The Global State of the Market session opens WICS 2019.
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Two months before the first climbing Olympians qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the annual World Indoor Climbing Summit (WICS) took place on June 19th-21st in Sofia, Bulgaria, connecting climbing business experts from around the world to discuss the changing climbing industry. Altogether, 290 professionals from 29 countries exchanged knowledge and experience and contributed new perspectives on the state of the industry worldwide – from developing to established markets.
The Difference Maker in 2019
Now in its 2nd edition, the program of WICS continues to innovate as the climbing industry evolves. In addition to practical lectures and workshops ranging from planning and constructing a climbing gym to managing day-to-day operations and best practices in routesetting, the sessions this year included several new topics. The secrets of funding through private equity and whether restaurants have a place in climbing gyms, for example, were explored in-depth.
“Our experience with private equity began in 2016, when we raised 2.5 million euros, and last year we raised 10 million euros,” says Steve Guillou, Co-Founder and CEO of Arkose, which operates 14 gyms in France and plans to open 30 new ones in Europe in the next 2 years. “My advice for people negotiating with funds is to be fast. You need the money now. Don’t wait. The industry won’t wait for you.”
Guillou shares Arkose’s success story during the Growth Through Private Equity session.
“Food and beverage can bring an additional atmosphere in a gym, more conviviality, more ways to meet people, and could bring additional traffic of non-climbing people who could become new climbers,” says Grégoire De Belmont, General Manager of Arkose, which runs high-end bars and restaurants in its climbing gyms. “It’s a real profession, so you must be professional at running restaurants and bars in your gym.”
The WICS program this year also incorporated the insights of related, more mature industries in order to learn from their experience. A panel comprised of experienced fitness industry professionals, for instance, presented on how to manage rapid industry expansion and shared some practices that could be relevant for climbing gym operators as well.
“The fitness industry has gotten really good at understanding how to lock a customer into their service, and some of that can be applied to climbing,” says Killko Caballero, Owner of Totem Escalade, a climbing gym chain with four bouldering gyms in Switzerland. “In many ways, I think climbing is the future of fitness because it’s fun, social fitness…You get fit without getting bored.”
The Future of Climbing panel interacts with the audience during the final session.
The Pinnacle of the Summit
The signature discussion of the event centered on the future of climbing, which sparked a discussion on whether the climbing industry will diverge from its roots as growth continues. Opinions were diverse, but many key decision makers of indoor climbing expressed the common goal to both retain the unique characteristics of climbing and introduce climbing to a wider audience. Most participants were optimistic about the horizons ahead and acknowledged the need to adapt and respond to the needs of expanding climbing communities.
“The first big change that I’ve seen in the industry is just the rapid, rapid growth…Our customer numbers, the number of walls and the size of the industry are all going up, and it’s a really exciting time to be involved,” says Rich Emerson, Chair of the Association of British Climbing Walls and CEO of the Climbing Academy Group Ltd, which runs two climbing gyms in the South of England and two more in Scotland.
“Climbing is at a crossroad, and I think the next few years will make a pretty big impact on where climbing goes in the future,” says Jeffery Bowling, Marketing, IT and Business Development Manager of Touchstone Climbing.
The sun sets during the rooftop celebration following WICS 2019.
The Grand Finale
The Summit finished with a rooftop celebration of climbing, the ideas explored together at the event and the opportunity to network in between sessions. Photos of the event can be found on WICS’s Facebook page, and check out the WICS YouTube channel for interviews with the speakers.
“The WICS team is happy the summit became a reality for the second time. All the feedback received has been positive and affirms that the 2nd WICS was a successful and useful event,” says Adam Koberna, President of the USA branch of Walltopia, the company that hosts WICS. “Next year, WICS will be one of the first climbing business events after the Olympics, the perfect time to continue the dialogue about the future of climbing and what awaits after Olympic exposure.”
The 3rd WICS will take place on September 16th-18th in 2020, only one month after the 32nd Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Follow the WICS website for updates and get ready with the teaser below.
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This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Specs: 20,000-square-foot facility includes ropes, boulders, auto-belays, and IFSC regulation speed routes (50-foot walls). Additional amenities include a fitness area with treadmills, elliptical machines, and free weights. Outside features a Panera next door and other restaurants nearby. Colorado Springs is currently home to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, an expansive campus that includes gymnasiums, training rooms, laboratories, and housing for Olympic athletes.
Development Word of Mouth: “Playing on the Olympic City [aspect of Colorado Springs], and now that 2020 is coming with climbing in the Olympics, we need that quality [climbing] in the Olympic City.” — Derek Waggoner, co-owner.
A climber uses the geometry-assisted Mammut Smart 2.0 belay device. Photo: Onsight Climbing Gym in Singapore.
By Halil Ngah
It has been two years since a handful of gyms on the tropical island country of Singapore made the controversial decision to ban the use of tubular belay devices (ATCs and similar pieces). At that time, all members of those Singapore gyms who were certified to belay with tubular devices were given a multi-month grace period, during which they were required to re-certify to proficiently belay with an assisted-braking belay device (such as the Petzl Grigri, Mammut Smart, etc.) The ban came as a result of multiple accidents in the Singapore gyms—at times as many as one ground fall per week—in which tubular devices were used. Additionally, the ban was informed by a 2012 study from the German Alpine Federation that concluded that belayers using assisted-braking belay devices frequently committed less belaying errors.
The ban is an example of the climbing gym industry’s growth and evolution, with practices and equipment that have been standard for decades being questioned and (in this case) prohibited. It was encouraged by the belief that redundancy when belaying can minimize risk, especially as more newcomers take up climbing.
Since the ban, statistics have shown a significant decrease in the amount of serious belaying incidents in Singapore gyms (“serious” meaning ground falls that require professional medical attention). In some cases, the yearly statistic of serious incidents decreased from five to just one—and, in that case, it was a bystander who was injured and not the climber.
It should be noted that banning the use of tubular devices has not been a magic bullet. In the case of these Singapore gyms, the ban was coupled with stricter re-certification efforts and education. Also, this update is not an endorsement of assisted braking devices over tubular devices, necessarily, nor is it an encouragement for North American gyms to follow suit and ban tubular devices. The update simply aims to share the results of the decision in Singapore with the larger international climbing community.
About the Author: Halil Ngah founded Climb Asia 16 years ago and built Singapore’s first commercial climbing gym. The Climb Asia Group now owns and operates 12 climbing gyms across 6 countries from the Philippines to India.
A climber cuts feet on Delire climbing walls at the Delire Pierre Bertrand bouldering gym in Quebec City.
In today’s world, people are searching for balance; balance between work, family, friends, sports and fitness, and hobbies. Partners come up with creative ways to make time for climbing and raising children. Employees look for jobs that offer flexible work times, remote work possibilities, and parental leave. Climbers try to find ways to enjoy the outdoors without destroying it. Can this search for balance be achieved if companies begin to embody those ideals through policies and practices? Rather than evaluating success by counting profits, Delire Climbing evaluates its success by the satisfaction of its clients, the happiness of its employees, and its ecological approach to manufacturing.
Born from Passion
Delire Climbing started over 15 years ago in a tiny apartment in Quebec City, Canada. Lisa Lajoie, a dedicated climber who studied industrial design, and Jeff Beaulieu, a climbing instructor who taught Lisa an intro to rock climbing course, began making and selling resin climbing holds. Their passion and drive eventually motivated them to open a gym in Beauport in 2008, and at that time they brought in Vincent Légaré to be the gym’s CEO. Since then Delire has grown exponentially. The company now employs over 80 people, owns and manages three gyms in Quebec City; manages a factory that produces artificial climbing structures, adjustable training structures, mats and volumes; and consults on gym design, renovation, and management.
The passion for the sport of climbing that drove Lajoie and Beaulieu to form Delire Climbing continues to motivate the company today. Hands-on experience with all of their products drives most of Delire’s research and development, which never gets too theoretical or separated from the act of climbing itself.
“One of our main advantages is that we have three climbing gyms that also function as laboratories,” said Delire founder Lisa Lajoie. “They are research and development spaces for our company. We run internal tests on our most demanding client: ourselves.”
Delire runs tests on the “Kenauk Project” outside Montebello, Quebec.
Healthy Bodies and Minds
Running three successful climbing gyms gives Delire employees special insight into what will work and what won’t as they design and construct gym interiors. The company intimately understands what is involved when building successful climbing environments, like the importance of resting and gathering spaces throughout a gym, and other spatial considerations such as locations for cleaning holds, reception, and stocking. This allows gym designs to be tailored towards the needs of climbers, which in turn results in the gym’s popularity— a win for gym owners.
Delire Climbing has a 4-prong mission: it prides itself on 1) expertise, 2) experience, 3) raising the bar throughout the industry, and 4) taking human needs into consideration. The human element applies to clients, climbers, and employees. Internally, the company strives to improve the work environment.
“We try to be creative and modern in the way we manage our employees. Telework, work-family-travel balance, and incentives for active commuting and training are some of our out-of-the-box benefits,” said Lajoie. “‘Gone Climbing’ is our mentality: a healthy mind in a healthy body!”
Just some of Delire’s +80 employees at work.
Externally, Delire puts a great deal of effort into pleasing clients. “We think long-term; we wish to carry out our client’s current project as well as their next,” Lajoie said. “With that in mind, our recommendations aim to ensure our client’s success.”
Delire can take a project that is only a glimmer of an idea in a client’s mind and bring it to completion, all the way from design through installation and implementation of a computer management system. Delire employees even undertake the first round of route setting so that the gym can have a successful opening while the owner focuses on other important issues, such as staffing and cultivating clientele. Starting with the client’s dreams, the company determines how much space is needed for the climbing structures as well as the other important areas inside the gym. Designers work with the client to very clearly determine who the target market is, and design decisions are made about how to best serve the needs of those climbers. Then initial drawings are delivered to the client.
Once the design has been approved, Delire begins ordering and manufacturing materials. When the space is ready, the company sends an installation team to construct the gym’s interior. Finally, consultants help the client develop hold management systems, which will aid the gym as it matures.
A look inside a Delire climbing structure.
Healthy World
As part of Delire’s dedication to raising the bar throughout the industry, the company emphasizes reducing its carbon footprint through its material choice and by using local suppliers. As one example, Delire developed new bouldering mat covers made entirely out of recycled plastic bottles. These covers are produced locally in Quebec through a process that uses low amounts of energy. This material lasts longer than vinyl, which needs to be replaced every two years, and it requires less water to wash and maintain. These mat covers use far less resources than vinyl mats over the life of the product.
Delire uses Canadian wood in all of its structures rather than steel sourced from Asia, the common choice. This wood is a resilient, lightweight material that allows for easier and less expensive modifications and transportation. Being sourced locally in Canada greatly reduces the resources used in shipping. Additionally, the company has developed reusable transportation crates for its climbing surfaces in order to produce less waste.
Finally, Delire is eager to accept gym renovation projects that others may refuse. Designers determine which elements are still serviceable and reuse them in the renovation. This avoids the need for excessive manufacturing of new materials, reduces waste, and saves energy. It also saves the client money. Decisions like this are less profitable for Delire but fulfill the company’s goals of improving the climbing industry and considering the human needs related to its process and products.
“We wish to define the sport’s standards for tomorrow,” said Lajoie. “We wish to offer future operators the possibility of choosing the unique quality and experience of a company that designs, installs and operates climbing gyms, while allowing them to make an ethical choice for now and for the future.”
The core Delire team at headquarters, just outside Quebec City.
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This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Specs: Built from the ground up, Climb Time Oakley features close to 11,000 square feet of climbable wall space; this includes top ropes, lead walls, and bouldering areas. Additional amenities include a Tension board and a campus board, as well as a rowing machine, kettlebells, and free weights. Yoga classes and fitness clinics are expected to be incorporated into the facility’s offerings in the near future. The gym is within walking distance of MadTree Brewing, one of the region’s most popular craft beer breweries. Climb Time Oakley had its grand opening on August 31; a massive turnout saw a line of patrons outside wrapped around the corner, waiting to get in.
The original Ohio Climb Time, located in Cincinnati’s Blue Ash region, opened in 1993—one of the first full-service climbing gyms to appear in the Midwest. Climb Time also had locations in Indianapolis and Lexington, and was one of the first U.S. climbing gym chains with three locations. In addition, the famed competition circuit American Bouldering Series (ABS) was born in Climb Time of Cincinnati from local comps they held in the late 90s.
Development Word of Mouth: “In Cincinnati, it was just Climb Time Blue Ash and RockQuest. Then Mosaic Climbing opened in March—also in the north. But from more than 20 years of data from our customers, we knew that many lived in the central part of the city or downtown—a 40-minute commute or longer to get to a climbing gym. Our customers had been pleading with us to open another gym. This location [Oakley] reduces the drive time for many from an hour to 20 minutes… or they can walk here. I want to retain from [the Blue Ash location] that it’s a grassroots business. It’s about the people.” —Patty Law, President
Specs: 30,000-square-foot bouldering gym will feature 14-foot walls and also offer yoga and fitness classes. The gym will have Kilter and Tension boards, along with a weightlifting area, cardio equipment, and a gear shop. The gym is tied to history, as the first gym of the Planet Granite chain opened in Santa Clara in 1994 but eventually moved to Sunnyvale, California. According to a press release, the creation of the new Santa Clara Planet Granite was specifically due to the “overwhelming popularity of rock climbing and bouldering in the South Bay area.” The facility will be part of the El Cap family of gyms, and the aforementioned Planet Granite in Sunnyvale will remain open.
In Their Words: “We have an extremely supportive membership base in and around Sunnyvale. This is the perfect opportunity to provide those members with more climbing, and share our love for climbing and fitness with the larger community in Santa Clara.” —Robert Cohen, CEO of Planet Granite and Earth Treks
Specs: 30,000 square-foot (bouldering-only) facility just north of the popular Huntington Beach area of Southern California will feature 14-foot walls. Additional amenities will include a yoga studio and a training area with Kilter and Tension boards and hydraulic campus boards, as well as social lounges, work spaces, and a gear shop. The gym will offer various classes for adults and youth. It will be part of the El Cap family of gyms.
In Their Words: “I was born and raised in Orange County and this is where I fell in love with climbing. I’m eager to share that passion with all of our neighbors. My first goal is to build an amazing, community-driven team. Over the next couple months, we’ll be hiring for the front desk as well as climbing, fitness, and yoga instructors. Come join us!” —Do Nguyen, Director
It was recently announced that Momentum Millcreek in Salt Lake City, Utah, plans to expand. The 24,000-square-foot facility will take over adjacent space that was previously occupied by Planet Fitness. As a result, the Millcreek gym will grow in size by 60 percent. The new space will be used for additional bouldering walls, a yoga studio, and a training area.
Momentum Millcreek currently offers bouldering and roped climbing. It also offers amenities like weights, cardio equipment, and a kids area.
The expansion of Millcreek takes the place of a previous project—a plan to open a new Momentum gym at Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square shopping area. At the time of this writing, the Trolley Square project has been shelved indefinitely. The expansion of the Millcreek gym is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.
Specs: 22,000-square-foot bouldering facility scheduled to open in 2020 will include routes for all levels of climbers, as well as a fitness area with training boards, cardio equipment, and weights. The gym will have the potential to expand into a full-service, 40,000-square-foot gym with roped climbing once it is up and running. Of note is that one of the largest shopping malls in the Pacific Northwest, known as Westfield Southcenter, will be just north of the gym. The sprawling shopping area includes a movie theater, numerous retailers, and many restaurants. Other, preexisting Stone Gardens locations include gyms in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington.
Walls: Walltopia
Flooring: Flashed CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro Website:www.stonegardens.com
In Their Words: “Founder and CEO Keith Magnuson opened the first Stone Gardens in Seattle in 1995, expanded that gym several times, and opened Stone Gardens Bellevue in 2011. He chose to open the third gym in Tukwila, Washington to support the ever growing local climbing community, provide more jobs for the area’s climbers, and offer current employees opportunities to advance within the company. Keith chose to make Stone Gardens Tukwila a bouldering only gym for now because the building’s layout and clear-height make it a perfect fit for that use.” —Michael May, Assistant Climbing School Manager, Stone Gardens Bellevue
It is that time of year when students around the country say goodbye to summer and gear up for the start of a new academic year at colleges and universities. While mention of college sports often conjures up thoughts of football on crisp autumn days or basketball tournament brackets amid the frenzy of March Madness, the sport of climbing is being offered by more schools every year—often in the form of recreational university clubs. There is also an annual Collegiate National Championship competition sanctioned by USA Climbing.
To explore climbing at the collegiate level a little more and get an overview of how it looks in the university context, CBJ turned to College Outside. Through its membership program, College Outside helps university programs and educators obtain gear for outdoor adventure. Additionally, College Outside keeps track of schools’ roster lists and tracks which university climbing programs are most engaged with the services that College Outside offers. As a result, CBJ is able to provide a sampling of the top university climbing programs in the United States based on that data.
“Since the Olympic committee sanctioned climbing and motion pictures like Free Solo hit the big screen, there is no doubt that climbing is trending upwards,” said Alaina Imberger, College Outside’s Director of Membership. “At College Outside, we certainly notice the growth of clubs and teams across the country. Climbing is special. It allows this generation of young people to experience a competitive sport in the collegiate arena, that also builds a bridge to the outdoors and encourages them to spend more time in mother nature.”
Here’s a closer look at five of the top college climbing programs based on College Outside engagement and roster numbers:
Photo: Stanford Climbing Team
Top Performing Student/Climbers
Stanford University
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Specs: The climbing wall on the Stanford campus is 28 feet tall, with approximately 7,000 square feet of climbing space. Last year, the school saw 26,000 check-ins at the wall, with 5,000 of those being unique individual users. Additionally, Stanford’s climbing team is the reigning champion of USA Climbing’s Collegiate National Championship.
The climbing program at the university was spearheaded by climbers and Stanford Adventure Programs staffers Phil Sandlin and Andrew De Torres. It was those two who first shouldered the responsibility of teaching classes and managing the school’s climbing wall. But since then, the program has boomed in popularity and today there is a dedicated routesetting team at the school that aims for total route turnover every ten weeks. There is also a staff of certified climbing wall instructors to teach both academic and recreational climbing classes to students. The campus wall also hosts an annual bouldering competition called C.R.A.G. (Climbers Rage Against Gravity), as well as holiday-themed events.
“Stanford attracts, recruits, and admits some of the most high achieving students in the nation,” says Francis Liaw of Stanford Adventure Programs. “Though the focus may be on academics, the students bring that mentality across all aspects of their lives. Therefore, if they enjoy climbing, they are striving to perform at a high level, which is potentially a reason why we currently have a climbing team that is back-to-back collegiate national champions. Conversely, the university encourages the students to broaden their horizons, challenge themselves, and experience new things; and that provides the opportunity for students who considered climbing the space and support to give it a try. The culmination of these diverging ideologies widens the spectrum of patrons that uses our facility and creates that special/unique/at times challenging climbing community.”
Photo: University of Michigan Climbing Team
Community Is More Than A Wall
University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Specs: The University of Michigan does not have a climbing wall on its campus, but those in the Michigan Climbing Club—currently around 200 members—usually turn to a nearby gym, Planet Rock, for their climbing sessions. This creates a unique synergy between the commercial gym and the university. “A lot of students try climbing at Planet Rock and fall in love with it, but lack a community,” says Shalina Gupta, the school’s climbing club president. “That’s where Michigan Climbing Club comes in, and our social activities and friendly members get people to stay.”
The Michigan Climbing Club holds group climbing classes three times per week at Planet Rock and has recently added a climbing team. The club also focuses on outdoor climbing trips, making regular treks to Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, Stone Fort, and elsewhere. The university’s Central Campus Recreation Building is scheduled to get a climbing wall when it reopens from renovations in 2023.
When speaking about the club’s growth, Gupta says that the members range in commitment, but there is a core group that attends social groups around the university. “For recruitment, we attend Festifall, Northfest, and Winterfest,” Gupta says. “These are the University of Michigan’s organization fairs where clubs can set up booths, talk to interested students, and advertise mass meetings. Aside from that, a lot of people hear about rock climbing from their friends or movies and email us expressing their interest in joining.”
Photo: West Virginia University
Focus On The Outdoors
West Virginia University
Location: Morgantown, WV
Specs: The climbing wall at West Virginia University, constructed in 2001 within the school’s Student Recreation Center, is an elaborate structure that ranges from 35-50 feet in height. There are ten top rope sections on the wall, for a total of 3,500 square feet of climbing space. The wall gets frequented by approximately 250 climbers per week. There is also a bouldering portion of the wall that is statistically the most popular section.
Although the university’s climbing club does not offer much specialized programming at the wall and opts instead to focus its programing and education on nearby outdoor crags, a climbing team was recently established with the aim of competing nationally. All the outdoor programming works in conjunction with the climbing club—with each spurring interest in the other. It creates a portion of the student body that is psyched about the outdoors and then eager to maintain that psyche at the school’s climbing wall.
“I think what allows West Virginia University to have such a large and vibrant outdoor community is due to our fantastic first year trips (FYT) program that encourages students to take a 5-6-day trip in either the front- or backcountry the summer before their first year of college,” says Alex Kew, who heads up the university’s climbing wall. “This builds a love for the outdoors into students from the start and so they engage in other recreational activities across campus with that much more zeal.”
Photo: University of Massachusetts Climbing Team
New Team For New Family
University of Massachusetts
Location: Amherst, MA
Specs: Like the University of Michigan, the University of Massachusetts does not have an on-campus climbing facility. The main gyms that serve the climbing needs of the student body are Central Rock Gym Hadley and El Dojo.
The most prominent group of climbers at the University of Massachusetts are the members of the UMass Climbing Team. The 30-member squad that was started last year by student Brynne McConnell with the aid of another student, Nathaniel Murphy. The two were former high school varsity athletes—and in college they missed the challenge and team camaraderie of competitive sports. Soon they successfully got climbing recognized officially as a club sport at the university and held tryouts in the fall. Today, the team is a fun-loving but very structured group, with official practices being held at least two nights per week at Central Rock Hadley.
“My long term vision for the team was to build a close-knit community where all the climbers at UMASS can come together and learn from one another,” reflects McConnell. “Coming from a history of team sports in high school, all of my teams felt like small families and I hope that the UMASS team can grow into that. UMASS also certainly has the talent to grow into a strong program over the next few years. Being located so close to some of the best outdoor climbing in New England certainly helps as well. All in all, I really just hope that the team can open up students to more opportunities and introduce climbing to people who might not have discovered the joy of climbing.”
Photo: York College of Pennsylvania
Driven By Student Dedication
York College of Pennsylvania
Location: York, PA
Specs: The climbing wall on York’s campus is 32 feet tall and covers more than 1,000 square feet. There is also an attached bouldering area that is 11 feet tall. The various walls get frequented by approximately 120 climbers per week. The school offers climbing as an academic class, which meets at the wall once per week. (Homework for the class includes required additional climbing at least twice throughout the given week).
The college’s climbing club was started approximately five years ago and quickly entered competitions as part of the Mid-Atlantic Climbing Competition Series. Other schools that frequently participate in the series include Loyola University Maryland, the University of Delaware, Towson University, and others. York’s climbing club—and its team—are technically a student organization, so they are assisted by the college’s sport and fitness center but remain mostly self-sufficient. Several members of the club also work at the climbing wall, helping to set routes and organize competitions.
“The thing that makes York’s climbing community special is the passion and dedication of our students,” says Rachael Finley, Director of Campus Recreation at York. “Our students take ownership of our climbing competition, the routes, and the environment in the wall area. Through the mentorship of our Climbing Wall Manager, they are taught technical skills to keep the wall safe and create quality routes, but they also develop human skills to create an inclusive climbing environment and share their skills with others. Simply put, without our students, the wall would be worthless.”
