Are you in climbing limbo, with indoor climbing partners thin on the ground? If so, then read on. Emily Pitts from Womenclimb recommends setting up a women's climbing club as a great way to find new climbing partners and make a difference in your climbing community.

Away from the hype and the glitter of the IFSC World Cup and international climbing successes of Shauna Coxsey, Hazel Findlay, Michaela Tracy and the like, when it comes to everyday climbing for us mere mortals, the wall sometimes feels like a macho man-fest. Whilst some of us respond to an air of high competition and higher testosterone, for others it is a turn off and one that can signal the exit of women and men from the wall – sometimes indefinitely. 

Around the UK a number of indoor walls have identified this trend and astutely created Women’s Clubs to foster an air of sociable amiability and friendliness among female climbers.  However, not every wall is able to run a women’s club, for a variety of reasons, and this is where you could come in. Setting up your own women’s club can be a great solution to your climbing buddy problems. There are many benefits and it can be a very simple setup. 

Why set up a women's climbing club?

When I suggest to people (usually women) that they should set up their own women’s club for climbing, the response is usually one of the following ‘I can’t do that!, ‘I don’t have time’, ‘no-one will listen to me’, ‘I don’t have enough confidence’, ‘I don’t know where to start’, ‘I don’t want to look silly’, ‘I don’t want to be a failure’. Starting something you’ve never done before is a massive risk, so Womenclimb would like to help.  Before you write off the whole idea, let’s think about some of the benefits of you starting a women’s climbing club at your local climbing wall:

You will end up always having someone to climb with. Climbing is a social sport and this is the best thing about being at the helm of a group – you’ll gradually develop a network of people that you like to climb with, both indoors and outdoors.

You can make a difference. Being able to see other women progress can be incredibly rewarding and can provide a personal challenge too. The climbing community is all about the people and you can help other women to become a part of the community through your weekly or monthly get-together.

You’ll gain skills. Whether it’s organisation, communication, confidence, diplomacy or any number of other skills, setting up a club, irrespective of how many people join you, will give you something new to add to your personal arsenal of efficacy. The sorts of skills you gain from organising a club are transferable directly to your CV, so it’s not just something that applies to your spare time. 

You’ll become more effective. Organising a Women’s Club is about facilitation and bring people together. You will have to be assertive at times to get things how you would like them, but this doesn’t mean you have to boss people around. It can be a great lesson in personal effectiveness and how to become a respected leader.  

You can chart your own progress. Climbing among a group of people enables you to more readily identify your own progress. We think you’ll amaze yourself sooner than you think!

You’ll meet new (and interesting) people. This can’t be underestimated. At Womenclimb we’ve met many new people through our love of climbing. Many of these people are ones who we would never have made an effort to get to know before we started climbing. Before you know it you’ll be friends with someone you’d never have spoken to in a previous life!  Climbing does this to you.

You will have fun. As well as the hard work that organising a club can sometimes bring, it can also deliver fun, satisfaction and contentment. 

How to set up a women's climbing club

So… how to make it happen…

A women’s club can be as small or as large as your imagination and aspirations. Most importantly, it doesn’t have to be a complicated thing – it can be as simple as a group of women meeting up every Tuesday for 2 hours to climb together, with a few posters at your local wall and a Facebook Page. And don’t be fooled – people LOVE to help. If you ask them to be part of your team to make it happen, you’d be surprised at how many people will say yes. Don’t be put off if they say no, it just might not be the right time for them. 

Here are some things you could think about:

1. Where could you meet?
2. How long will your club run for and how often?
3. How will people find out about it?
4. Where can you find women to ask if they are interested?
5. Could you do a survey (using SurveyMonkey, for example)?
6. Can anyone else help?

Once you’ve considered some of these questions, you can start to put things into action. Make a list of what you need to do and give yourself a time limit to do each thing. If you plan to meet at your local climbing wall, chat to the manager to check they are happy with it and the way you'll promote it. Ask if they will provide a coach/ instructor for free for your Women’s night. A great many centres already do this, so it’s not being cheeky, it’s being sensible – after all, you will be taking regular business to their wall and generating more income for them than the cost of an instructor for two hours. If you want to find out walls that already have a Women’s Club so you can have a chat with them, or even better visit, click here. 

At Womenclimb, we’re putting together a more comprehensive pack to help you every step of the way. If you’d like to know when this is ready, you can sign up to the newsletter and we will let you know as soon as it’s hot off the press. 

So, good luck at getting yourself out of climbing limbo and in your new venture of starting up a Women’s Climbing Club. In the words of the inimitable Hazel Findlay, go forth, #beboldbebrave. 

Remember to let us know your progress setting up your women’s club by emailing Emily at hello@womenclimb.co.uk. 

Emily Pitts is Chief Instigator at Womenclimb. Womenclimb is run by women who climb; they are ordinary women who wanted information about women’s climbing, mountaineering and bouldering so they started up a blog to review gear and provide information about climbing specifically for women.

Get involved: 14 reasons why you should go to the Women’s Climbing Symposium 2014

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