Wall closure due to COVID 19 (Coronavirus) from 22:00 on 19/03/2020

Some things in life are certain – it will always stop raining at some point, a wet dog will always traipse muddy paw-prints over your new bouldering mat, and the Climbing Works is always open 362 days of the year (apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day & New Years Day).  This is how life for us has been since we first opened in 2006.

Now we have a new challenge in the coronavirus – it is our social responsibility to close now and remain shut as long as advised to do so by the Government. We don’t know how long this closure will last for – publishing a reopening date at this stage seems a bit presumptuous, so stay tuned to our website / social media for updates on when we might re-open.

We are a small business, started by climbers, for climbers. Our innovation and gamble back in 2006 spawned the modern generation of big bouldering centres which can now be found across the globe. This closure has far reaching ramifications for all of our staff and customers, and we hope that any disruption will be short and our business will be able to reopen in the near future.

Any members with a pre-paid membership or pre-paid entries – your membership will be paused from the closure date until we reopen.  Further details about memberships including those paid by standing order will be added to the website as soon as we can write it all down, along with some suggested ways you might be able to help support us in this difficult time for those able to do so.

In the meanwhile, please look after yourselves and anybody who needs help. Be kind to one another, don’t panic buy useless stuff, be considerate, and we’ll see you all on the other side!

Graeme, Percy, Sam & the rest of the Climbing Works Team

FAQs & options to help support us

What happens with my pre-paid membership?
As previously stated we're freezing all pre-paid memberships until we are advised we can safely reopen.

I have a pre-paid membership; what can I do to help?
Thanks for your support!  Either you can let us know you don't want to pause, which will be helpful for our cash flow when we are able to reopen, or you could buy something from our online shop.

How do I pause my monthly membership payments?
We understand that this time is difficult for everyone.  If you are paying by standing order so you need to understand that YOU need to pause the payments with you bank; we can't do it for you!  Please drop us an email to memberships@climbingworks.com to confirm that you are doing this and include your name and DoB so we can link it to your account.

How do I continue to pay my membership?
If you are in a sufficiently stable financial position to do so and would like to continue your standing order even though you can't climb then that would be greatly appreciated.  You have set up a standing order with you bank, so you don't need to do anything for it to continue.  It is, however, important that you understand that at this time we do not know when (and therefore if) we will be able to reopen.  Please drop us an email to memberships@climbingworks.com to confirm that you are doing this and include your name and DoB so we can link it to your account.

I don't think I can afford / justify the full monthly amount while you are closed but I still want to support you; what can I do?
Thanks for your support!  If you want to keep up regular payments at a lower amount then you just need to adjust your standing order with the bank.  It is, however, important that you understand that at this time we do not know when (and therefore if) we will be able to reopen.  Please drop us an email to memberships@climbingworks.com to confirm that you are doing this and include your name and DoB so we can link it to your account. 

How else can I support the centre?
For anyone else who would like to support us in some way you can find options for pre-paid membership, entries and gift voucher here.  The rest of the online store selling physical items is currently offline as we stay home to help the NHS, but once it's appropriate for us to do so we'll put it back online; we'll also run an offer with 25% off online Benky Grip Wash orders, aimed at other walls who are getting on with maintenance while they are still closed to the public.

Can I hire pads to climb outside?
Unfortunately we won't be offering pad hire at this time.  We feel that we have a societal responsibility to limit any further strain on the NHS, so as climbing is an activity with a risk of injury and with rural areas having a higher proportion of more vulnerable age groups, our view is that an influx of climbers with more free time into these areas is counter productive to the current social distancing recommendations, which falls in line with the guidance in many other popular climbing areas in Europe.

The Climbing Works Entry Policy Due to Coronavirus (Updated 17/03/20)

The Climbing Works takes the health and wellbeing of our customers and staff very seriously, and we consider ourselves to be a socially responsible company. Due to the current ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) we are constantly looking at the most up to date Government advice and adapting our company policies to fit with current best practice.

In light of the most recent advice (16/03/2020) we currently have the following restrictions in place:

The Mini Works is currently closed & all coached sessions are postponed:

Following government advice on social distancing we want to protect both our staff and customers, and we identified coached sessions as one of the most difficult areas to control this in. Without the regular coached sessions, the reception staff in Mini Works are better utilized doing additional cleaning in the main center.

The Climbing Works & Unit E are currently open as normal with the following restrictions:

YOU MUST NOT COME TO THE CLIMBING WORKS IF:

• You feel unwell, have a persistent cough or a high temperature
• You are currently self-isolating
• You are over 70 years of age, or suffer from any medical condition which puts you in a group considered to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 virus, or if you have regular close contact with individuals in this group. Details of vulnerable groups can be found on the government website – www.gov.uk/coronavirus/

Measures we are taking:

• We will monitor and limit climber numbers within each building below a total occupancy level of 100 people in the Climbing Works & 50 in Unit E
• Our staff and our cleaners have increased the frequency at which they clean high use surfaces

The situation regarding coronavirus is changing almost daily, and we are committed to work within the framework of best advice provided by the government to protect our staff and customers.

Currently, we are happy for climbers to use our facilities if they are well, and do not fall in restricted groups mentioned above.  However, we stress to any users of our facilities to practice good hygiene as outlined in the posters at our front desk and around the wall.

We will update this information as and when the situation changes.

Many thanks,

The Climbing Works Team

The Climbing Works Entry Policy Due to Coronavirus

The Climbing Works takes the health and wellbeing of our customers and staff very seriously, and we consider ourselves to be a socially responsible company. Due to the current ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) we are constantly looking at the most up to date Government advice and adapting our company policy to fit with current best practice.

In light of the most recent advice (16/03/2020) we currently have the following restrictions in place:

The Climbing Works is open as normal.

HOWEVER, YOU MUST NOT COME TO THE CLIMBING WORKS IF:

• You feel unwell, have a persistent cough or a high temperature

• You are currently self-isolating

• You are over 70 years of age, or suffer from any medical condition which puts you in a group considered to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 virus, or if you have regular close contact with individuals in this group. Details of vulnerable groups can be found on the government website – www.gov.uk/coronavirus/

As an additional measure, we will monitor and limit climber numbers within each building (Main Works, Mini Works and Unit E) below an occupancy level of 100 people.  Both our staff and our cleaners have increased the frequency at which they clean high use surfaces.

The situation regarding coronavirus is changing almost daily, and we are committed to work within the framework of best advice provided by the government to best protect our staff and customers.

Currently, we are happy for climbers to use our facilities if they are well, and do not fall in restricted groups mentioned above.  However, we stress to any users of our facilities to practice good hygiene practice as outlined in the posters at our front desk and around the wall.

We will update this information as and when the situation changes.

Many thanks,

The Climbing Works Team

As well as being a busy climbing wall used by locals and climbers from further afield we also run a variety of events, from local festivals to international climbing competitions.

At present, all of our organised events are going ahead as planned, and we are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

For detailed information about Coronavirus, visit the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

The government has also published an action plan. This advises that there's presently no rationale to close or cancel sporting events, but this may change as the situation evolves.

Planning on climbing here or attending an event?

• We encourage all our customers & attendees to maintain good personal, hand and respiratory hygiene by following the NHS guidelines on the Coronavirus overview page: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

• If you’ve travelled from other countries outside of the UK. please follow the guidance under the section entitled “Returning travellers” on the Gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

• If you’ve had contact with infected people, please do not visit the centre following the standard guidance on self isolation

• Anyone with flu-like symptoms should avoid the risk of spreading their infection, whatever that infection may be, by staying at home and recovering

Pre-Paid Members

• If you are advised to self isolate please let us know and we'll add the period on to the end of your membership.

The scores are in for the first round of our CAC Bouldering Series!

Well done to everyone who entered; between you you raised an excellent £142 for CAC!  Prize winners from the raffle are highlighted in bright yellow and you can pick your prizes up on your next visit.

Look out for the next set coming at the start of January.

On Thursday 29th August, we hosted our 9th Young Climbers Festival. The day was split up into a morning and an afternoon session. In the morning we saw over 60 9-14 year olds competing for a spot on the podium, and in the afternoon there was just under 50 5-8 year olds. This was the most popular year yet, with spaces booking up before registration had even closed. Despite the number of children filling the centres, the atmosphere remained calm and the support between competitors in their individual groups was amazing to see.

With an early start of 8am, the 9-14 year olds were revved up by our coaches and joined in a big group warm up. The warm up set the tone for the day, with an emphasis on fun, as 60+ participants dressed in blue, chased the coaches around The Climbing Works. Climbers were then split into smaller groups of 4-6 and allocated a coach for the session. There were 20 pink problems to try and 2 hours 15 minutes to get round them. The route setters did a fantastic job of creating a selection of different styles including the usual off pieste favourites, with a bold jumping one and two entertaining swinging problems.

When time was up, the coaches had a short amount of time to add their teams scores up before the final. The top 5 male and female competitors for the morning sessions earned a spot in our CWIF style final. The competitors had 4 minutes on each of the three problems, with 4 minutes rest in between each bloc. The audience provided some fantastic support for all of the climbers as they battled their way up some extremely tricky problems. In the end there could only be one winner, and after a tough final, we saw Joe take the win for the boys, and Fae for the girls.

After the finals, was the much anticipated presentation, where the individual team results were announced. Everyone who attended received a participation medal, a prize and a certificate for their performance. These certificates included, team motivator, biggest smile, biggest wipeout, funky beta, dedicated climber, most improved, inspirational performance and stylish technique. Then within each age catergory, we had a podium with more medals and some fantastic prizes donated by our sponsors.

After a quick turn around it was over to The Mini Climbing works for the afternoon session. The excited 5-8 year olds again joined in a big group warm up and were then split into smaller groups with a designated coach. This time the 5-6 year olds had 10 problems, and the 7-8 had 12, with an hour and a half to try as many as they could. The blocs were tricky and the competitors tried extremely hard to get as many points as they could. For a lot of
these children, it was their first ever climbing competition and we saw some amazing determination from them all. We even saw the introduction of our Monkey space for one of the problems and enjoyed watching the climbers swinging around on it.

When the time was up, the coaches gathered in score cards and again allocated spot prizes to each competitor. Each age category had a presentation with there individual awards and prizes, followed by the podium. The mini works was filled with cheers from parents, coaches and the rest of the competitors as each climber stepped up to receive their award.

All in all, the event was a massive success and there were smiles all round. The competition is a favourite among staff, young climbers and parents. It is brilliant to see the on-going support we get for this event from parents and are fantastic sponsors, as without them it wouldn’t be possible. A huge thanks to parents, climbers, our coaches, our setters, Emma Wood for her fantastic graphic design work, Dom Worrall for the photography and of course our sponsors who provided all the amazing prizes.

(Big thanks to Scarpa, Rock Tots, The North Face, Beta Climbing, Core and Decathlon)

Male and Female Finalists 2019

Male and Female 13-14 Yrs

Male and Female 11-12 Yrs

Male and Female 9-10 Yrs

Male and Female 7-8 Yrs

Male and Female 5-6 Yrs

Written by Ruth Harrington

We'll need all of our existing customers (who registered on a paper registration form before the 15/04/2019) to register on our new sign in system from this Monday, May 13th.

Many of our existing registered customers have already done this over the past few weeks, but if you haven't already done so please fill out your forms in advance to save time on your next visit here:

Once you have completed a form online or on a tablet at reception please talk to a member of staff to complete your account set up. If you completed a form online please check your emails (including spam / junk folders) as you need to click a link in the confirmation email to confirm the registration.

Supervised Guests - Novices & ALL Under 14s

Novices & under 14s supervised by Adult Climbers & Adult Supervisors will now need their own account to use the centre from Monday 13th May onwards.

Adult Novices can complete their form here:

Under 18 Novices & all Under 14s should have a form completed by their parent / legal guardian here:

More details about the changes can be found here.

Climbing Works Customer Re-Registration

We’re currently switching to a new entry system.  This will allow us to reduce our reliance on paper forms, will add customer photos to accounts to reduce misuse of accounts and will enable customers with full memberships and pre-paid entries to use a quick check in at the main reception to reduce queuing at busier times.

We’ll require all of our existing customers to register onto the new system, to ensure that we have all of your details up to date.  We are currently using the existing database to process new entries up until 13/05/2019, at which point we will be recording entries on our new system.

To register on the new system please fill out a digital registration form either on a tablet at reception, or online via our website here (using PC, smartphone or tablet), then talk to a member of staff on your next visit so we can transfer that information to your new account. If you climb here regularly please do this at a quiet time on your next visit to reduce queuing, as ALL customers will have to do this on their first visit from the 13/05/2019.

Pre-Paid Full Memberships and Entries

If you have an existing full membership (month, 3-month or annual) or pre-paid entries (a 12 for 10) then we will be able to transfer these over to your new account on your 1^st visit after the 13/05/2019.

We’ll be introducing a quick check in for Adult & Junior Climbers with Full Memberships & Pre-Paid Entries.

Customers supervising Novices will still need to talk with our staff on each visit as you’ll need to add your names to a Daily Novice Supervision sheet.

Changes of terminology

Some of the terminology that we use to describe our customers is changing; the term Member will now only refer to registered customers with pre-paid month, 3 month or annual Full Membership.

• Adult Climber (or Adult Unsupervised Climber)
  • Able to climb without supervision in the Climbing Works, Mini Works & Unit E.
  • Can sign in and supervise up to 2 Adult or Under 18 Novices (or 1 Under 5 Novice at weekends and during school holidays) in the Climbing Works and the Mini Works.
• Junior Climber (or Junior (14-17) Unsupervised Climber)
  • Able to climb in Climbing Works and Mini Works without supervision.
  • Can climb in Unit E with the additional specific consent of their parent / guardian when accompanied by another Junior Climber or Adult Climber.
  • Cannot supervise Novices.
• Adult Supervisor (or Adult Mini Works Supervisor)
  • Can sign in and supervise up to 2 Under 18 Novices (or 1 Under 5 Novice at weekends and during school holidays) in the Mini Works.
  • Would need to be signed in by an Adult Climber if they want to climb themselves.
• Adult Novice
  • Can climb under the supervision of an Adult Climber in the Climbing Works and the Mini Works.
• Under 18 Novice
  • Can climb under the supervision of an Adult Climber in the Climbing Works and Mini Works, or an Adult Supervisor in the Mini Works.

Unit E Access for Junior Climbers

Junior Climbers (14-17 year olds registered to climb without supervision) will be permitted access the climbing area, but not the gym / training room, of Unit E from 13/05/2019 on completion of a ‘Junior Climber – Unit E Consent’ form by their parent or guardian where they agree that they and the Junior Climber understand the additional risks involved with climbing over there.

Novices

Novices will need to fill out a digital registration form (on the tablets at our receptions or online through our website on a PC, smartphone or tablet), then talk to a member of staff to be added onto the entry system.  They’ll then report to reception with their supervising adult on each visit to be checked in and get signed in on the Daily Novice Supervision sheet.

Registration Fees

• New Adult Climbers or Junior Climbers - £3
• Existing Adult Climbers or Junior Climbers - FREE
• Adult Supervisors - Included in induction fee
• Adult Novice or Under 18 Novice - FREE

We will be operating extended opening hours over Easter weekend as follows:

Good Friday (19/04):

Main Centre: 10am - 10pm

Mini-Works: 10am - 8pm

Easter Saturday & Sunday (20/04-21/04):

Main Centre: 10am - 8pm

Mini-Works: 9.30am - 6pm

Easter Monday (22/04):

Main Centre: 10am - 10pm

Mini-Works: 10am - 8pm

Our entry prices will stay the same so you can get off-peak / midweek entry options as normal on Friday & Monday.

Enjoy!

Schools Bouldering Championships 2019

Our 2019 Schools Bouldering Championships were our biggest yet, partly due to the introduction of our Greater Sheffield Competition, but also due to the growing level of enthusiasm from schools and climbers.  The finals took place just a few days after the CWIF (Climbing Works International Festival) which led to a very busy few weeks at The Climbing Works! 

This year we had 601 competitors across primary and secondary attend our qualification rounds, and 170 attend our finals. For Sheffield Schools, we invited 6 students from the top 10 scoring primary and secondary schools to our championships on the 8^th March. As we were in the first year of Greater Sheffield competition, every school that attended a qualification round were invited to bring 6 students to their final on the 7^th March.

The final

Each school had 2 hours to try 12 blocs ranging in difficulty, set specifically for the competition. Points were awarded for getting to the top in the fewest amounts of attempts. Bonus points were also awarded for those who didn’t make it to the top, but were able to reach the bonus hold. Every bloc was topped at least once, and we even saw a tie break between the top 5 Sheffield Primary females and top 4 males. 

As with every year, some competitors are regulars at our kids clubs and it is amazing to see how psyched they are for the competition. What is even more rewarding to see, is the competitors that have never climbed before their qualification round and how hard they push themselves. Opening the competition up to Greater Sheffield this year was an extra challenge for us, but very worthwhile. We even saw one school show their commitment by travelling an hour either way on public transport from their school in Barnsley.

The results for each competition were as follows...

Greater Sheffield Primary team results             

1st - Grindleford

2nd - Bamford

3rd - Fitzherbert C o E

4th - Longstone

5th - Birdwell

6th - Sitwell Junior

Greater Sheffield Secondary team results

1st - Lady Manners 

2nd - Hope Valley College

3rd - Wickersley

4th - Eckington

Sheffield Primary team results

1st - Hunters Bar

2nd - Ecclesall

3rd - Westways (qualification round results taken into consideration)

4th - Dore (qualification round results taken into consideration)

5th - Carterknowle

6th - Dobcroft

7th - St Wilfrids

8th - Parson Cross

9th - Woodseats

10th - Heritage Park

Sheffield Secondary team results

1st - Tapton

2nd - Silverdale

3rd - Notre Dame

4th - Bradfield

5th - Mercia

6th - Forge Valley

7th - Firvale

8th - Bethany 

9th - Westfield

10th - Hinde House

Schools were also sent individual Male/Female results.

For our 2020 competition (date still to be confirmed), due to the increased popularity we will be opening registration in September. We would strongly advise schools to book their qualification rounds early as we expect these to book up fast.

We would like to say a massive thank you to all the teachers, parents and pupils who make the event such a success. We would also like the thank this year’s sponsors (Core, Moon, Wild Country, Beta, The North Face, Five Ten, Decathlon) who provided us with some amazing prizes!  And of course, a big thank you to all the coaches and staff for all their hard work over a very busy period!

Information and 2020 dates will be sent out to schools in September. Please contact Ruth@climbingworks.com if you did not attend this year but wish to be contacted with information about next years competition. 

Written By Ruth Harrington

The Circuit Board will be reset on Thursday 28th March 2019.

In order for this to happen we'll need to strip the holds on Tuesday 26th to give us time to clean and dry them before setting.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause!