climbers. I developed a five-week... Continue Reading
The 2022 CWA Summit starts on May 18, 2022 – which means it’s officially less than three months away. To help you prepare to join us in Salt Lake City, we’re excited to highlight another conference session. In both the Coaching & Training and Program Management tracks,... Continue Reading
Like with any job, performance evaluations are a valuable tool. Assessing how a routesetter is progressing and what they need to work on serves as an opportunity to provide feedback on how the overall routesetting program is running. There are several ways to conduct an evaluation depending on... Continue Reading
Mentorship has a well-established role in the history of climbing. Not surprisingly, it has a key role in the indoor climbing industry as well. Understanding mentorship, and how to utilize it as a training and performance tool, can take your team from ‘epic-ing’ with every challenge,... Continue Reading
We’ve all done it: spoken airily about things that we would like to see or that ought to be. But when it comes to action, we seem to lack the conviction or the earnest desire to implement all that we can imagine. Since the events of spring and summer of 2020—I’m referring to the... Continue Reading
Ground Up Climbing Centre, Squamish, B.C.Photo: Ian Coll A little over an hour north of Vancouver, the mountain community of Squamish is perched below gargantuan peaks of the Canadian Rockies. The town boasts a population of around 21,000 and is an adventure haven. But when Lauren Watson moved... Continue Reading
In anticipation of the 2022 CWA Summit, May 18-20 in Salt Lake City, we’re highlighting conference sessions we can’t wait to see. Stay tuned each month as we spotlight the speakers and topics driving the future of indoor climbing! The CWA Summit brings professionals from every... Continue Reading
USA Climbing Olympic athlete Kyra Condie competing at the IFSC World Cup semi-final bouldering event in Salt Lake City, Utah in May 2022. Photos: Jake Byk/CWA Only a handful of years ago, competing in the Olympics seemed like an unrealistic dream for young climbers. Yet, last year in Tokyo, U.S.... Continue Reading
In most industries, even saying the word “networking” can warrant some eye-rolling. In commercial routesetting, it might seem odd to prioritize building a network when most of the year you are working with the same core crew in the same gym environment. However, I’ve found... Continue Reading
Many climbing gyms inform customers that “climbing is inherently dangerous” or that “climbing gyms cannot eliminate risk.” Although true, there are ways to reduce risk and when reducing risk, some methods are better than others. “All wall owners, operators,... Continue Reading
If you’ve ever set with me, you know I talk a lot about feelings. Initially, I try to express how the route feels to me. Then I go through a long process to imagine how the route feels for someone who is way taller than me. Then shorter than me. Then heavier than me. Or someone who is... Continue Reading
