Gyms and Trends 2018

Gyms and Trends 2018

On the surface it may seem like the climbing gym development scene was quiet in 2018.  Afterall, major gym operators were mostly busy preparing for their 2019 and 2020 projects and not creating the fanfair they usually garner.   But in America, we saw the highest growth rate on record, the most gyms opened in a single year, and more States saw new gyms than ever before.   

Statistically,  the commercial climbing gym industry saw the most successful year ever and grew at a rate of 11.87 percent in 2018, with 50 commercial climbing gyms opening in the United States throughout the year.

This success rode on the coattails of climbing, in general, already being more in the public consciousness due to the sport’s inclusion in the upcoming Olympics.  And major buzz and attention in 2018 stemming from the mainstream success of two movies—The Dawn Wall and Free Solo. When Free Solo eventually won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, that buzz only increased.

This all happened on the heels of a very successful year for the industry as reported in the 2017 Gyms and Trends.

Of those 50 openings, California boasted the most. The state saw eight new gyms opening, followed closely by Colorado with seven new gyms. But even smaller states such as Tennessee and Virginia saw multiple new facilities open too with four each.

A bright morning at Boulder Field. Photo: Boulder Field

Bouldering Gyms Grow

Of particular note is that nearly half of the new gyms that opened were bouldering-only facilities. That is more than the previous year, and puts the United States’ design trends more in line with those of Europe and Asia—where bouldering gyms have been the norm for years.

While most of the bouldering-only gyms are, by nature, smaller than gyms that offer mixed climbing disciplines, the smaller aspect allows the bouldering space to easily fit snuggly alongside non-climbing business ventures. For example, Sage to Summit, a new bouldering-only gym in Bishop, California, contains 1,200 square feet of bouldering space. But Sage to Summit also focuses heavily on mountain running and sells equipment catering to that clientele (footwear, backpacks, tents, bivvy sacks, etc.).

Inside Monkey House in Carbondale, Colorado. Photo: Monkey House

Similarly, the Terrain Park Climbing Center in Chico, California, which opened last summer, offers 2,200 square feet of bouldering but promotes itself as a community space and also hosts movie premiers, art shows, and live music on its grounds. It is a bouldering-only facility, but very much embracing of the catchphrase on its website, “Our Space is Your Space.” And Wooden Mountain, a 6,000-square-foot bouldering gym in Loveland, Colorado, opened to great acclaim in 2018 after years of being in development—and promptly offered a host of accoutrements ranging from a bouldering league for patrons to “sasquatch tours” in the surrounding mountain landscape.

 

Other notable bouldering gyms that opened in 2018 were Sacramento’s Boulder Field which is operated by pro-climber Carlo Traversi; Movement made a foray into the heart of Denver with their beautiful bouldering gym; and Chicago-based First Ascent is growing their brand (which now has four facilities) with Block 37; and on the East Coast, Earth Treks and Central Rock opened doors in Baltimore and Boston suburbs respectively.

Central Rock – Framingham. Photo: Central Rock

Big Players Prepare for The Future

Contrasting the smaller and sometimes quirky bouldering gyms were a few openings of notably larger facilities. Earth Treks’ Englewood, Colorado, location opened to great fanfare in 2018 as the largest climbing gym in the United States (and coupled with the announcement that the Earth Treks’ 2017 merger with Planet Granite was being formalized with the 2018 creation of a new parent company, called El Cap Holdings). Earth Treks Englewood features 52,000 square feet of space. Upon its grand opening, much was made of the Englewood location offering approximately 500 various climbing routes across multiple disciplines at any one time.

Other new facilities from established companies already possessing multiple gyms included multiple new Central Rock locations: a 10,000 square foot gym in New York City, as well as a comparably sized gym in Framingham, Massachusetts. In fact, Central Rock has been steadily and quietly increasing its brand presence throughout the Northeast in recent years and has become the second largest gym developer overtaking Touchstone.

Touchstone was busy in its own right throughout 2018.  The company opened the doors on a 28,000 square-foot bouldering gym called Verdigo Boulders in Pasadena California. And Salt-Lake-based Momentum Climbing opened a 19,200 square-foot bouldering gym called Momentum SODO in Seattle.

Location Shifts

While much attention has been given in recent years to gyms opening in major metro markets (think multiple Vertical Endeavors locations in the Twin Cities, or First Ascent locations in Chicago), 2018 also indicated an interesting change. The majority of the gym development happened in small and mid-markets. An illustration of this was the opening of Gad Rock in Gadsden, Alabama—a city that has 35,000 residents (certainly not minuscule, but dwarfed by nearby Birmingham and Chattanooga). Another example would be Gravity Vault in Flemington, New Jersey, which offers 17,000 square feet of climbing in a town that has only 4,600 residents.  

Perhaps the most notable illustration of climbing finding success in a small market was the opening of Gnarwall Bouldering Gym in Pfafftown, North Carolina—a town of just 2,000 people.  

In fact, throughout 2018, there were only a handful of developers who decided to tackle the high cost of real estate and burdensome bureaucracy of opening gyms in big cities. These included First Ascent opening its Block 37 location in the heart of downtown Chicago, Movement opening its RiNo location in the Denver area, MetroRock opening a gym in Brooklyn, New York, and Tufas Boulder Lounge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, among others.    

A sick pre-opening wall inside Armadillo Boulders. Photo: Armadillo Boulders

2018 also saw the opening of Armadillo Boulders in San Antonio, Texas. As such, Armadillo Boulders became the first commercial gym in the city that possesses approximately 1.5 million people. And Memphis Rox opened in the bustling city of Memphis, Tennessee with a unique business model: no set climbing fee. “There are no age restrictions and you will not be turned away regardless of your ability to pay,” the gym notes on its website.    

The opening of facilities in smaller markets alongside select city developments signals the staying power of the climbing industry, and should be interpreted as a plus for all. It indicates climbing’s ability to thrive and adapt in virtually any sized market.

Closing Up

As with most years, there were some gym closures in 2018. There were five commercial climbing gyms that closed in the US.  Of note is that four of the five facilities were originally opened in the 1990s. Such normal generational attrition is likely not an indicator of any larger trend. However, the industry consistently having a robust annual growth rate inevitably means there has been increased competition in many markets.

History enthusiasts will note that one such closure was Thrillseekers, in Denver. Having been started in 1992, the gym was one of the oldest in Colorado. Owner Kevin Smith retired in March (2018), and held a weeklong sale to get rid of the gym’s equipment.

Another gym that closed for a far different reason was Urban Ascent in Boise, Idaho. The gym had been in operation since 2004, but was purchased by a developer and resided on land that was owned by the city. The gym’s sudden closing was thus the first step in redeveloping the site for affordable housing apartments. “I was told that the gym would remain open for 18 months after the project breaks ground,” wrote Urban Ascent’s manager, Clint Colwell, on Facebook in March, 2018. “This is not true I guess and it saddens me to be the bearer of this message. You all are my friends, and I was hoping we could keep this up for a while longer as we all know how great a community we have here at Urban.”

Another gym that closed in 2018 was Atlanta Rocks, in Georgia—the oldest indoor facility in the city, although the location had changed over the years. The gym closed in response to a major rent increase, which was perhaps partially in response to new condos and other major developments nearby.

Boston Rock Gym in Massachusetts and Prairie Walls in Rochester, Minnesota, also closed last year.

Data Information

The CBJ growth rate and accompanying data is compiled through several different source avenues and is completely original and proprietary to Climbing Business Journal.  We collect data on all new, sold, moved, expanded and closed commercial climbing gyms in the US and Canada. Our database is the only complete listing of commercial climbing gyms with reliable trends going back to 2009.

We do not collect data on recreation center, university, private, or other institutional climbing walls.  Nor do we count climbing walls that are part of facilities that are not in the sole business of selling climbing, or facilities that do not offer climbing specific memberships.  

Indoor Climbing’s Digital Future with Walltopia

The world is constantly changing, and indoor climbing is no exception. Climbing gym businesses of different shapes and styles face new challenges in a maturing industry, at all stages of the business cycle. Before opening, a long list of factors could be taken into consideration: size, location, full-service or bouldering-only, overall investment, etc. After opening, one task will always be on the to-do list of a successful climbing gym operator: to provide quality routesetting. As technological possibilities evolve in the digital world, so too do the opportunities to modernize routesetting at your climbing gym.

Digital Routesetting

The regular delivery of quality routes at indoor climbing facilities has become essential to effective business strategies as popularity and competitiveness within the industry increase. More new climbers are entering gyms for the first time, requiring a wide range of route offerings which appeal to climbers of all levels. These routes must be updated often enough to maintain high levels of engagement, to keep both beginning visitors and advanced members coming back for more. But how to do so efficiently? This is where the Walltopia Harmonized System steps in, offering a fast and affordable way for climbing gyms to access quality routes. The system consists of pre-designed wall modules equipped with RGB LED nodes, as well as a custom-developed and expertly-engineered software to connect routesetters, climbers and gym managers through an application called “E-Walls.” The Harmonized System simplifies and upgrades routesetting to a more interactive, flexible and digital experience for all three actors.

The Climber

Imagine walking into a climbing gym for the first time. You gaze up at dozens of colored patterns, wondering where to begin. Your options are limited: either bother a staff or gym member for help or wander through the maze of difficulties alone. Not if you enter the climbing gym at Walltopia Headquarters, though, where the Harmonized System is already two years in operation. There you download the E-Walls app to your smart phone and discover all the routes with one click. You filter by grades or explore the latest and most popular climbs. You make a selection and watch the corresponding section of the wall light-up, illuminating the routes. You can also log your climbs and track your progress over time with your newfound community. You easily rate and comment on routes, giving direct feedback to the gym managers and setters which gives you confidence that every session will be better than the last.

The Gym Manager

Imagine managing a climbing gym with increasing membership levels on opposite sides of the experience spectrum, in an increasingly competitive area. You consider your options for maintaining growth rates, recognizing the value of consolidating communication with setters and climbers. Thanks to the manager’s interface of the Harmonized System, you can oversee routesetting and analyze real-time stats and graphs of user preferences and setter performances. Get to know climbers better and set objectives for setters, wherever you are on the globe, through a digital exchange which can set you apart from your rivals. Now imagine running multiple facilities in different locations. Some places might have a better climbers’ scene than others, which poses a challenge when it comes to hiring staff members and quality setters. From an operator’s perspective, you want to maintain a consistent climbing experience for your clientele throughout all your facilities. The Harmonized System helps you do just that, by replicating the best routes that your most experienced setters create throughout all your facilities.

The Setter

Imagine setting for more and more climbers, perhaps even traveling between multiple facilities. You envision the weeks ahead, anticipating the growing exhaustion and shrinking creativity. Your options too are limited: accept the growing pains or seek a remedy. Now, the Harmonized System organizes routesetting for you. You open the digital app and access endless route options for your walls and holds. You store your own routes in an online database for reuse, and you sell top-performing routes to fellow setters around the world. The better your routes perform among climbers, the more people buy and download it for their gym. Remember that V7 you created for the bouldering league 2 years ago? It was downloaded by a gym on the opposite side of the world today and brought in a few extra bucks to your account.

Competitions

In addition to aiding the management of routesetting at climbing gyms, the Harmonized System was built by Walltopia for climbing events at the highest level. Most recently, the software featured at the IFSC World Championships in Innsbruck last September, supporting world-class routesetters across ten days of nearly nonstop competition climbing. The heavily-anticipated bouldering finals, in particular, incorporated one of the Harmonized modules. In the near future, event organizers will be able to showcase the same routes in different places, connecting competition climbing circuits worldwide.

Perfect Harmony

Тhe goal of the Harmonized System is to unite an eco-system of gym managers, routesetters and climbers, to strengthen the shared community and positive experience for everyone. The unique technology has gone through many iterations in the last five years, since Walltopia first designed the software. After exploring different wall designs, Walltopia chose a simple concept of large panels, smooth transitions and carefully selected angles to provide an entirely digital and highly relevant platform for setters, climbers and managers alike, a perfect harmony for infinite routesetting. Learn more at Walltopia.com and download the E-Walls app on Google Play or App Store. .
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

Park City Gym To Go Full-Service

Inside the Mine Bouldering gym. Photo: The Mine

The Mine Bouldering Gym in Park City, UT is planning to expand out of its location to a full-service climbing gym, according to ParkRecord.

The gym is planning on moving into a purpose built 15,000 to 20,000 square foot building. The Mine will close its current location on May 20.

“While we are sad to say goodbye to our current facility, we are extremely excited about opening our ‘dream’ facility and continuing to be a hub for the PC climbing community in the future,” The Mine told its members in an email announcement on Wednesday.

The Mine is still seeking permits from the county to build what Jacobsen described as a multimillion dollar project that will be ready to go regardless of the current location’s shuttering.

Once it is up and running, the new location, which could possibly rebrand in the process, would offer as many as 10 auto belay stations, triple the climbing area and an estimated seven times the number of holds as the current location. Total climbing surface area at the new location is estimated around 14,000 square feet.

The downtime between climbing gyms will likely divert clientele down to gyms in the Salt Lake Valley like Momentum and The Front. But Jacobsen is confident he will recognize some faces when the new location opens its doors.

“With the new facility, the Park City community will have access to a modern, state-of-the-art climbing and fitness facility that is on par with the large climbing gyms in metropolitan areas yet still represents the Park City community,” Jacobsen said in an email. “We plan to continue to provide an inclusive facility that is suited to training the full spectrum of athletes from beginners to future Olympians.”

Triangle to Expand in Richmond

Triangle Rock Club is preparing to break ground on a $2 million expansion to add 15,000 square feet of climbing terrain to its gym in Richmond, Virgina.

The North Carolina-based chain opened its Richmond location last spring in the former Richmond Athletic Club building. Triangle bought the building in 2017 for $1.4 million and spent $1.6 million to upgrade it.

Triangle now is adding 6,000 square feet to its footprint, with walls reaching about 50 feet in height. Director Kayla Phillips said the expansion would more than double the amount of climbing area at the gym.

Triangle has about 850 members, she said, with memberships starting at $65 per month plus a $75 initial fee.

She said they’re looking to break ground this month and to open by year-end.

Evo Breaks Ground in Golden

From left to right: Founder and Co-Owner of EVO Rock + Fitness, Hilary Harris, Mayor of Golden Colorado, Marjorie Sloan, Co-Owner of EVO Rock + Fitness, Clint Dillard, Co-Owner of EVO Rock + Fitness, Stephen Price, Owner of Kodiak Real Estate Group, Hunter Moore

EVO Rock + Fitness, with locations in Louisville, CO; Portland, ME and Concord, NH broke ground with Kodiak Real Estate Group for their next location in Golden, Colorado this past Monday, April 8th . The gym will be a bouldering only facility featuring training boards, creative routesetting, a personable crew and an inclusive vibe.


With industry trends leaning towards building larger facilities across the nation, EVO wants to doing something different. An architect by trade, founder Hilary Harris said “There seems to be a tipping point somewhere in the scale of a gym where the intimate community feel climbers are drawn to gets lost in the largeness. We wanted to try out something different, go back to our roots, and see if we could not recreate that in a smaller gym.”

The Golden location will be just under 11,000 square feet. Members will have the option to use the larger facility in Louisville if they are looking for more extensive terrain and offerings.


EVO Bouldering – Golden is aiming to open in the winter of 2020.

Impact: Feel the Difference

It’s only a matter of time before more people hear about IMPACT Climbing. With humble beginnings in Milton, Ontario, Canada, IMPACT has amassed over a decade of climbing wall manufacturing experience. Building a successful business is an enormous undertaking. It takes dedication and hunger to become an entrepreneur. Kyle and Erin Wilson, founders of IMPACT Climbing, understand this journey all too well. Building a climbing wall is like creating a business; many moving parts combine to make a solid structure that endures. But with a team of experts behind them, success is possible. IMPACT Climbing’s story began with a love for climbing. After Kyle’s first exposure to climbing, he knew he wanted to share this with the world. Before his venture as an entrepreneur, Kyle built his skills in the trades. He’s a craftsman with the ability to create just about anything: he brings his visions to life. It was Kyle’s dream to one day open a climbing facility. As luck would have it while looking further into opening his own facility, an opportunity presented itself and Kyle was hired at the ground level of a new climbing gym start-up. Being there through the early stages of construction, he was introduced to a world that combined his construction background with his love of climbing. He quickly picked up on the tricks of the trade, making industry contacts that later fueled the start of his own company. But, he didn’t know that at the time. “Three months into my dream job and it vanished. I realized I would never let that happen again.” Adversity is a part of success stories. Working for a climbing gym seemed like the right fit, but when that was taken away, a new vision emerged.

“I remember thinking, this is it.”

Having previously made a great connection with Rockwerx USA, Kyle forged a plan to become their Canadian Sales Rep. The success of this relationship grew into what later became Rockwerx Canada. Even with a great product behind him, the climbing landscape in Canada was still sparse and phone calls were not rushing in. In 2009, Kyle landed his first project. He hustled for this sale and cut his profits from this job, but he knew that this would be his start. “I had never constructed an entire project on my own, but I told them I could do it for half the price they were quoted, and they agreed.” Of course, a business practice like this is not sustainable. To makes ends meet while promoting their new business venture, Kyle and Erin constructed a portable climbing wall. With the wall in tow, they traveled to events and fairs on weekends: set-up, belay, tear-down. This process of hauling the wall from fair to fair allowed them both to gain valuable experience in bringing climbing to the masses and would later influence their vision for their future climbing gym business. Through their dedication and perseverance, their big break finally arrived. This small Canadian company landed a substantial project through the Daniels Corporation, a premier construction company for high-rises and condos in the greater Toronto area. This was the catalyst that pushed their climbing wall manufacturing to the next level. Valuable experience was gained working through tenders with corporate construction firms, municipal building codes and all the rigorous cross-border requirements for large scale construction projects; now an everyday practice for IMPACT Climbing. “It was a huge moment in my career where I learned there is always a way. Always.” In 2014, the industry was changing and experiencing rapid growth in climbing wall builds and start-up facilities. As demand increased the need for lower cost climbing wall solutions and reduced time on-site pushed Kyle to develop his own climbing wall panel system, now known as Velvet GRIP. The new system, named for its texture, had unique properties in comparison to existing textures on the market. Velvet GRIP strikes a beautiful balance as it provides excellent friction, without excessive roughness on the skin or on climbing shoe rubber. It also has a durable clear finish that allows the warmth of real wood to show through the finish. Using cabinet-grade plywood, custom pre-fabricated steel-frame construction and unique wall designs with each project; this Canadian company was indeed making an impact. In 2017, Kyle and Erin formed IMPACT Climbing Inc. to further the development of their innovations under their own brand, with the official launch at the beginning of 2018.

A MANUFACTURER THAT UNDERSTANDS THE DEMANDS IN THE CLIMBING INDUSTRY TO CREATE INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS THAT INSPIRE AND ENDURE

From commercial climbing gyms to small residential projects and just about everything in between, Impact has done it. “Every project sees the same level of importance and meticulous detail because it’s a big investment for business owners, regardless of the scale.” Says Robert Jamison, IMPACT’s sales manager. IMPACT Climbing has left their footprint across Canada since 2009, with projects that include Grand River Rocks, Junction Climbing, Alt Rock, Top Rock, Boulder Bear, Rock Jungle Fitness, Aspire Climbing, Beta Crux, Back Bone and Boulder Parc, to name a few. The impact has stretched beyond the climbing industry to include other corporate, commercial and fitness facilities like Google in Waterloo, MLSE in Toronto, The University of Guelph, the Ontario Science Centre, and playgrounds such as Air Riderz Trampoline Park, Ninjaz Canada, Inja Nation, AeroSport Trampoline Parks, Free Run, Jack’s Urban Jungle and Sky Zone in London and St. Catharines. Beyond Canada, IMPACT Climbing has completed several international projects in the US, Europe, Australia and Dubai. The team behind IMPACT Climbing has served as the backbone of all their achievements. The limit to the scope of IMPACT’s capabilities is high and they’ve barely scratched the surface of their design, fabrication, construction and service team’s potential. 2016 marked another significant milestone for the husband and wife duo. Before dabbling in the climbing industry to support her intrepid entrepreneur, Erin was a professional educator and craved an outlet for development. Hark back to Kyle’s earliest goals of running a climbing gym and combine that with his increased experience with each new IMPACT build; owning and operating their own facility became a goal to aspire to. Lead by an incredible team and with Joë Layno at the helm as the General Manager, Aspire Climbing and Fitness opened its doors in April of 2016. The synergetic relationship between IMPACT and Aspire is exemplified by sharing the same address in Milton, ON, Canada. Aspire Climbing and Fitness serves as the customer-facing side of their climbing enterprise, while IMPACT fulfills the manufacturing and construction of climbing structures, volumes, free climb attractions, ninja courses and flooring systems. With a climbing facility under the same roof, new ideas and products are quickly subjected to real-world testing for rapid refinement prior to new product releases. So, what’s next for IMPACT and Aspire? While IMPACT increases its market penetration into the US and across the globe, Aspire is now offering franchise opportunities. Aspire Franchise is a sustainable climbing gym model with full-service manufacturing and installation, from building permits and design/engineering to staff training and ongoing business consulting. Aspire Franchise is a 100% full turn-key business model for the entrepreneur, ready to climb on board this fast-growing fitness obsession. Impact is also looking for sales reps and distributors in Canada, Europe, Asia and the USA. To learn about our team, please contact us at info@impactclimbing.com. Be sure to visit Impact Climbings booth at the Climbing Wall Association 2019 https://www.climbingwallsummit.org/about. To learn more about Impact Climbing and Aspire Climbing Franchise Opportunity, visit www.Impactclimbing.com www.aspireclimbing.ca/franchise
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

2nd World Indoor Climbing Summit of Walltopia

The moment Free Solo won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, climbing underground days were recognizably gone. The Oscar was the ultimate acknowledgement that, after years of significant growth, climbing is no longer a niche sport but a global trend.
Not everyone saw this coming, especially at such a pace. There were a few visionaries, though, who predicted that evolution and worked hard towards it. You will be able to hear many of them speak at the second edition of the World Indoor Climbing Summit (WICS). WICS stands out from other events in the climbing industry because it gathers a unique international set of climbing industry experts, under one roof. A carefully selected agenda built around the business of running a climbing gym — and the do’s and don’ts of turning it into a profitable venture, from the perspective of various markets — make the event a valuable experience for any climbing gym operator. Most importantly, it unites the pioneers of the industry on a global scale — people who have witnessed and experienced the growth of climbing from the first row and have played a big role in it. “It was interesting to hear the different ways the US market diversifies from Europe and Australia and some other places. And I thought that was unique perspective that I haven’t had before. […] The format of having roundtables on stage was really valuable. Having all these gym operators from around the world in one place and having that kind of discussions was really interesting.” Jeffery Bowling, Marketing, IT and Business Development Manager at Touchstone Climbing The event’s preferred format of panel discussion is an engaging one that provokes conversation and gathers different points of view. A few of the topics will include: • First steps to opening a new gym, including finding financing: what it takes to get approved for a loan, lease or a real estate fund; how each works and what experiences people have already had with them. • Gym location and building hunt. • Facility specifics to serve the unique demographics of your target groups. • Technical details and specs when planning a climbing gym. • Route setting and flooring. Discussions will be open — attendees are encouraged to participate. You will find the conference schedule on the WICS website. The WICS will also host an exhibition area where manufacturers and suppliers from the industry can showcase their latest products, and meet potential clients and partners. The first edition of WICS united over 300 industry leaders from 38 countries. Dana Schenhoffer from Headrush, one of the exhibitors, shares: “There are some really quality people here. So what I mean by that is there has been kind of a filter applied and there are gym owners and builders and operators and not so much the people that don’t make decisions, so it’s the higher level clientele” Watch a recap from last year’s event. WICS will again be hosted by Walltopia in Sofia, Bulgaria; June 19th – 21st 2019. You can see the full program and secure your place at the early bird rate with the promo code CBJEARLYBIRD at the event website. “As a professional climber for over 25 years and also a climbing gym owner I am just happy to be here and network with other gym owners and see some of the latest technologies and yeah…it’s a great opportunity to kind of network and see old friends. […] After being here I would recommend other friends in the industry to come here. I think anyone who wants to open a climbing gym would benefit a lot from being here.” Chris Sharma, Professional climber and Gym Owner
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.

Building a Website For Your Climbing Gym

Photo: Stone Summit
By John Burgman Every manager knows that customer safety must be a top priority, followed by customer satisfaction and staff supervision at a gym. But, in between keeping the facility clean and safe, conversing with customers and employees, and handling the finances, managers don’t typically possess free time for other matters. Often lost in the busy schedule is a gym’s website, which resides like a secondary priority with only ambiguous importance. But more than ever, gym managers are seeing such line of thinking—making a gym’s website an afterthought—as faulty and potentially damaging. “The role of the website has and continues to evolve,” says Kenneth Sheyka, owner of Rock Out Climbing Gym in Destin, Florida. “When we were  opening, I thought, ‘Well of course, we have to have a website—everyone has one!’ It served as a great spot to list all the information we could think of like where we were located, what our prices were, and a convenient spot to offer the link to our waiver. Not much has changed in that respect with the rates and ‘Get Climbing’ being consistently our bigger traffic hits. We have recently added our blog section, and we have also recently built out our calendar of events.” Rock Out is notable for its two main boulder features near the facility’s front door, and Sheyka strives for a website that offers a similar wow factor with photos of the famed boulders and climbers, the Rock Out logo, and inviting colors. In fact, a website—not the facility itself—is probably what gives potential customers a first impression of any given gym in this day and age, and that means a website should do more than simply portray the fun aspects of climbing. It should also convey trust. Dana Caracciolo, the General Manager at the Doylestown Rock Gym in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, also notes that a website is a key point of entry, even before people actually enter the gym. “The best thing is when a customer comes in and says, I saw this on your website…,” says Caracciolo. “To me, that means we gave them enough information for them to decide to visit or participate in a service. They didn’t need a web inquiry or a phone call or a social media message to answer any more questions. Likewise, if we repeatedly get calls at the front desk for the same questions then we make sure it gets put on the website. If folks are missing it, then we try to highlight it or make it more obvious.” Doylestown Rock Gym opted to work with web developer Pushinpixels for a website—all hard coded and using only one widget. This model has helped minimize bugs, hacks, and other things that might affect a website, according to Caracciolo. But there are countless web developers on the market, and gym managers now have the benefit of being able to create a website that can do practically anything. Tim Sarazen runs Display 97, a climbing gym website company that helps facilities maximize their website potential. He was a key speaker at this year’s CWA conference, and he has worked with a number of gyms to track their existing website’s performance and improve it. He notes that those people who are browsing a gym’s website are probably already intrigued by climbing, so the website should build on that. And that means that a good website should speak the user’s language. As a hypothetical example, Sarazen says a gym website should build trust by honing in on what customers are seeking. “Instead of saying, Welcome to Tim’s Climbing Gym, [a good website] might say something like, What are your goals? And how can we help achieve them?  Oh, by the way, we’re the best place to do that—and people just like you have already experienced the kinds of things you hope to achieve at our facility. That’s just a lot stronger value proposition than, Welcome to Tim’s Climbing Gym,” he explains. KNOWING WEBSITE HABITS Many gym managers could quickly improve their gym’s website just by being aware of some nuance in Internet browsing behavior. Two key terms that Sarazen references often when explaining what his company helps businesses with are traffic and leads. Web traffic—the number of users visiting a website—is valuable in its own right, but what most gym owners ultimately want to measure, even if they don’t realize it, are leads—which are collectively the names and email addresses (or phone numbers) of people who are interested in knowing more about joining the gym. “For a local business, you don’t need a $100,000 marketing hire. You don’t need an agency. You just need to have some basic fundamental understanding of how to speak to things that your community wants,” Sarazen says. Another differentiation made is between inbound and outbound sources. Inbound web traffic signifies those people who have searched Google for a climbing gym and arrived at a specific gym’s website. In other words, Google has brought the user to a specific brand of gym. Sarazen says this is the 21st century equivalent of searching through the phone book for a gym: “Back in the day, someone would flip to ‘Rock Climbing’ in the yellow pages and then just kind of choose the listing that looked most attractive to them. That’s what a website is—it’s someone going to the digital yellow pages and finding a rock climbing gym. And that is when and where the aforementioned trust must then be gained.” But there’s another category of Internet browsers: those people who haven’t searched Google for a climbing gym—perhaps they have never before even thought about rock climbing as an activity—but they have arrived at a gym’s website through an ad, such as one on Facebook.  Those people might need to be sold on the idea of rock climbing altogether. For these people, a gym needs a landing page, separate from the website. Landing pages usually promote a specific program or event—or the activity (“rock climbing”) itself. For all the nuance, this means that Internet users are likely to arrive at a gym’s website theoretically asking, Do I trust this gym? And they’ll arrive at a gym’s landing page asking, Do I want to rock climb? Increased web traffic also means that many gym websites are becoming more robust and divers with content—particularly as other, non-climbing recreational facilities vie for personnel. “We want folks to understand that we are more than a ‘pay to play’ type facility, especially in the age of trampoline parks and zip-line tours,” says Caracciolo. “For example, we are very involved in the local outdoor crags and the Access Fund, so we make sure that has a place. And, we have developed a strong adaptive climbing program so that has a place as well. These aren’t things that we just ‘do on the side’ rather they are part of our core values.” MAKING IMPORTANT CHANGES One of the most common mistakes gyms make is to put too many “calls to action” on the website, which means that users are given too many options. Usually gym owners don’t have any preference how users—and, potential leads—contact the gym, whether it’s calling by phone or registering online or stopping in in-person. But a website should be precise in delivering a message of one of those specific actions, not all. Website users should know exactly what it is the gym wants them to do, and how to do it—wherever the users might be in that journey of building trust. “The pitfall many gym owners do is they throw all the calls to action on the website,” Sarazen says, pointing out that such flawed methodology results in a psychological phenomenon known as paradox of choice. “That has been proven to be a very poor user experience. In the lack of direction, [the users] simply don’t do anything.” He continues, “If I’m told, ‘Here’s the value, here’s the benefit, do this action now,’ then I understand what the next steps are, and I understand what [the gym] wants me to do, and I’m going to feel more confident in that decision if I decide to make it.” Another specific change that would benefit a lot of gyms’ websites is improving the staff pages, which harkens back to building trust. Sheyka at Rock Out makes sure that there is a visible association between the website and the personnel inside the gym. “Our Welcome Desk is up front when you walk in the physical gym, so when you click on our staff page on the website, you see the same faces you should see when you walk in the door,” he says. Snapshots of staff members atop windswept cliffs or hanging from ropes, while common on gym websites, are probably not the best types of images to convey comfort and safety—at least not to website users who are new to climbing. Also, it’s common for staff biographies to read like travelogues of famous crags that the staff have visited. Again, this is flawed because it puts the attention on the staff members rather than the website users.  In other words, a staff page’s text should be customer-centric. STAYING CURRENT A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that 71 percent of Americans ages 18-24,  key demographic for any climbing gym, use Instagram; 45 percent use Twitter. Social media can be a great tool for a gym to show users—and the community—that it is active. But having a Twitter or Instagram account does not mean that every post has to be a lengthy communiqué or literary masterwork. In fact, the fast-paced nature of social media allows for mistakes and typos more so than websites do. If a gym wants to adopt a basic schedule, it should consider making a few social media posts per week—one post that is informative, such as an announcement about an upcoming competition or event at the gym; one post that is educational, such as a reference to an external study on rock climbing and fitness; and one post that is sales- related, such as a discount code for gear. Sheyka has a team that handles most of the copy for Rock Out’s blogs. The blogs’ topics are discussed in advance at staff meetings, and Sheyka then signs off on any content before it gets posted. “What the Blogs do is work as search engine optimization where we can place key words and increase our chances of being a search engine hit,” he says. “Also, we link to these specific articles when we post on social media, and inform our climbers about things like bringing their children to the gym or women and climbing programs, or float therapy for climbing injury recovery.” It’s no secret that social media is embraced more so by the younger demographics, but this can be turned into an advantage by gym managers. Managers can employ young members of a gym, rather than paid staff, to be social media ambassador, or some such designation, and shoulder the gym’s social media in exchange for gear or membership discounts. Such thrifty savviness illustrates how little tweaks can result in big benefits for any gym. Websites are more important now than they ever have been for facilities. While grassroots marketing is still essential, there’s no substitute for smart online presentation and constant website improvements. For instance, Rock Out plans to add an online registration page for competitions, which might dovetail into general signup pages for classes at the gym. Sarazen says, “Users are determining the quality of your brand based on the aesthetic nature of your website, whereas in the past—five to ten years ago—you could just have a bad website and that wasn’t indicative of the quality of you as a brand.” He adds, “Now that has shifted in users’ brains simply because of what we’ve been exposed to. We’ve been exposed to beautiful websites. We are expecting a higher quality there, and so when we see something of lower quality, that negatively impacts our brand perception. So, the consequences of not investing in your online marketing in the past five years have increased.” For Sheyka, particularly in regards to video and other media on a website, as well as overall presentation, community goes a long way. “We have learned that organic and authentic content performs much better than paid advertising,” he notes. “There is just something about the feel of our brand and our overall identity that people resonate with.”

Climb Hires New COO

Inside Climb Bentonville. Photo: Climb
The team behind Climb Nashville, Climb Murfreesboro and Climb Bentonville have founded a new company to help with expansion of the Climb-brand of climbing gyms. Climb HQ, LLC. which was formalized January 1 st of 2018, was created as a support company for the growing Climb organization.  The founders Drew Sloss and Lance Brock, decided to build a centralized company that provides services to each of the Climb locations. “As we were assessing the next phase of growth for Climb, it became clear that we needed a separate company to help each location navigate the  various challenges new businesses face, as well as, support the development of Climb’s culture in new regions and states,” said Sloss. Climb opened its first location, Climb Nashville, in 2003 and added a second Nashville location in 2014. Climb Murfreesboro opened its doors in  Murfreesboro, TN in September of 2018 and opened Climb Bentonville in Bentonville, Arkansas, January of 2019. Along with the new Arkansas location in 2019, Climb HQ has brought Dan Sheehan onto its team. “We’re thrilled to have Dan join our organization.  He brings a wealth of institutional background know- how from his tenure as Vice President and General Manager at Ingram Content Group.  Over the last seven years at Ingram, Dan, simultaneously, led 3 distinct business units to historical levels of growth, from $330M to $450M.  Dan understands the challenges we face as we continue to expand,” said Brock. When asked what attracted Dan to make the jump to Climb from such a different industry, Sheehan commented that “Climb is built upon a set of values and principles that is aligned with mine and the foundation is set for us to go and go hard.  The opportunity is a perfect blend of my passions such as enhancing the customer experience, growing top and bottom line, improving processes and workflows, a healthy and fit lifestyle and the entrepreneurial spirit.” Climb celebrated its 15 th anniversary as a company last year. “When we started in 2003, I think our goal was fairly simple. We loved climbing and wanted to share that with our greater Nashville community at large. Not much has changed since then except our size. Three years ago, we solidified our company mission with the simple words: We believe climbing is transformative and we exist to share that experience. We intend to continue that mission in as many communities as we can,” Sloss says with a smile.

Climbing Proposed for 2024 Olympics

During a press conference in Paris, France, the Paris Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games (Paris 2024) confirmed a proposal to include four additional sports in the Sports Programme of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games: Breakdance, Skateboarding, Surfing and Sport Climbing. The proposal will next be presented to the IOC Executive Board on March 26th-28th. If accepted, the proposal will then be put forward to the 134th IOC Session on 24th June in Lausanne, Switzerland. If approved, Sport Climbing will be featured in the Summer Olympic Games for the second consecutive edition. “It is again a great day: our climb goes on, and new challenges are taking shape beyond Tokyo. We are happy to see that Paris 2024 is supporting the new wave, which is strengthening the Olympic movement. We are grateful for the proposal’s recognition of the value of Sport Climbing and the work the IFSC has done. We are proud to be part of this process and we look forward to the next steps in the following months,” says Marco Scolaris, President of the IFSC. In 2016, Sport Climbing was added to the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo and most recent Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where Sport Climbing made its Olympic debut. Additionally, Paris 2024 plans to enrich the Sport Climbing event in 2024 by expanding from one to two distinct competitions, six to twelve medals and 40 to 72 athletes in total. Under the proposal, 16 women and 16 men would compete for six medals in the Speed discipline; 20 women and 20 men would compete for six medals based on the combination of results in the Bouldering and Lead disciplines.